Get Off the Idea Treadmill Some people mistake the ability to generate ideas with creativity. However, to be creative you must be able to do two things; think and produce. Without the production part, you are not being creative – you are dreaming. To move from dreamer to creator you need to act.
Focus Your Objectives If you are having a hard time getting to the action part, try refocusing your objectives. Write down what your goals are for even trying to come up with a project. Make a list of the ideas you have come up with thus far and see how they align with your objectives.
Get Feedback Ask other people to give you feedback about some of your ideas by sharing them along with your objectives for the idea. If you ask your clients and customers what they think, or colleagues what they think, it will help you narrow down your ideas.
Pick One Idea and Finish It Pick one idea and work to do what you need to complete it. Without completing an idea, you have not really participated in the creative process. You need to think and produce to truly be involved in creation.
Develop Actionable Goals Now that you have chosen an idea, it is time to develop your goals into actionable steps. A goal is not complete until you know exactly what steps you need to take to realize it.
Set Time Limits and Deadlines Once you have the steps necessary to develop your idea into a true creation, you need to give each step a deadline. A great way to do that is to determine when you would like to launch your new creation - the day you want it finished and ready for the world. Then work your way backward through the steps until you arrive at today, your beginning.
Identify Resources Once you know what you are going to create and what steps you need to take to get there, figure out what resources you have and what resources you lack. Identify ways to fill the gaps. Maybe you need to learn something new, or perhaps you need to outsource a few of the actionable steps to reach your goals.
Stay the Course The final step toward being creative is to not give up. You may have setbacks and your time line might even be off a bit, but you need to do what it takes and complete all the steps so that you can experience the final results of your creation: a finished project. Only when you have something that other people can see, hear, smell, taste or touch are you done.
Until next time…
Have a great day,
Susanne
Click here to get help developing or implementing your strategic plan.