How To Know If A Good Idea Is A Right-Now Idea
My 3 Step Checklist
Inside The Haven is where midlife moms building businesses (and def needing a nap) come to feel seen, supported, and reminded they’re powerful as hell.
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Ok, show of hands:
How many good ideas pop into your head every day?
3? 4? A dozen?
I mean they don’t even need to be “good” to be exciting but when they are both good AND exciting - well, that’s the ultimate high.
If I had to put a number on it, I’d say on a good day I’m between 4 & 5 ideas that get me a little tingly and start the gears really turning.
As a Gemini, Enneagram 4, Manifesting Generator, my brain never stops, it’s always coming up with ideas of all sorts. But the challenge for me (and maybe for you too) lies is knowing whether a good idea is a right-now idea or one to revisit at a later date.
So to my busy brains delight, and relief, I’ve developed a simple check-in system.
But is it a good idea?
So first of all, let’s define what a “good” idea is, whether for your business, your content, your life, whatever.
For me a good idea:
feeds me in some way - creatively, spiritually, physically, mentally, all the -ly’s.
promotes and/or cultivates positivity, progression and some kind of life enhancement for myself & others.
is born of my own volition/desire and not the insistence of others
Of course you define a good idea in whatever way works for you but those are some good places to start.
My 3 Step Checklist For Good Idea Organization
Now I love a simple system for keeping my brain organized. This is what I do when I get one of my good ideas.
✅ Question 1: How excited does this idea make me?
I tend to think that, like, 98% of my ideas are great ideas right away and I want to immediately get to work on them.
However, I’ve gotten better over the last few years at checking in with myself after I’ve thought the idea through and deciding where does my excitement land now that I’ve sat with it a bit?
Do the same & use the post-lightbulb info to determine your true level of excitement for this good idea.
✅ Question 2: Does this idea fit into my life right now?
As business owners & creatives, we are all spinning about a dozen plates at one time. We’ve just got so much shit going on.
And if you’re also a mom raising humans while also building a business? Throw some runny leftovers onto those spinning plates!
With all of that in mind: Once you have the good idea, stop & decide (honestly) when it would fit well into your life.
And by “fit” I mean:
you have the mental, emotional & financial bandwidth to bring it to life.
your current schedule allows for the time & space to work on it.
you don’t have bigger commitments that maybe you’re ignoring a bit with this new good idea (the call is coming from inside the house on this one).
you wouldn’t be dropping any of your current plates if you added a new one in.
My best advice in this step is to be very honest with yourself.
✅ Question 3: Based on that answer, how can I make this good idea work?
If your answer to Question 2 is: Yep! It sure does!
Then carry on, queen! I can’t wait to see this good idea become your next big thing!
If your answer to Question 2 is: Nah, not really.
First of all, be proud of yourself for your honesty and willingness to honor your current season on life! A younger (and more self-sabotaging) you would have followed the dopamine hit, ran with the new good idea and inevitably taken the first exit to BurnoutVille where it’s population You & everyone else who didn’t listen to themselves.
Then, take a few minutes to write that idea down. Save it. Tuck it away to come back to when some time, space & bandwidth opens up for you.
Put it here:
All My Good Ideas (but not for right now) Journal
I created this journal to help me through my 3 steps & it goes everywhere with me.
Brain dump all your thoughts, details & questions about your good idea
Rate your current (and honest) excitement level
After you’ve decided it’s NOT a right now idea, note when you want to come back to it.
Don’t let good ideas die on the scrap pile of your overloaded brain
We’ve all done the thing were we have the idea, don’t write the idea down & then kick ourselves when we try to go back to it & the brilliance has dulled a bit because all those special details have been forgotten.
I needed a better way to honor my uber busy & creative brain. And maybe you do too.
Try the 3 questions, maybe grab the journal, but give your good ideas the time they deserve - you never know what’s going to hit like a big gold hammer.
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