The truth about shiny objects

It’s so easy to fall in love with the ‘new thing’ and abandoned the project you are working on, or at the least get temporarily distracted.

Creatives love ideas. And when you’re working on a project and spending time ‘in the zone’, new ideas inevitably show up.

The challenge becomes what to do with those ideas, and there will be some good ones. Do you file for later, let it inform your current project or jump ship and run with the newest idea.

If you tend to do the latter, you might be sabotaging your business. This is especially true if the new idea is a tangent, meaning it’s not aligned with your current business direction. The creative process might be fun, but marketing it will drain resources and energy and the end result is not likely to yield much, let alone a second sale after the initial one.

And if you jump ship again before this newest idea is complete, you’re just burning through your creative mojo with little to show for it.

Here are four questions to ask when a new idea emerges while working on a current project:

Start here…

1. What do I love about my current project?
2. Can this new idea influence my current project?

And then…
3. Is this new idea in my genius zone?
4. Is the new idea aligned with my current business goals?

If you get all yeses, definitely pursue it when the time is right.

Running ideas through these 4 questions may help you avoid idea hopping and shiny object syndrome.

There is one exception though…

If you repeatedly get ideas that ALL point in the same NEW direction, that’s worth noticing. This is very different than a one-off idea. There may be a new direction your soul is calling you to follow.

Bottom-line, it’s awesome to have lots of ideas and if you are discerning and strategic, your creativity will grow your business.