Since the beginning of this crisis, I’ve been saying that your clients, with any prolonged time in quarantine, would seriously “stress test” their living situations. Not only are they stress testing their homes, they have had time to completely review what is important to them and how they want to live their lives.
This goes for you, too. You’ve had a lot to think about. Out of that thought has come a lot of ideas. Some of those ideas you’ve written down and others are still just swirling in your mind. The universe keeps pinging you to start certain projects, improve a skill, call your clients, or create that process. There is a lot that you want to get done. But…
"Where do I Start?” you might be asking yourself. It’s probably the most prevalent, recurring question on your mind. You aren’t alone - it’s the “How and When” that always trip people up when they try to #levelup.
If you are starting to feel the pressure that more needs to get started and completed, follow along with me as I teach you how to select, prioritize, and create results for yourself.
This Pep Talk is about teaching you a new strategy.
Step 1:
Get that idea out of your head. I have been carrying a small notebook with me. It’s next to my bed, it’s in my work area, and in the car. If I have an idea, I jot it down or I record a voice memo on my phone. I do this because thoughts, for me at least, can be fleeting. If I don’t immediately write it down or record it, that idea will most likely go to waste. This MMPT topic was a thought I had on Wednesday as I observed so many of you take in Zoom Call after Zoom Call, read book after book, and observe others #levelup. I wondered if these ideas were really getting written down and acted on or were some just entertainment in the moment or maybe not getting fully documented or journaled. The reality is that you can get overwhelmed with too many ideas and not accomplish any of them. I want you to avoid that trap. So, get those ideas on paper. I love to journal my ideas using Evernote. I take those ideas I put on paper and move the one over to Evernote that I don’t want to lose. So, get those ideas out of your head and on paper.
Step 2:
Evaluate all of your ideas by running them through a quick decision method using a ranking system I call “Cost, Ease, and Impact Filter.” It’s similar to the “Hell Yes! Filter” which is a decision-making process that helps you make big decisions by specifying “If it’s not a Hell Yes, it’s a Hell No.” The “Cost, Ease, and Impact Filter” is used to help you prioritize projects. It has served me well over the last 7 or 8 years and this is how it works:
Take each idea and rank it on a scale of 1-10 based on COST. A 10 would be no cost, just your time. For example, a daily meditation practice or Morning Ritual costs you no out of pocket dollars so they would be 10s. A marketing project or lead generation strategy that requires a costly subscription might be a 4 or 5.
Now take that idea and do the same thing as it relates to “Ease of Implementation.” How easy is it to implement into my life or business? Take my Daily Time Management Form. You could literally print 10 copies and start using it to navigate your daily priorities. That would be a 10. To build a new brand website takes way more time and effort, so that might be a 4 or 5.
Now, you want to look at “Impact.” On a scale of 1 to 10, what kind of IMPACT would that decision have on your life and business? Maybe you’ve never had help and your business hit a plateau and you know it’s because you need to add an assistant or showing help. You know that by making that decision, it will rank really high on the impact scale. It would probably be ranked a 9 or 10. On the other hand, maybe you get approached to do an online lead generation program that you can’t really justify the IMPACT of because of lack of information; that would be a 3 or 4.
So, when you go through an idea and rank it based on 3 areas. You’ll have a number for COST, one for EASE, and one for IMPACT. Add those numbers together and you’ll get a score.
Constantly do this with all of your ideas to help you evaluate each one.
Step 3:
Keep a running list of your ideas and rank them by their “Cost, East, and Impact” score. If an idea scores lower than a 20, it doesn’t make the list. Remember, ideas are lacking in abundance. In fact, like I mentioned earlier, sometimes there are too many. I’ve always used a note in Evernote to capture my running list of ideas.
Step 4:
Execute! Take the highest ranking idea on your list and tackle it first. To be ranked high on the list, it’s probably easy to implement. That means you can create momentum by completing one project quickly.
For example, if you’ve been looking at your closet, you know you need to declutter but for whatever reason, it isn’t getting done. If you prioritize it, you will put in the effort. To declutter a closet costs you no money, just a little bit of time, and it ranks high on the impact scale because it gets rid of negative, stagnant energy that is slowing you down. With a little bit of success, you’ll want to move on to #2 on your list. Boom! Now we have some momentum.
Step 5:
Rank this “Cost, Ease, and Impact” Filter.
How much does it cost? It cost you nothing so it would be a 10.
How easy is it to implement? Easy. Simply take a notebook and start jotting down your ideas and ranking them. You could have it implemented in the next hour.
What is the impact? You can’t underestimate the power of taking action and getting into momentum. It’s a 10.
That would give you a score of 30.
You want to know where to start? Start with this process. It will give you clarity on how to move forward in all aspects of your life and business.
They say everyone has multiple $1,000,000 ideas over their lifetime. Don’t let them go to waste. Journal them, rank them, and ACT on them.
