It's important we get our arms around ideas that are worthwhile pursuing, mainly, ones that will increase our income, and "tame", or set aside, those that won't help us reach our goals.

Here's a quick and simple to do tip that will help you decide which ideas will pay off, and which ideas you should set off to the side (or even discard).

First, grab a stack of paper and a pen, and write down each idea on its own piece of paper at the top.

Next, for each idea, ask yourself these questions:

1. Will this idea add money to my bank account (or add subscribers to my list)?

Write down "yes" or "no" on the paper. For all those ideas that receive a "no" and don't make the cut, you can either hold onto them and put them in an "idea stack", or discard the papers to clear up your mental space.

2. If your answer is "yes", then ask yourself, "How much money will this add to my bank account, and by what date?"

Write down the dollar amount, and date. Be very specific about these numbers, but realistic, as well.

3. Ask yourself, "If I don't pursue this idea, what will I lose?"

Write down what the effect on your business would be by not following through on this idea. Many times, if you don't stand to lose that much, the idea probably isn't worthwhile pursuing. If its affect is significant, then you might be on to an idea worth pursing!

4. Ask yourself, "If I pursue this idea, what specifically will I gain?"

Be specific about what completing the idea will help you accomplish. Think upstream and determine the domino effect of how this idea will help contribute to the growth of your business, and income. It is important to detail out this step as much as possible, because it will help you rank your ideas, by impact and importance.

5. Sit back and look at your answers.

Rank your ideas by those that will have the biggest potential impact for you and your business.

Some of your ideas may sound like fun, but won't really help you reach your goal of increasing your income. You can put these ideas back into your idea stack if you're not ready to release them yet, or you can decide to "cut" them from your idea list, at this time.

6. Choose THE one idea you're going to act on!

7. Make a project plan.

It's important to identify all the tasks and little details you need to do to bring your idea to fruition.

Brainstorm and list all the things you need to do, step-by-step, on a piece of paper. Cut apart each numbered task and pin it on a big wall calendar on days you have time available to work on the task.

This is a great visual tool to show you: 1) exactly what needs to be done, and 2) the date it needs to be completed.

By pinning ideas to the calendar, you can easily relocate tasks to a different date, or even delegate them to other people.

By taming and prioritizing your ideas, watch your income steadily increase because of your high-value, focused efforts!

Copyright 2008, Bonita L. Richter