My office is filled with great ideas. My desk is piled high with articles I’ve saved that are worth referencing in the workshops I lead. The must-read books I’ve collected over the past month or two are lined up on what is supposed to be my work space (next to the oversized workshop materials from sessions I led in November and December). I just added one more title to the growing list of smart, new workshops-to-develop posted on my bulletin board. My current projects are no farther away than my elbow. Yes…my office is overflowing with great ideas but the net effect is brain (desk and office) clutter with no clear action plan.
Rather than procrastinate (so tempting when there are other things I could do…), I’m dedicating time this week to converting that excited but overwhelmed sense of potential into a prioritized and workable plan. What better way to prepare for the new year — not as a resolution, but resolutely acting now so that I am ready-to-go in 2010.
- Surface Sweep — Today, not tomorrow or next week, I’m organizing the surfaces in my office so that I can see and think clearly. I’ll evaluate what needs to be filed or tossed. (Putting stuff back in the same place is not an option.) I’ll decide which book I’m reading next and shelve the others according to whether they are about leadership, management, communication, creativity or business trends. (Keeping my office library well-organized means that I can find the books I need when I need them.) I’ll sort through the files and piles on my desk, so that the only thing in view relates to current project work.
- Prioritize — I’ll create a list of all the great ideas on one piece of paper vs. post-it notes or piles. Once captured, I’ll need to decide which of the many ideas will have the greatest impact. Which ideas will have shorter-term benefit and which are longer-term initiatives that need to be started now in order to pay off by June 2010? What are the top three (vs. a laundry list of ten, twelve or twenty)?
- Make it Happen! — What’s the first step for each of the three most important projects? What are the do-able “baby steps” to keep the momentum going? And my commitment to focusing and prioritizing won’t be done until I schedule those first steps — and the subsequent baby steps — on my calendar.
There’s still more I would like to do and will do, but just imagine the impact of the three projects I’ve now scheduled to make happen. No more time to write this blog….I’m resolute about ending this year uncluttered and focused!
