You’re a creative strategist with too many ideas. How can you organize them all?

Capturing our ideas is the first step. Often times, we think we will remember them, only for them to fade away when we want them. I capture mine on my phone on Notes so I can come back to them; and I often always have my phone. If home, I write it down on the computer in my Google Docs. I keep all my ideas cataloged in Google Docs. Very simple and easy to find.

Make capturing your creative ideas as easy as possible. You'll thank yourself later when the pressure is on and you need something to draw from If you're a more digital person, use an app on your phone that seamlessly sync across all your devices. My favorite is just Apple Notes since it works everywhere. If you're a more analog person carry a pocket notebook that you can access easily and write down an idea in. Make sure it's small enough and durable enough to last the wear and tear in your pocket.

Write your ideas down and store them somewhere safe. There will be a time when your mind goes blank. You'll thank yourself if you start becoming more organized.

Utilize a digital tool or platform to create a centralized idea repository, allowing you to categorize and organize your thoughts systematically. Implement a structured system, such as folders or tags, to easily locate and retrieve specific ideas when needed. Prioritize your ideas based on feasibility, relevance, and impact, ensuring that your creative energy is directed towards the most promising concepts.

Do not rely on memory. Note down all your ideas in whatever format works best for you: Google Docs, Pinterest board, or a pen-and-paper notepad if that's what floats your boat. Try to do it as early as possible each time you've had an idea. Regularly revisit your ideas repository. You'll be surprised at how easy it is to forget your own ideas and rediscover them after a few months.

Tools like Notion are so helpful to take data and begin to organize it and move it around so that you can group like things together. Tagging, labeling, grouping — identifying many ways that the information can be connected helps you begin to see through-lines that will be helpful to organize around. Do most of the ideas have a theme? Are some actionable as they are? If so, is there a due date? All of the details that you can assign to the information is helpful.

Develop a Categorization Scheme: Organize your ideas by themes or projects. For example, if you’re working in advertising, categories might include "Campaign Ideas," "Social Media Innovations," or "Client Pitch Concepts." This helps in quickly locating ideas relevant to your current work.

To enhance this strategy I'd add a periodic review system. For instance, it's worth setting aside a specific time each week or month to revisit your categorized ideas. During these sessions, you can assess the progress of each idea and its relevance to any current goals you have in place.

In running an agency and a product roadmap, prioritizing the right ideas is essential to minimizing cost and being effective. We typically start by vetting ideas in terms of effort and value, prioritizing those with lower effort and high return. From there, writing an internal or 'mock' press release helps vet if the idea is solid. Consider all factors of who it's for, why it's important, and how you would communicate the concept to the public. If it's not exciting to the internal team, the idea may not be fully baked or ready to implement.

As you begin to see your ideas take shape, it's helpful to begin to break the big ideas down into more actionable tasks that it will take to complete those big ideas. The tasks should be specific, with clear measurable outcomes, so that you know what successfully completing them would look like.

Use a Scoring System for Evaluation: Implement a scoring system to evaluate your ideas based on criteria like feasibility, relevance, potential impact, and required resources. Assign scores to each idea to objectively assess its value. For instance, an idea might score high on impact but low on feasibility, helping you decide whether it's worth pursuing.

Even the best creatives conceive some absolute duds. Sleep over every idea and then think about whether you still feel as strongly about them. As I've suggested above, list all your ideas in some form of ideas repository and revisit them from time to time. When you do that, some ideas that looked like absolute home runs when you first conceived it might look rather weak now. Or the better side of it, some ideas you were unsure of when you first conceived it can now look like gems.

After using these analytical tools, take a moment to reflect personally on each idea. How does it align with your passions, interests, or long-term objectives? Using these tools for a deep analysis is an awesome approach, however, at times the most analytically sound idea may not resonate with your personal or creative goals, and it's important to weigh this subjective aspect as well. Balance is always key.

Tools like the Eisenhower Matrix are helpful to determine which idea to tackle first. In order to do that, you need to be clear about the distinction between importance and urgency. Often when you have a jumble of ideas, they all feel important and urgent but they are rarely both. Going task by task and noting if it's urgent or not urgent and then going task by task to note if it's important versus not important helps you prioritize. Things that are urgent and important can be handled first if they don't require a ton of time. If they do, you should consider enlisting help. If something is not urgent and not important, it might be a good thing to pin for another time.

Create an Idea Roadmap: Prioritize your ideas using tools like the Eisenhower Box or a simple high-medium-low priority scale. Then, plot them on a roadmap with timelines. This could be a quarterly or annual plan, depending on your working style and the nature of your projects.

Adding some form of flexibility clause to your process is key. Sometimes, external circumstances or new information can shift priorities. Re-evaluating your list, perhaps monthly or quarterly, allows you to adapt and stay aligned with your evolving goals

Develop Idea Briefs for Top-Priority Concepts: For ideas that make the cut, create a detailed brief for each. This should include the idea's objective, the proposed execution plan, required resources, and potential challenges. This approach turns abstract ideas into concrete plans.

I like to give examples of ideas that lost their way in execution. My favorite example is a product innovation Cadbury's did a few years ago. They thought of an idea to build chocolate bars with multiple colors. It was a good idea. But it failed in execution because they placed the different colors vertically with some above and some below, making it a racist chocolate bar! This is how good ideas can become bad executions. The only way to prevent this is to constantly keep your eye on the ball and be eagle-eyed to spot anything weird that can derail it.

Schedule Regular Idea Review Sessions: Set aside time weekly or monthly to review your ideas. Use these sessions to update the status of ongoing projects, re-evaluate stored ideas, and add new ones. This keeps your idea repository fresh and relevant.

Who we surround ourselves with, learn from, and collaborate with on new ideas has everything to do with the quality, creativity, and potential for action. My best practice? Share ideas freely with peers, thought leaders and subject matter experts, especially people from different disciplines as they’ll always have unique insights. Aside from what can’t be discussed due to nda, open source ideation is a powerful multiplier for creativity.

Continuous Learning and Adaptation: Beyond the execution, consider the lifecycle of your ideas. Some will succeed, and some might not meet expectations, but each offers valuable lessons. Regularly review the outcomes of executed ideas, analyzing what worked, what didn't, and why. This reflective practice not only informs future creative strategies but also contributes to a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.