Ideas, Ideas, Ideas. Ideas and Paralysis.

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Center for Creative Futures, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

If you’re like most creatives, you get flooded with great ideas. This is great stuff! The challenge comes when you have to sort through them all and make something of them. Many creatives deal with this challenge. It’s somewhat of a blessing and a curse. Idea management and execution is key. Here are some tips for dealing with idea flooding.

1. Map them out. Create a mind map of all of your ideas and see how they are connected or related and can be paired together in a complementary way. I suspect that many creatives are visual people. We need outlets for our creative energy. It is to be used. I use mind maps, visual boards and diagrams for nearly everything. I need to see things visually to make sense of and organize them. Perhaps you do too. Post it notes on boards are great, because you can shuffle them around and organize them in multiple ways.

2. Don’t try to do them all. Start with the ideas that you are well suited for. The ones that you have the knowledge and expertise in. The ones that you have the resources for. I see many creatives get lost in the sea of great ideas they have and often trying to enter into things that they have no idea about. Learning is great, but it is much more difficult to totally break into something new as there is a learning curve. Ideas are fabulous, but the true skill and success lies in execution. Read my blog post about juggling here.

3. Choose 1-3 to spend energy on and let everything else sit. Whether it be marketing strategy, program development or service/product offerings or just things on our to do lists, we can’t do them all at once. We have to choose a couple that we can accomplish well and go for it. You will probably find that you end up coming back to the best ones that suit you and your personality and are a good fit. If you are like me and many other creatives, you find that you get bored easily. Allowing yourself to multitask a little and move around to other projects can be fulfilling for your creative mind. When I get stuck or bored on one project, I can move between them and dabble on the others. Some may disagree, but that’s because their personalities and preferences are suited for one task kind of work. I am a Myers Briggs INFP–P being the type that likes to multitask and take on many projects. My J counterparts prefer working in more linear task oriented fashion. And it’s ALL good. Know your type and honor your preferences.

4. Step away from the information overload! We are inundated with information everywhere! Not to mention the whirling ideas in our own heads. It is difficult to have clarity in the face of so much information. It is absolutely crucial to take clarity breaks by stepping away from all of the information and thinking to allow yourself space to find clarity, direction and focus. I do this by shutting everything down and going to spend time in nature, the beach, on my bike, with friends. This is an absolute must! We cannot have clarity when the space is blocked with too much information. Your clue to detach is when you are feeling stuck, overwhelmed, anxious, lacking focus and direction and frustrated about your ideas and what to do. When you start feeling this way, know that it is time to step away. You will come back later refreshed and energized.