Idea Execution Funnel

source: https://www.amplenote.com/blog/jots_unify_four_apps_ideas_into_idea_funnel

This is a four step process:

1. Jots (Capture & Write)
2. Notes (Organize & Revise)
3. Tasks (Plan & Prioritize)
4. Calendar (Schedule & Complete)

*See recommended apps from each step’s full note - tap the titles of the steps

Phase 1. Jots

Capture & Write

Sounds easy, should be as frictionless as can be. The ability to take out one’s phone and capture ideas in the fleeting moment could be the difference between someone adapting to the speed of technology and someone else letting the times get the best of them. If we are to keep up, then we need systems that support fast technology! “Jotting” down notes has always been an integral part of the ideation process. Imagine if one could collect all those “side of the page” notes scribbled down along the pages of their notebooks into a place that is more easily developed from. As if one could just “add a page” in their book and keep it going! Now, this is the kind of speed I’m talking about.

Phase 2. Notes

Organize & Revise

Notes are the sweet stuff. Making the jelly. After we’ve gathered all the fruits in Jots, it’s time to make some pie. This is the baker’s zone, the cook’s kitchen, the kombucha’s SCOBY. Ok maybe it’s a little ambiguous to whether this step is all Organize or if it includes part of Distill in CODE or if Tasks is really Distilling. 🤔 The “revise” part would lead me to believe that this is “distill”, but if I associate one phase per phase in CODE, then 💭 (perhaps I’m combining phase 1 & 2 here right now) Anyway, Backlinking is an essential part of note-taking and is integral with revising information efficiently. A proper notes app should be able to seamlessly recall relevant information without reprocessing it. Providing backlinks is (to me) the easiest way to expand ideas.

Phase 3. Tasks

A helpful catalyst between “things” and “done” in GTD.

Plan & Prioritize

If it can be done, it can be broken down into tasks. Everything that happens has steps along the process of it happening. Tasks are the steps that an idea takes to reality. “one day I’ll get around to…” is a task that can be written down, tracked, and best of all, completed.

Along with Jots, this step should be as frictionless as possible. All the lube we can get, but without slipping. Let go of a digital planner for a week and its anxiety town on overdue lane. If every thing is scheduled, and any thing happens not on schedule, its a mess. So, tasks should be easy to come by and easy to go through.

There’s a part of me that feels totally debased if I have to add “take a shower” to my schedule, but frankly, I might not do it if I’m not reminded of it..

Enter: Tasks

Phase 3 along the ideation process, but is also an integral aspect to living in general. Getting out of bed is a task. Regardless of one’s habits, making good ones easier are key to keeping the habits strong. A catalyst in providing order and structure to any chaotic lifestyle, tasks can be the difference between a dreamer and a boss.

Phase 4. Calendar

Schedule & Complete

After the tasks are in order, roadmaps can be developed to give everyone involved a clear idea with what is actually happening. Roads are just pavement in the forest for cars to navigate with. Calendars are maps to ideas for us to navigate with. If step 1 is discovery and step 4 is map-making, then completion is simply using the map to go to the intended place.

Calendars are about providing the necessary structure to work with. Our time is the most valuable part of our lives; it is the one non-renewable resource we all share.