I tend to have 100 things on the go and walk a fine line between getting a lot of stuff done and spreading myself too thin.
It's easy to feel overwhelmed when you have multiple projects with many people and variables involved.
Sound familiar?
Then it's time to get organized and get some of this work done! Something I've used for years to get my thoughts in order are mind maps.
I know some of you might be hesitant to use these, but if what you're doing isn't working it's time to try something new. If you are a visual or abstract thinker, mind maps can be very helpful for organizing your thoughts.
I've used mind maps for years and coached others in using them to plan and focus. Here's a simple run down of how mine work:
1. Open up a blank page in a workbook or unroll some poster-board and jot down what you want to benefit from your planning in the center of the page. (For example: "My life", "My business", "School" etc...). We will call this your Primary Category.
2. Next, write down what you might call subgroups of the Primary Category you've written down. The things that make up that category (For example, if you wrote down "My Life" you might put down some of the things that you're currently working on or want to focus on going on in your life, such as work, diet, school etc...). Try to break it down into anything that seems important related to your first category. We will call these Secondary Categories.
3. From here, you want to further break down the Secondary Categories. For your mind map to be worthwhile to you, you will usually have to go at least this far. If your next steps haven't become clear, you have to keep going. If you've tried making a mind map before and stopped here, that is probably why it wasn't effective. If you still feel lost you need to keep breaking these categories down.
It takes at least three levels of breaking down to get past the superficial thoughts that we tend to get hung up on. At the third level of breaking down categories, we start to see some new things. We might notice that it can become a little bit harder to think of what our secondary categories were made up of. At this point, the way you break down the Secondary Categories might become more abstract. This is okay, your mind map isn't for anybody else: it's for you, and what matters is that you understand it.
It's usually our basic level of understanding of what we're doing and why we're doing it that makes it seem overwhelming. Mind mapping forces us to break down what we are doing and why we're doing it enough that we better understand not only what we need to do to accomplish what we must, but also so that we can assess, prioritize, and evaluate what we're working on or what we want.
For example:
It starts to look a little bit more complicated right?
As you can see in the diagram above, the sub-categories beyond the Secondary Categories take on a bit of a different form depending on what the Secondary Categories mean to you and what you value or want to accomplish.
I put vegetables under diet because, despite being an adult, I don't eat enough broccoli.
That's a simple example because it's already at the level of being a specific goal. From there I might simply want to jot down a note on how I will accomplish that goal.
Example:
Diet -> Vegetables -> Make meals at home once a day (make it realistic for you)
You don't want to waste too much time on the things that are already fairly clear to you, those aren't the reason why you're stressed or lost. It's the more complex things that require a deeper level of understanding, You'll notice at this stage that some of the subgroups are still categorical while some feel more like specific goals. In the example, "Marathon" may already be at the level of a specific goal to your understanding, whereas "Project 1" for "Work" may still be a looming, not well understood monster full of confusing variables and a variety of tasks.
4. The less specific subcategories here need to be broken down further. As we were saying, if "Project 1" still seems daunting, it has to be broken down into tasks, goals and outcomes so that it can become manageable. Here is an example of what that could potentially look like:
As you can see, things start become much more clear and manageable by this point. This is where you might have an A-ha moment and can then go on to realize that some things can be delegated, maybe aren't necessary, and make some specific to-do lists. Once you've broken everything down to the level of some specific tasks or desired outcomes, you can use a highlighter or make a list to help prioritize these items and best use your time in the most productive way. Continue to break down the items until they are at an understandable and specific level. Put this up on your wall and review it or re do it until you are where you need to be. Check things off as you accomplish them.
You can apply this method to almost anything. Listing the pros and cons of a decision, planning a big project, mapping out your goals with your spouse and how you want to accomplish them, group projects... the list goes on. Mind maps can be a very useful tool, especially if you tend to be more of a 'visionary' or big picture type of thinker and it takes more effort for you to drill in on specifics to make your big dreams a reality.
