When It Begins
“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” -Bilbo, as played by Ian Holm, The Fellowship of the Ring
When I was growing up, my dad become a pilot. I was able to fly around with him quite a bit and I enjoyed that time together very much. By far, my favorite part about flying was the moment of takeoff.
Today when I fly on a commercial jet, I always lean back and close my eyes as the plane starts to speed down the runway. First, I feel the front tires lift off the ground and then as the back tires lift, there is this moment of amazing weightlessness. It only lasts a second, but I try my best to soak it in and let that feeling extend as long as possible. The rest of flying commercial is pretty mundane. Honestly, there are parts of it that I really dislike. But none of those things outweigh that moment.
I recently flew from Kalamazoo, Michigan, to San Francisco. The flight was long and boring. The ride from the airport to our hotel was also long and decidedly not boring, due to traffic. In the end we made it safely, and while exhausted, we still went back out for dinner. That trek involved using the BART rail line, which we managed to do successfully. Even if it started out not looking like we weren’t going to figure out how to navigate the whole rail line system.
All of this got me thinking about what happens when we work on new ideas. I am enamored by new ideas. They are shiny objects that are full of boundless potential. When you have an idea that hits you at the right time and in the right headspace, it can really give you the same feeling as the moment of takeoff.
Weightless, boundless, and unstoppable. I am smiling as I type this just pondering the feeling of a cool new idea. I learned from a Strengths Finder report a few years back that my number one strength is ideation, which means I am motivated by new ideas. I wasn’t surprised by this at all, as I know I have the proclivity to be enveloped by new ideas, sometimes to the detriment of my other work.
This concept is referred to as balconies and basements. It’s the fact that when I am fully engaged in a new idea, I can move mountains. I’m like that dude who gets filled with adrenaline and picks up the car off the person it fell on. That is my balcony and it feels like a superpower.
On the flip side, a new idea can sometimes permeate my brain to the point that I can’t seem to focus on anything else. I’ll ignore other work, not missing deadlines but still letting myself fall behind. Then as quickly as it started, I will abandon the idea. Usually because the idea wasn’t something I was passionate about long term. Instead it was just a shiny new toy for a couple of days. That is the basement. Not only did I leave important work to fall by the wayside, it turned out to be all for naught because I gave up on the new idea.
I think this is an issue that many people face on at least some level. The feeling of something new, the feeling of that limitless potential, yet still hampered by the constraints of reality. This can be a very strong force that can lead us down a path that may be better left unexplored.
When I find myself in the position of facing a new idea that I desperately want to focus on, I use three simple tactics to help me take it on the correct way.
Wait - When I get a new idea that I feel like could takeover my work, I force myself to wait for a few days to work on it. I might allow myself to make some notes, usually via starting a new google doc and then I go back to my normal work.
Reward - I tell myself that once I finish the current work I need to do, I can then take an hour or so to work on the new idea and attempt to make some progress. At the end of the allotted time, I go back to normal work and have to earn the reward once again.
Share - This tactic is to help me keep working on a new idea. Once I have waited, and rewarded myself, if I still feel like the idea is worth pursuing, I will share it with someone else. I don’t mean that I will simply tell someone about the idea. I mean, I will ask for help. I do this a lot in game design work. But even in my coaching work, I may ask someone to help keep me accountable. It just helps me feel like I am not just doing the work for myself.
For me, it really has been that simple. Using those three tactics has greatly changed the way that I work. If you are struggling with the same issues, I highly recommend them. They can also be very helpful if you are dealing with distractions. In particular, reward and share as they help you complete short tasks before allowing yourself to be distracted and also help keep you accountable when working on longer tasks.
Embarking on the journey down the path of a new idea can be exciting but it can also be extremely difficult. I think it’s important to remember why we even started the journey and what it really means to us because after that moment of takeoff, we never know how the flight is going to go. Knowing why we got on the plane in the first place can help us remember why it’s worth the risk.
Until next time, safe travels.
-Jason