Natural Project Planning: Part 3 - There’s a storm a’comin
Brainstorming is the third phase of natural planning. This makes sense because after you’ve decided why you’re doing something and have pictured the outcome, the next natural step is to come up with ideas about how to achieve that outcome.
Brainstorming is simply the process of coming up with ideas about how to achieve the vision from the last step (envisioning the end result).
There are countless tools for brainstorming, so choose what works for you.
Quantity > Quality when brainstorming
The number of ideas is more important than the quality because it isn't until later that the quality will become evident. It's useful to write down everything you think of during this step.
Don't skip steps!
Tackle the first two natural planning steps (1, 2) before brainstorming, or else you won’t have the right context to let your brain do its best work. Starting the meeting with "Who has a good idea?" won't get much done.
Move up and back down
If you get stuck brainstorming, you can always move back up the stack to re-visualize your outcome or re-visit your “why”.
One size fits all
You can follow the Natural Planning process for any sized project: from a Quarterly Business Initiative to planning a date night with the wife.
📝 Summary
After you know what the end result looks like, think of as many ideas as possible that would accomplish this end. Do not concern yourself with organizing these ideas yet.
We will organize our ideas next!