Are you brainstorming, or are you deciding and doing?

(Writing on my phone, from Starbucks in Stuyvesant Town)

Great overview in The Wall Street Journal today - a synopsis of a Harvard Business Review article from the December issue.

I am a proponent of separating "thinking" from "deciding and doing."

This does not mean "do without thinking," but it does imply that when you ARE doing, you've already thought the project or action all the way through. So, focus on a particular event, project or issue.

Write down (yes, I still will say to write it, it's a FAST way to get things out of your head...) anything you can about that circumstance.

My advice: For a project worth real resources (time, energy, focus, cash...) write anywhere from 40-100 things that your mind comes up with related - or kinda related - to the topic.

Then, walk away for an hour or more. (A day or two may be optimal.)

THEN, review what ya wrote, and pick a to do. You may find you're "smarter" when you separate "thinking...from doing."

Repeat this process as necessary... Write some things down, then pick the most valuable/highest priority items!

Comments

[Jay Hamilton-Roth]

Great ideas seldom come from a vacuum. Inviting a friend or two to help bounce ideas off of is a great way to dramatically improve both the quality and quantity of ideas.

Also, make sure you're trying to solve the problem and not the symptom. Solving symptoms will waste your time & energy.