13 replies to this topic

[Owyn]

I traditionally use the period between Xmas and New Years to review what has happened in the past year and what I want to accomplish in the upcoming year.

It is historically a quiet period that is conducive to reflection.

In addition to the normal reviews such as year end personal financial status I also include a specific look at practices that have become important in the last year. This year Evernote and how I use it is probably number 1 on the list of things that I need to think about.

Being an obsessive tech tool nerd I decided that I would combine these reviews with a project to revisit the state of mind mapping tools. My plan is to test the tools as I document my needs and plans.

Hoping everyone gets the right things done in the year to come.

[anjoschu]

I find this also an important time to think about what not to do in the year to come.

You have gotten things done in 2011. You have also failed to achieve some things which you originally planned. Think carefully about whether they are (still) that important to you before simply carrying them over for 2012.

It's one thing to think of new things to achieve. But there's the danger that you just pile them onto your goals list for 2012.

It's more important (and harder) to just let go of goals and plans that are of smaller importance, and focus on those very few things which are really important to us.

[jefito]

It's a great idea, and a good time of year to do it. Wish I were that methodical.

Seriously, I think I could do with a better plan of attack for my Evernote usage, particularly for work projects. What I'm doing works, though it's a bit haphazard.

[Thor Skog]

Owyn - Curious to know which mind mapping tool you use and/or have found most useful. I've used Mindjet MindManager for several years (though nowhere near its capabilities, I'm sure) and have found it to be, for me, more than adequate. Also, have you tried to "integrate" mind mapping into Evernote in some fashion (other than copying the map itself)? I'm curious to know (a) if that's even possible and ( what advantages, if any, that might bring.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[GrumpyMonkey]

owyn's post is inspiring, but i have to admit that i have begun to stop thinking about my life in terms of productivity. i'm falling off the wagon! it's not that i am lazy (i generally put in 10 or 12 hours a day on my work), or lack motivation to get things done.

i guess i have found it increasingly difficult to measure "accomplishments" anymore. i got some things done. i didn't get other ones done. but, it seems to me the more important thing is the "doing" and not the "done." i enjoyed last year a lot, and i think next year is going to be even more fun. that's about all i can say. evernote ought to continue making the process that much better

[jefito]

I prefer not to get too bogged down in methodologies, and therefore tend to focus on the "doing" too, however, I think that I could be doing better by focusing on doing the best thing for the moment (apropos Owyn's "get the right things done" comment above), and maybe a little more rigorous approach might help me.

[Owyn]

Curious to know which mind mapping tool you use and/or have found most useful.

My main mind map tool is paper and pencil. I have been using the technique since the 90s and it just automatic to me now.
Played with a few tools off and on but none of them stuck.
The purpose of the project is to review what is available (MindJet is already on the list) and test them on some real life cases.

Too soon to say more than that.

[GrumpyMonkey]

Curious to know which mind mapping tool you use and/or have found most useful.

My main mind map tool is paper and pencil. I have been using the technique since the 90s and it just automatic to me now.
Played with a few tools off and on but none of them stuck.
The purpose of the project is to review what is available (MindJet is already on the list) and test them on some real life cases.

Too soon to say more than that.

i'm the same for mind mapping. sometimes chalkboards. the ipad and computer are great, but kind of get in the way for a task like this.

[jefito]

Rhodia gridded notepads, 8 1/2 x 11. And pens, no pencils.

[gbarry]

i'm the same for mind mapping. sometimes chalkboards. the ipad and computer are great, but kind of get in the way for a task like this.

I'm not sure I believe in this thing called a "chalk---board?"???

I have heard tell that you take a formed rock, and scratch it onto another rock. You cannot email or mail the rock, and it is very dusty. Sometimes badly-behaved students, in the past, would be forced to bang together two items termed erasers as punishment.

[jefito]

Yes, but you can ping a piece of the soft white rock at a dullard's head, or at the wall, for extra emphasis (saw the latter in a college class once. Impressive).

[gbarry]

Yes, but you can ping a piece of the soft white rock at a dullard's head, or at the wall, for extra emphasis (saw the latter in a college class once. Impressive).

That's some good aim. Unfortunately, I was likely that student. Also, love Rhodia gridded pads. We must've been separated at birth or something. Or maybe it's that we share similarly awesome names.

To actually contribute here and not just smart off, my year-end reflection tends to revolve around projects. Not really one for new years resolutions, as I'm always resolving to change or adjust some habit I've acquired or not yet acquired. So I take stock in the projects and hobbies that I've begun, or continued, etc. What can I expect to accomplish with them? Should I readjust my goals?

