Sarah Spencer
If you’ve ever been part of a team of creatives, you know how exciting brainstorming can be. It’s one of our favorite things to do here at Content Cucumber! Our brainstorming sessions are full of exciting new ideas, usually quickly followed by comments like:
- What if we tried this?
- Oh let’s take that and add some of this other thing too.
- What if we add this whatchamacallit to it?
- Yes, that’s it!
While these brainstorming sessions are incredibly important, what comes next is just as crucial: turning the finished idea into a completed project. Depending on the size of your idea, it could get really overwhelming to think about actually climbing that mountain and getting something done. That’s why it’s so important to learn how to break down big ideas into small, manageable tasks with a timeline so you can have a finished product you’re proud of.
This is one of my favorite parts of the process because it’s where I get to see ideas become reality. Here’s the process I use to break down big ideas into smaller steps:
1. Clarify your vision
Take some time to really think about where you want to end up with this project. What is it going to feel like? Who needs to be involved? What is the end goal? Don’t rush through this part of the process, or you’ll regret it later. Set aside some time to sit somewhere comfortable and really visualize what the finished project will look like in a best-case scenario.
2. Categorize elements of your vision
Hold onto that vision you built in the last step, and try to focus on the main elements that were part of that vision. For example, when I know I need to put together an Instagram live, I know that the main elements I need to have for a great live stream are a quiet and non-distracting environment, intro and outro topics to chat about while I wait for people to hop on and ask questions, and an outline to follow so I can stay on track. There are smaller tasks for each of those elements, but they’re the big 3 categories that sum up my best-case scenario.
3. Break down the categories into tasks
Now that you have the core elements of your idea figured out, it’s time to start making tasks that will ensure that the core elements are all ready to go by your deadline.
Continuing with the live stream example, let’s break down the category of a quiet and non-distracting environment into tasks. To go live with a quiet and non-distracting environment, I would need to:
- Charge my phone so it wouldn’t die in the middle of the live stream.
- Time running my dishwasher and dryer to avoid background noise.
- Turn off notifications on any nearby devices.
- Take out my dog and wear him out so he will chill out while I go live.
- Communicate with anyone in my home when I will be live streaming.
- Setting up a nice background.
While there may be other tiny details to contribute to a quiet and non-distracting environment, these are the essential tasks that I want to make happen. Anything else is a bonus.
4. Prioritize the most important tasks in each category
While it would be awesome to get every single task done every single time, it’s important to know what your priorities are in case something has to change. Continuing with the example from the last section, charging my phone would be the most important task because without that happening, I literally could not complete the project. The other tasks are still important to do if at all possible, but I know that they are not the most important. The least important task would be making sure my dishwasher and dryer are off because while the background noise may bug me, it probably wouldn’t be noticeable to my viewers.
Make sure you know how important each task is for your success so that if you need to edit it down, you can do so quickly and easily by eliminating the least important tasks.
5. Give your tasks a timeline
Now that you know what tasks you need to accomplish and how they are prioritized, it’s time to come up with a timeline. Will some of those tasks take much longer than the others? Are some of them going to require some time to simmer before you complete them? Whether you decide to base your timeline on the most important task, the length of time to complete each task, or how one task will build off of another (or all 3) is up to you. The important thing is setting achievable and proactive due dates for each task so you are prepared well in advance.
Ready, set, go!
It’s time to start making plans for all those big ideas you’ve been coming up with. You may need to make some adjustments to make this system fit your company culture and productivity style, but these core steps are all here to help you set up a roadmap to achieve with any idea, whether it’s a weekend project or multi-year labor of love.
