Do you have an overly active, creative brain? Do you struggle to focus on any one thing long enough to get traction to take the idea to its fullest potential? This can be a serious problem that at best is exhausting and at worst is paralyzing. Here's is a three step solution to help you harness and maximize that creative energy.
1. Get a brilliant idea book.
This just seems obvious, but if you don't take all that juicy goodness out of your head and put it in the world, it's just gonna drive you nuts! This is an idea book, so make it worthy of your ideas. Get a journal that is fun for you to capture the energy, concepts, tangents, and everything you might want to explore later. Keep it with you or easily accessible. You could easily use an app such as Evernote on your phone, too. I personally love writing and there's something satisfying as I let the ideas flow from my brain to the pen and onto the paper.
2. Give yourself permission to acknowledge without action.
As crazy as this sounds, not every idea is for you. Some of these ideas you will share with the ideal person at the ideal time and it will be like magic. Other ideas are for you to use as a stepping stone to even more ingeniousness. Some ideas are not meant to be developed now; they're seeds being planted and require the nourishment of living and learning to help them take root. You will know the ideas you're ready to pursue. They flow with ease and if you do not give them the attention they need, they will find a way for you to take notice. All the ideas can go in the book though. Set aside time weekly or monthly to review. You can organize them in a file or leave them as is in the book.
3. Be strategic.
When you do find an idea speaking to you to follow, use a simple litmus test to determine if now is the right time. If you know your "why" of what you do and you know how you want to feel as a result of doing it, then ask yourself if the idea:
a. aligns with your why
b. makes you feel the way you want to feel in life and business
c. will get you closer to your overall business goals
If you get a triple yes, then by all means, it is time to take action.
Be honest with yourself, what do you need to take that idea to fruition? Use all those parts and pieces to reverse engineer the process and see where you need to take inspired action daily. Each morning, remember your desired feeling, check-in with the litmus test, and pick 5 small things you can take action on that day to get the idea further along. At the end of the day, check-in with yourself to see what was successful, what needs to be changed, and what will carry over to the following day. Then, let it go! Have some fun. Go play. Take care of yourself. That is what will nurture the creative force within.
Be sure to end your day with gratitude to the muse that pops all the amazing ideas in your head. Maybe even do a bun dance for the abundance of creative genius flowing through you that tempered with a touch of discipline will shift you from tired to inspired, motivated, and moving on up.