The keys to amazing productivity are in your hands. Like a garden that’s been fallow all winter and is ready to burst into bloom, you harbor a wealth of ideas just waiting for the right environment to flourish. Time management skills can move those ideas from seed to harvest and provide you with untold opportunities to enrich your life.
So do your best ideas often come to you at odd moments? Like when you are driving, or in the midst of another project, or talking with a friend? Can you call them to mind at the end of a hectic day? Well, these 5 powerful time tips will help you capture those ideas rather than losing them.
Ready to start translating your inspirations into your successes? Here are some powerful time tips to get you there.
5 Steps for Letting Your Ideas Burst into Bloom:
1. Gather and store your best thoughts. First of all, it’s very important to set up some systems for yourself. You want to be able to:
o Easily capture ideas on the fly AND
o Know where to find them later.
The system itself will vary from person-to-person. For example, my VA has a voice recorder application on her cell phone that she uses. I carry a small notebook. A friend of mine uses sticky notes. Others may send e-mails to themselves, use on-line applications like Evernote, Dropbox, Springpad, Pinterest, or use their calendars or To-Do Lists. You may well end up using a combination of these tools. The key thing to remember is that your goal is to establish a routine that is comfortable and useful for you – whatever that may be.
2. Once you’ve gathered them, sort through your seed ideas and decide which to cultivate. Don’t do this haphazardly. I suggest that you set aside time at the end of every week to scan your collection of ideas. This is when you consolidate them and transfer them to the place where you will be able to retrieve them easily, when needed. The places will probably vary, depending on the idea. Like sorting seed packets or keeping track of your garden tools, use the organizing principles that make the most sense for your purposes.
3. Let these ideas take root. You are far more likely to assimilate your ideas if you repeat your exposure to them, so make it fun! You can journal about them, or jot down strategies to implement your exciting plans. Play with translating your ideas into manageable action steps on a special To-Do list. As you do this, what begins as ‘play’ can slowly evolve into proactive planning. Invest your time now for greater gains later. As you revisit and explore your ideas, you constantly affirm how creativity enriches your life. Assimilating this lesson gifts you with an ever deepening connection to your wellsprings of creativity.
4. Nurture your ideas and monitor their growth. Like young seedlings, your creative ideas deserve special care. Before moving ahead, ask a friend for honest feedback about a new idea. Let it incubate in a welcoming and supportive environment. Then, when you are ready, test your idea where you want it to be able to thrive. For example, before you develop a new product or service, you might try writing an article or doing a teleclass on the subject, to gauge the response. This can give you lots of feedback about your idea’s marketability and about current buying trends.
5. Recognize and celebrate your successes. Validating your progress reinforces your motivation, confidence, and vision. There are few things as fulfilling as nurturing an idea from seed to fruition. Know that you are filled with creative thoughts and ideas. The more you take time to listen, really listen to yourself and follow up with constructive action, the more vitality and enthusiasm you will feel for each and every moment.
Remember, when you use your creativity to enhance your life, you develop even more incentive for nurturing your best ideas and making them into realities. So start exploring your capacity to harness your most creative ideas, and enhance your productivity and satisfaction today!
And to move toward your Heart-Based Time Success, sign up for our free gift, the Finding Time Success Kit, which includes "The New Finding Time Boundary Template: 9 Simple, Sequential Steps to Find More Time and Recharge Your Energy!" Using a workbook format this powerful and practical time template helps you progress beyond disappointment and frustration. Discover that 24 hours really are enough!
Offered by Paula Eder, Ph.D., The Time Finder Expert.
Paula Eder, PhD is an internationally-known coach and published author who specializes in mentoring heart-based entrepreneurs and small business owners, from the inside out, to align their core values and energy with their time choices and behaviors so that they make more money, create more freedom, and find more time.
You can learn more about Paula’s unique, Heart-Based Time Management™ System and begin your transformational journey by signing up for her Finding Time Success Kit. Follow your heart-based path to finding time for what matters most.