For the thought leadership-inclined, having enough ideas is never a problem. Having too many ideas is the frustration, especially when those ideas swirl without turning into actual actions.

Subject matter experts may face this issue more than others since they constantly think of ways to serve and educate their target audience. But, if ideas only end up as a pile of post-it notes, neither the audience nor the business are well-served.

Leaders are pretty familiar with time and project management principles, but few have explored the fundamentals of idea management – the process of capturing, prioritizing, and iterating on ideas before they turn into actual projects and tasks.

Thankfully, technology is making idea management easier than ever before. The key is to use tools that match your communication style and can easily integrate into your preferred project management system.

Before we discuss tools and processes, let’s start with the first step in any idea management journey – finding your sandbox.

 

Pick Your Sandbox

 

A sandbox is a space where you can play with your ideas. It is a tool that makes it easy for you to brainstorm and explore ideas without the expectation of perfection. Having a sandbox gives you permission to freely explore ideas, which can be edited and iterated upon later.

Sandboxes come in many forms because everyone comes up with their ideas differently. Here 3 sandboxes you might consider:

 

Sandbox #1: Voice Memos

If you often find yourself having great ideas while on the go, then voice memos might be a great choice for you. And thanks to numerous AI tools, having a voice memo process is easier than ever.

• Step 1: Pick your voice memo tool. Popular options include Otter, Telegram, Apple’s native Voice Memos, or Android’s Voice Recorder apps.

• Step 2: Record your ideas. Talking out your ideas may be more natural for you than typing them out. Since your phone or smartwatch is on your person practically all day, every day, you can capture an idea in a voice memo without hardly missing a beat.

• Step 3: Transcribe your audio. Use whichever AI transcription tool you like. I tend to use Telegram or Descript. Afterward, you can put both the audio and transcription in your project management system.

 

Sandbox #2: Morning Pages

Morning Pages is the practice of typing or writing down your thoughts stream of consciousness style. 

When people struggle with writer’s block or feel stuck staring at a blank page, it’s usually because they haven’t given themselves permission to play or get messy with their ideas. Morning Pages is the act of giving yourself that permission.

• Step 1: Pick a topic and type out whatever comes to mind. Structure and grammar are thrown out the window; just let your mind wander.

• Step 2: Highlight the gems. Select and highlight the most valuable ideas as they appear. Then, just keep typing.

• Step 3: Copy/Paste your highlights into your task management system. Grab the highlighted gems and put them into your to-do list.

Sandbox #3: Whiteboarding

 

This one is for those of you who think visually. In the past, whiteboards (or mind maps) were pretty much limited to analog options – sketches on paper, post-its on the wall, or actual whiteboards with dry erase markers. But thankfully, those days are behind us and digital whiteboards are just about everywhere.

 Some of my favorite tools – like Canva and ClickUp – have added whiteboard functions. And Apple’s Freeform is a solid option as well.

Using whiteboards are particularly helpful when you want to play with the structure of an idea or figure out a workflow. 

• Step 1: Sketch out your ideas. Start with your central idea and branch out from there into related subtopics, examples, or stories. Move and rearrange the ideas until it “clicks” for you.

• Step 2: Export or link your whiteboard into your project management system.

 

Prioritize & Manage Your Best Ideas

 

Let’s be honest, not all of your ideas are going to be great. That's why you need an easy way to sort through ideas and decide which ones to pursue.  

If you don’t prioritize your ideas, your list becomes confusing and overwhelming. Prioritizing helps you quickly assess which ideas deserve your time and energy, and which ones can wait. 

How to prioritize ideas:

• Urgent – This indicates that an idea that has deadline associated with it. These are ideas that need to be done soon. I don’t use the “urgent” priority too much when working on thought leadership or content creation ideas, but I will use it if the idea is for an upcoming conference or calendar event. 

• High – High priority ideas are ones that align with company goals and speak directly to the problems and goals our ideal clients. These should take priority because they support your business objectives.

• Normal – These are for good ideas, but ones that don’t quite yet hit the mark for one of the above criteria. They’re worth working on, but not until the urgent and high priority ones are taken care of.

• Low – These are seedling ideas that lack clarity but have potential. They’re worth revisiting later, but not right now.

 

Idea Management Is Key for Thought Leadership

 

Managing your ideas is just as important as managing your time and your projects. Without a clear process for sorting through your ideas, you may find yourself overwhelmed and unproductive. By using these prioritization and idea iteration processes, you can focus on your best ideas that will make the biggest impact for your brand.