Over the years I have kept track of ideas that I’ve had by writing them down
in various places. When I was contemplating leaving the large corporate
environment and going independent, I began to log ideas that could serve me
well, if in fact I chose to go in this direction. This information was
housed primarily in a few legal pads, my Franklin day planner, and on my
computer. The other day I sat down with the intent of consolidating these
ideas into a single document and then prioritizing them to see which ideas
needed to be implemented. To my surprise, I found that I had written down
the same idea a couple of different times. To my chagrin, I also realized I
had not taken a single step to bring this idea into reality. Again, the
lesson is clear. It’s not those with the best ideas who succeed but those
who implement their ideas best. I think it’s time I start to put legs on
some of these ideas.
To do this, I needed to find a way to easily track and manage the process. I
have about 30 projects or ideas to consider. Assuming each idea requires
several steps, and that many of those steps are dependent on other steps, it
became critical to find a way to manage this effectively. Though I’m not
sure if I’ve found a solution, I have logged and prioritized all of my ideas
into the project manager in Microsoft Outlook with Business Contact Manager.
This program allows you to put a deadline on each project (idea) and create
the steps necessary to bring them about.
The bottom line here is that whether you’re a large firm with many
employees, or a small firm with few employees, efficiency is important.
Though the process is simple in that you need to define all of the things
that need to be done, prioritize them, and do them, it’s the doing part
where the inefficiencies most often occur.
I’m just starting to use Microsoft Outlook’s project manager so I’m not sure
if it will do exactly what I need. I’ll let you know.
Thanks for reading and, as always, let me know if you have any better ideas for what I’m trying to accomplish.