One thing I've learned over the years (and to be careful of) is to avoid expectation of completion, and the attendant stress that comes with incompletion. Most things that I deem of value will always continue forward in some form or fashion. So yeah, I'm a fan of the idea of focusing on the doing.

Regarding "not doing" (see anjoschu above), Freakonomics radio/blog had a great show about the "Upside of Quitting". Worth a listen, if only to realize that Dubner was the lead singer in a moderately successful rock band. Go figure.

http://www.freakonom...de-of-quitting/

[stephbaillie]

About mind maps, I really like Owyn's remark that doing it on paper all the time makes it an "internalized" practice. Mind maps are known for being "right brain", and therefore more apt to develop a global vision, also more artistic and therefore more creative which could be linked in some ways to "more motivating." Mind maps on computers often look more like tree charts or organigrams (or organograms) and can look like the doings of a left brain trying to pass for a right hemisphere. Personally I use a program on my mac which is called "may thoughts" www.mythoughtsformac.com It may not have all the bells and whistles of other applications, but it looks nice, so does Idea Mapper on my iPad. For me, the "not straight" look makes up for the "microsoft project" rigor.
In some ways, this is connected to the "do" and "doing." There are personality preferences (J's and P's--for Judgment and Perception--mentioned in the MBTI, Myers Briggs Type Indicator) that tend to go opposite ways. One type likes to have things done right away, otherwise they feel bad and stressed, whereas the other likes to delay actions and decisions in order to gather more and better info and ideas so as to do it later, faster and better. The later do not care much about feeling bad, actually they need to feel the pressure. Judgment types (the first ones) get a kick out of checking boxes in their todo lists at the end of the day, the week, year, etc. Perception types tend to feel like they have to do it (because otherwise they feel the sideways looks from the others), but it just does not work for them, and their todo lists end up scattered all over the place on pieces of paper, apps and documents as as many reminders of their guilt. Perception types do not need todo lists, because they are "built in." All they need are ticklers, so as to not miss deadlines. Again, what works for me may not work for someone else. In our hyper-active world we need to remember that, beyond "do" or "doing", there is also "being".
As for the portability, each case is different. I'd be happy to have a whiteboard, but I travel a lot, so I have to have everything in electronic format and I also have to be very conservative in terms of syncing and backups, because an Internet connection is not always up to par, my sync cable is!

[Joshua Zerkel]

Excellent points. I'm fortunate in that I get to have my own systems that work around my ways of thinking and my personality, but I also get to help clients create systems that work for them that are based around who they are, what works for them, and what they value. Whether you use MBTI, another personality assessment, or none at all, HOW you organize, plan, consider, and reach your goals should be based around what works for you. I've worked with so many people over the years who try to fit into someone else's system and just end up frustrated and deflated.

About mind maps, I really like Owyn's remark that doing it on paper all the time makes it an "internalized" practice. Mind maps are known for being "right brain", and therefore more apt to develop a global vision, also more artistic and therefore more creative which could be linked in some ways to "more motivating." Mind maps on computers often look more like tree charts or organigrams (or organograms) and can look like the doings of a left brain trying to pass for a right hemisphere. Personally I use a program on my mac which is called "may thoughts" www.mythoughtsformac.com It may not have all the bells and whistles of other applications, but it looks nice, so does Idea Mapper on my iPad. For me, the "not straight" look makes up for the "microsoft project" rigor.
In some ways, this is connected to the "do" and "doing." There are personality preferences (J's and P's--for Judgment and Perception--mentioned in the MBTI, Myers Briggs Type Indicator) that tend to go opposite ways. One type likes to have things done right away, otherwise they feel bad and stressed, whereas the other likes to delay actions and decisions in order to gather more and better info and ideas so as to do it later, faster and better. The later do not care much about feeling bad, actually they need to feel the pressure. Judgment types (the first ones) get a kick out of checking boxes in their todo lists at the end of the day, the week, year, etc. Perception types tend to feel like they have to do it (because otherwise they feel the sideways looks from the others), but it just does not work for them, and their todo lists end up scattered all over the place on pieces of paper, apps and documents as as many reminders of their guilt. Perception types do not need todo lists, because they are "built in." All they need are ticklers, so as to not miss deadlines. Again, what works for me may not work for someone else. In our hyper-active world we need to remember that, beyond "do" or "doing", there is also "being".
As for the portability, each case is different. I'd be happy to have a whiteboard, but I travel a lot, so I have to have everything in electronic format and I also have to be very conservative in terms of syncing and backups, because an Internet connection is not always up to par, my sync cable is!