18 – In some ways the self-discipline and restraints necessary to execute an idea can feel like a tremendous compromise of your very essence as a creative person.
34 – Every project in life can be reduced into three primary components. Action steps are the specific, concrete tasks that inch you forward: redraft and send the memo, post the blog entry, pay the electricity bill, etc. References are any project related handouts, sketches, notes, meeting minutes, manuals, websites, or ongoing discussions that you may want to refer back to. It is important to note that References are not actionable–they are simply there for reference when focusing on any particular project. Finally, there are Backburner items–things that are not actionable now but may be someday. Perhaps it is an idea for a client for which there is no budget yet. Or maybe it is something you intend to do in a particular project at an unforeseen time in the future.
36 – As you go about your day, you should think is terms of which project is associated with what you are doing at any point in time. Whether in a meeting, brainstorming session, chance conversation, article, dream, or eureka moment in the shower, you are generating Action Steps, References, and Backburner items at a fast clip. Everything is associated with a project. Sadly, much of this output will be lost unless you capture it and assign it properly.
38 – The more clear an concrete an Action Step is, the less friction you will encounter trying to do it. If an action step is vague or complicated, you will probably skip over it to others on your list that are more straightforward. To avoid this, start each action step with a verb…
43 – Keep in mind that the design of your productivity tools will affect how eager you are to use them. Attraction often breeds commitment: if you enjoy your method for staying organized, you are more likely to use it consistently over time. … In other words, the aesthetics of the tools you are using to make ideas happen matter.
44 – As you aggregate Backburner Items over the course of the day, you will want to use a central repository for storage. They can be assigned to a current project name (a particular client, for example), or to a more general Backburner folder reserved for distant ideas like a book you may want to write or a business you’d like to start.
54 – The Action Method suggests that Action Steps should be managed separately from communications. … What you want to avoid is a mishmash of actionable items amidst hundreds of verbose emails and other messages scattered in various places.
59 – At any given point in time there may be a couple of projects that you should be extremely focused on, while others may be semi-important or perhaps idle for the time being. … Keep in mind that you are not placing your projects along the spectrum based on how much time you are spending on them. Rather, you are placing your projects according to how much energy they should receive based on their importance.
72 – The notion of taking rapid action without conviction defies the conventional wisdom to think before you act. But for the creative mind, the cost of waiting for conviction can be too great to bear. Waiting builds apathy and increases the likelihood that another idea will capture our fancy and energy. What’s more, if you were to build lots of conviction after much analysis, it might leave you too deeply committed to a single plan of action and unable to change course when necessary.
73 – Taking action helps expose whether we are on the right or wrong path more quickly and more definitely that pure contemplation ever could.
82 – Godin made the case that shipping is an active mind-set rather than a passive circumstance. “When you run out of money, or you run out of time, you ship… If your mindset is “I ship,” that’s not just a convenient shortcut, it’s in fact an obligation. And you build your work around that obligation. Instead of becoming someone who’s a wandering generality-and someone who has lots of great ideas and “in only, if only, if only,” you are someone who always ends up shipping.
84 – “I’m starting to believe that life is just about following up,”
87 – It turns out that constraints-whether they are deadlines, budgets, or highly specific creative briefs–help us manage our energy and execute ideas. While creative side intuitively seeks freedom and openness–blue-sky projects–our productivity desperately requires restrictions.
91 – As you successfully reach milestones in your projects, you should celebrate and surround yourself with these achievements. As a human being, you are motivated by progress. When you see concrete evidence of progress, you are inclines to take further action. … But some exceptionally productive creatures savor these items as testaments of progress. They surround themselves with artifacts of completed work.
101 – I don’t believe the muse visits you. I believe you visit the muse. If you wait for that perfect moment, you’re not going to be very productive.
103 – Smaller, more confined spaces may help us focus more intently while wide-open spaces with higher ceilings foster a more unencumbered way of thinking.
105 – The first step is to recognize what you do in your everyday like that is, in fact, security work. … Weaning yourself off Insecurity work is akin to reducing your reliance on an addictive substance.
114 – Dreamers are fun to be around, but they struggle to stay focused. In their idea frenzy, they are liable to forget to return phone calls, complete current projects, even pay the rent. While are dreamers are more likely than anyone to conceive of brilliant solutions, they are less likely to follow through. Some of the most successful Dreamers we have met contribute their success in a partnership with a doer.
117 – If you work in isolation as a Dreamer, your ideas will swiftly come and go without accountability and stimulation from others. As a Doer, you may struggle to come up with new ideas and solutions in favor of becoming mired in the details. As an incrementalist, you will likely conceive of and execute a raft of projects that eventually sputter and grow stagnant, short of their true reach. No matter which type you fall into, developing meaningful partnerships will make you more effective.
121 – The notion of “sharing ideas liberally” defies the natural instinct to keep your ideas a secret. Yet among the hundreds of successful creatives I’ve interviewed, a fearless approach to sharing ideas is one of the most common attributes. Why? Because having the idea is just one tiny step along the road to making that idea happen. During the journey, communal forces are instrumental in refining the very substance of the idea, holding us accountable for making it happen, building a network that will push us to go above and beyond, providing us with valuable material and emotional support, and spreading the word to attract resources and publicity. By sharing your idea, you take the first step in creating the community that will act as a catalyst to making it happen.
123 – Creative professionals and entrepreneurs alike claim that they become more committed to their ideas after telling people about them. The fact that great ideas are plentiful, and very few people have the discipline and resources to make them happen. When your ideas are known by many, they are more likely to be refined, and you are more likely to stay focused on them.
125 – Each recipient is asked to share a few things that each of their colleagues and clients should START, STOP, and CONTINUE doing.
137 – Ideas often have the tendency to lie stagnant until we are jolted into action by either excitement or fear. The prospect of someone else completing and receiving fanfare for an idea that you had first is outright painful. Ideas are sacred realizations born out of our deepest sense of identity and wonderment. One might argue that our ideas are an extension of who we are and who we hope to become. This is why competition taps into something almost primal — the Darwinian struggle for survival.
139 – When you commit, your community will be more willing to commit resources to help you. While it is ok–and perhaps even advisable–to tinker with your ideas for awhile before taking the plunge, you must recognize that your community will not rally behind you until you fully commit yourself.
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