Using Your Noggin

How many times have you had an idea and wondered why you didn't think of it

sooner? Also, how many times have you had an idea, written it down, only to

realize sometime later that you never acted on it? Both of these

things happened to me last week. Let me explain.

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.