1 Simple Habit to Turn Ideas Into Action
“An Idea Guy” …
When I was first called that, I was feeling pretty good about it. It’s got a nice ring — who doesn’t like a dreamer? And better still it was true! According to Strengths Finder 2.0 my number 1 strength is ideation. I am always getting caught up with interesting stuff I want to do, learn, and create. So, whether it was personal, professional, or entrepreneurial I always have a new, exciting (to me at least) thing on my mind.
Good for me, right? Yeah, sure until I weighed my number of ideas against my number of achievements. For most of my life the scale has tipped rather heavily on the “idea” side. I finally got fed up with that. I realized that I didn’t really want to be an idea guy, I wanted to be an achiever, an action guy. Instead of producing ideas, I wanted to follow through on them. I got tired of talking about all the potential of my ideas. I needed something to show for it.
It’s not that ideas are bad. I think everyone should dream a little more. Letting yourself entertain ideas is fun, and watching them grow when you talk about them is exciting. I even have a growing list of dreams and ideas that I was encouraged to start at work, and it’s a personal treasure. But I had a nagging, empty feeling when I looked at my growing list of boxes without check marks.
That’s when I had one of those “duh” moments. I’d call it an “a-ah” moment if it was a new idea, but I had already learned the life lesson I needed.
Probably the most valuable habit I picked up as a Mormon missionary was daily planning. Taking the time to prioritize your efforts made it simple to stay on track and relieved any worries of non-productivity that I was now experiencing 3 years later.
Dave Ramsey teaches that a budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. I realized that daily planning is simply a budget for your time. And if you don’t budget your time, you run the risk of wondering where it went. That’s where I was at, and it wasn’t a good feeling.
So, I identified the need for daily planning. Not just recording new ideas, but scheduling time to work on them. I made a simple reminder on my phone, and committed to plan every day.
If I know anything about daily planning it’s that it doesn’t need to be complicated. After all, simplicity is the key to developing a sustainable habit. There are many ways to optimize your daily planning, but don’t overwhelm yourself or the habit won’t stick.
The important thing is that you review your schedule every day and stick as close to the plan as possible. Furthermore, it’s vital to recognize your efforts as a natural part of your day. You wouldn’t skip eating, sleeping, brushing your teeth, or putting on shoes before going to work. Daily planning should be in that same category. You do it every day without question.
Just as important as not overcomplicating, is not over-scheduling. If you burn yourself out, or make a schedule that you can’t stick to, you’re defeating the purpose. Tim Ferris said, “You really only waste time when you spend it doing something you didn’t intend to do over something that you intended to do”. It isn’t a problem to binge watch Better Call Saul, as long as you’re intentional about it, and not putting off another important dream just to watch TV. Unwinding is an important part of staying productive long term.
If you get in the habit of planning your day, you will see an improvement in your productivity and your happiness very quickly. It feels good to spend time intentionally.
Daily planning has allowed me to spend my time in more fulfilling ways. Over the last year, I’ve read more books, practiced my hobbies, rented an office space to work on my own business and help others with theirs, eliminated all of my debt, and saved a substantial amount of money.
Before, I was awash in ideas, but saddled with excuses. Now, I do the things that matter most to me and confidently make progress toward my dreams. By developing the same habit, you too can too.
