--- title: Are You An Idea Hamster? | The People Plan description: Are You An Idea Hamster? by Diana Southall | Jan 10, 2017 | action plans, planning | 0 comments I often spend time with clients and other business owners w --- [Skip to content](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/are-you-an-idea-hamster#main-content) ![Atlas Alignment Growth Partners logo](https://www.atlasalign.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AA%20logo%203%20inch.jpg?width=300&height=60&name=AA%20logo%203%20inch.jpg) - [Home](https://www.atlasalign.com/) - [Services](https://www.atlasalign.com/services) - [About](https://www.atlasalign.com/about) - [Blog](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog) - [Resources](https://www.atlasalign.com/resources) - [Events](https://www.atlasalign.com/events) - [Contact](https://www.atlasalign.com/contact) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Home](https://www.atlasalign.com/) - [Services](https://www.atlasalign.com/services) - [About](https://www.atlasalign.com/about) - [Blog](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog) - [Resources](https://www.atlasalign.com/resources) - [Events](https://www.atlasalign.com/events) - [Contact](https://www.atlasalign.com/contact) - [Book a Chat](https://www.atlasalign.com/discovery) [Book a Chat](https://www.atlasalign.com/discovery) Jan 10, 2017, 12:00:00 AM # Are You An Idea Hamster? [Diana Southall](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/author/diana-southall) Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/are-you-an-idea-hamster) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/are-you-an-idea-hamster) [Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/are-you-an-idea-hamster) [pinterest-p icon](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/are-you-an-idea-hamster) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/are-you-an-idea-hamster) ![](https://www.atlasalign.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Journey_emotion-e1499457444983.jpg?width=1080&height=675&name=Journey_emotion-e1499457444983.jpg) I often spend time with clients and other business owners who are full of ideas– so many they don’t know where to start, or they starting working on 2 (or 10) without much progress. Their head and office notebooks are littered with the ghosts of projects past. I heard another business owner Amy call this being an “idea hamster”– what a great term! You have an idea, and another idea, and another one, and you start running on that hamster wheel spinning and going no where. *Sound familiar?* I know that it does for me, I struggle every day with being a reformed hamster. Here are ***six key steps that have made a difference for me to complete something important*** \[as Seth Godin calls it “shipping”\]: 1. **Write a destination postcard** for the end of the year– what you plan to accomplish 2. From the postcard results, generate a **long list of potential projects** and categorize by type \[are they planning, sales, marketing, people, operational?\] 3. Now **rate those projects on effort and on impact on your goal**s — then rank by those with the highest impact and the lowest effort — these are your short list– put the rest into a “parking lot” \[crucial step 1- they are always there to be re-considered.\] 4. **Prioritize the list of projects**— does one have to be completed for another to be effective? Does one address a burning issue or roadblock to growth?  Rank them and put a guestimate on the number of weeks to complete. 5. **Select the Number One priority project**, get your team together, make an action plan to divide up the tasks and start chipping away every week. 6. Crucial step 2– **do not start another project until this one is complete! ** *Do not get distracted by the next shiny thing, just keep momentum on that project. Focus on the next step, one at a time, every week*. Get your team concentrating on just one task and making progress. Yup, it’s hard to do but any change in habit is challenging. {See the great graphic above that I think captures what we all go through! *This is great, this is hard, this sucks… dark swamp of dispair*…} [coaching](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/coaching), [strategy](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/strategy), [Uncategorized](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/uncategorized), [training and development](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/training-and-development), [ScalingUp](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/scalingup), [performance](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/performance), [Video](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/video), [action plans](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/action-plans), [job fit](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/job-fit), [job role](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/job-role), [planning](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/planning), [sales process](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/sales-process), [accountability](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/accountability), [Delegation](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/delegation), [recruiting](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/recruiting), [Cash](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/cash), [culture](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/culture), [rewards](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/rewards), [Execution](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/execution), [dashboards](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/tag/dashboards) ## Related posts ## [5 Plans to Run Your Business](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/5-plans-to-run-your-business) [Diana Southall](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/author/diana-southall) [Read more](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/5-plans-to-run-your-business) ## [9 Ways a General Manager Will Benefit Your Small Business](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/9-ways-general-manager-benefit-small-business) [Diana Southall](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/author/diana-southall) [Read more](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/9-ways-general-manager-benefit-small-business) ## [Can your business handle 25% more revenue?](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/can-your-business-handle-25-more-revenue) [Diana Southall](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/author/diana-southall) [Read more](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog/can-your-business-handle-25-more-revenue) --- [![AA logo 600x200](https://www.atlasalign.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AA%20logo%20600x200.jpg?width=900&height=300&name=AA%20logo%20600x200.jpg "AA logo 600x200")](http://www.AtlasAlign.com) Mailing address: PO Box 1016 Buffalo NY  Serving WNY, Southern Tier and the Great Lakes \[in-person\] and Globally \[virtual\]  [linkedin-in icon](https://www.linkedin.com/company/atlasalignment/) [facebook-f icon](https://www.facebook.com/pages/People-Plan/192367500792264) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf6sKTSNEnhuAPfTUa5tqZw) - [Home](https://www.atlasalign.com) - [Services](https://www.atlasalign.com/services) - [About](https://www.atlasalign.com/about) - [Blog](https://www.atlasalign.com/blog) - [Resources](https://www.atlasalign.com/resources) - [Events](https://www.atlasalign.com/events) - [Contact](https://www.atlasalign.com/contact) [                               Terms](https://www.atlasalign.com/terms)                                               [Privacy](https://www.atlasalign.com/privacy) Copyright © 2026, Atlas Alignment Partners Inc                  ![](https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=45108&fmt=gif)