“First comes the thought;
then organization of that thought into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality.
The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination”

~Napolean Hill

As entrepreneurs we are full of ideas! Our thoughts are often free-flowing and mind-blowing!!! Most of us also struggle with getting these ideas firmed out and completed.  If you  are like me, you have several brilliant ideas in various forms of completion.  You also then suffer with the disappointment of  not completing your idea or seeing someone else act on a similar idea first.

What I have found to be useful is keeping a “Project List” or “Pending List” in Excel. (Yes, Marian’s dreaded “Pending List” for those that have ever worked on a project with me!) I have found this list to be a great time and energy saver.

I create a list in a spreadsheet.  I simply list the project and then keep track of the various tasks that need to be done. I make notes of dates, delegations and progress on each task or step if I have broken it down. This keeps notes and progress neatly in one place and easy for reference.  I then add my specific tasks to my daily “To Do” list and then move on. (I can also share the sheet with my team members so they can track progress or note their parts in a project.)

For example, if you want to create a newsletter for your team, you could quickly use the spreadsheet to organize your thoughts and the tasks involved in this.  By outlining what needs to be done, you can break it up into smaller, daily tasks and have a completed newsletter ready to send within your deadline. By letting the idea fly around in your head, chances are your newsletter will never get sent.

Using the spreadsheet also allows me to prioritize tasks and ideas using the A, B, C, D method of Steven Covey – The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Take the time to organize and prioritize your thoughts and work. Your success depends on it!