Brainstorming lets you speculate without restriction, but your ideas must be checked against reality. Be realistic about what options are actionable, and then take the next steps.Encourage teammates to submit ideas into a single project. Then, have everyone like their favorites and sort them based on that.

Ground Yourself In Reality

Big tasks tend to lead to procrastination if we don’t immediately choose the first steps. Study past similar tasks, the necessity for it and how to achieve it.Having a time and a place when you know you’ll need to present your ideas to an audience is a good way to force you to structure your approach.

Identify First Steps

Breaking your big picture into specific doable goals will make it much more actionable. Especially if they come with a finite timeline.Big questions are worth asking but they should be framed in a way that doesn’t feel burdensome or insurmountable.

Choose Specific Goals

If you just do what’s next on your to-do list, you won’t find time to think about the big picture. Block off time on your calendar based on when you’re most creative (morning, afternoon, evening).

Allocate Time To Think

Find other people to think with and bounce ideas back and forth.If you’re a manager, buddy with someone who reports to you: teammates who don’t often get the chance to strategize will be energized by the opportunity. This way, your teammates will feel ownership over the conclusions you come to together, and you’ll gain focus and clarity.

Buddy Up

"How do I make sure I'm thinking about the big picture, when I'm always working on a lot of small things that seem to take up all my time?" This was a question a product manager once asked me when she felt lost in the weeds, and one you may have asked yourself.