“Time is our most valuable nonrenewable resource, and if we want to treat it with respect, we need to set priorities.” ― Albert-László Barabási, The Hidden Pattern Behind Everything We Do.
I am a list maker. I have a to-do list going pretty much at all times. I break it down into Personal/Professional/Later this week…/Etc. I find that I am much more productive when I set the tone for the day and feel a real sense of accomplishment when I mark off each action item.
Time is the great equalizer. And, like most, I have mixed feelings about my relationship with the clock because I realize the importance of flexibility and I also know interruptions happen like clockwork. I admire people who can go with the flow, not make lists and still be profoundly productive and creative. I am just not one of those people. In order for me to feel productive as I approach each workday, I need a sense of structure. But there are limits to lists, especially when a big project is just getting started and there are many unknowns…
I have found an incredibly easy tool to use when I am planning a bigger project called Mind Mapping. What’s so great about this approach is it feels freer to begin, as you take out a piece of unlined paper, make a circle in the center and put in a word or two describing the project/intention. From the center you draw lines to other circles that flow from the idea, in no particular order. This mere act of not placing more or less importance on any particular sub-circle allows me to think more creatively as I begin to click out my ideas. Then each smaller circle becomes its own idea with smaller lines and what may be required to get that part done. The whole thing opens me up to possibilities and I don’t get caught up in what needs to come first, second and so on.
Right now a project I am working on is getting myself more aligned with social media and building my network online. So in the center circle I put the word “Online Presence” and flow from there. Spilling out comes ideas like “LinkedIn”, “Other Online Sources”, “Website Launch-Contact Friends and Associates”, “Set Lunch with Friend-Experts to Learn More”, etc. Once I have gone through the first round of smaller circles, I can decide what makes the most sense to start with first and go from there. I never cross out anything on my Mind Maps, as I look at these documents as seeds of my beginnings and they help me feel a sense of empowerment later on when I am once again get out a piece of blank paper to begin the process, loving what is yet to be and letting my ideas flow.
Those ubiquitous to do lists come later, still holding a valuable place in the day-to-day aspects of life, but definitely more limiting when I am breaking new ground or have too many unknowns for a list to be helpful or for that matter, realistic.
