Planning & Goals Archives

5 mind map tools for a deep dive

April 18, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Paper management, Planning & Goals, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset 1 Comment

Mind maps tools are increasingly popular among companies, business owners, individuals, and educators. Using mind maps for a deep dive into a specific topic, project, or goal allows you to throw it out “on paper” and get the order of your ideas.

All mind maps have one thing in common. They have a central structure that radiates out organizing ideas by using lines, symbols, photos, and text to support and provide additional information for each big idea or topic. Mind maps can be either paper or computer-based, both follow the same structure, breaking a topic out from a central idea. The wonderful thing about the process of mind mapping is that you can dive deeper into a subject as you radiate out and continue to brainstorm. The mind map process is both intellectual and creative and is such a wonderful tool for individuals and businesses’ that are more hands-on and intuitive in their goal setting and brainstorming process. The key is to find out which method works best for you, your needs, and capabilities.

Paper Mind Maps

Paper-based mind maps are easy to create – you don’t need a computer, internet access, or computer chargers. All you need is paper and a pen, easy peasy! You can quickly jot down everything that comes out of your mind and map it out exactly how you’d like it. A paper mind map is great for those who need to get all of their ideas out quickly and allow for refining later. It can also be a helpful tool for organizing ideas and actions for teams.

Paper mind maps wick and easy to access anywhere, but there are a few downsides to using traditional pen and paper – it could easily get lost, crumpled, or get eaten by your dog! You aren’t able to change your ideas with ease unless you use a pencil, and if you are creating a large mind map you’ll need a lot of paper (which isn’t so ecologically friendly) and can take up a lot of space.

Digital Mind Map Tools

There are dozens of mind map software to choose from, these are just some of the most popular and user-friendly systems that I’ve used myself, with clients or heard good things about.

Coggle

Coggle is a web browser-based mind mapping software that makes creating a mind map simple, easy, and fun. This software offers both a free and paid version and it is an excellent investment if you create a lot of mind maps. It allows you to collaborate easily with a team. You can add text, hyperlinks, and images anywhere on your map with Coggle. The attractive branches can be customized with color, making these mind maps easy to follow.

Inspiration Maps

Inspiration Maps offers both computer and web-based software that has been newly introduced for iPad and iPhone. Its key features include the ability to create an unlimited number of maps and outlines, a user-friendly interface, and the ability to customize, add graphics and photos to any part of your map. You are able to choose from over 100 pre-made mind map layouts and hundreds of graphics within the app. With its autosave feature, you can be certain you won’t lose any of your data if the internet goes down and you are able to share it on a variety of platforms. It is very inexpensive for all the features and is worth the purchase!

Mind Meister

In addition to its catchy name, Mind Meister is another great software for creating mind maps. It is focused more on business and educational use and has a variety of features that support a lot of users at one time. It is available for download and can be accessed on any platform and has intricate sharing capabilities.

When making your decision take into consideration the pros and cons of each, the features, cost, ease of interface, accessibility, and most importantly that it suits your needs. At the end of the day, mind maps are supposed to be a fun, interactive tool that helps you expel all the information out of your brain. Don’t lose sight of that and have fun mind mapping all your great ideas!

Do you already use the mind map process? If so are you using pen and paper or software? What are some of your favorite things to mind map?

Procrastination isn’t healthy…or is it?

April 12, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Planning & Goals, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset 2 Comments

Procrastination isn’t healthy, at least not when it’s chronic and habitual procrastination. Procrastination has been proven to impact every aspect of a person’s life, including our home, business and organizing projects. The scientific studies actually argue for and against procrastination so I’ll share a bit about both sides of the coin.

There are ways to overcome procrastination and to make it work in your favor. Some of us are more prone to procrastination than others. I find I often procrastinate for two different reasons and my theory is that the why behind the delay tactics can tell you a lot about healthy vs unhealthy procrastination. In my research about personality I discovered that certain people might be more inclined to procrastinate and for different reasons…so there ‘s no “RIGHT or WRONG” answer in this post, there’s both!

Scenario A involves my procrastinating when I’m really confident about a subject based on previous knowledge and experience. For example preparing for a presentation that I’ve done multiple times and have a good sense of how long preparation will take me. This is my most common form and what I consider GOOD procrastination. This type of procrastination isn’t fear based, I understand why and how to get to my outcome and that outcome doesn’t require a lot of decisions on my part. I’m confident that I will accomplish my goal and meet any deadline required. Some scientists consider this Active procrastination. We can recognize this type of procrastination when we make a conscious decision to delay our actions because we like a bit of pressure, may be currently working on more valuable tasks and are confident in our ability to complete the task on time.

Scenario B involves procrastination when I am totally overwhelmed, I don’t know where to begin and the subject is unfamiliar to me. I find or create excuses not to begin, which are usually fear based. If I’m honest with myself the only way to beat the head game is to admit that self talk is dragging me down and find my way through (perhaps by asking for help!), not around the task. This kind of procrastination crosses over to the BAD side… Some scientists consider this Passive procrastination. We can recognize this type of procrastination when we become paralyzed by indecision and we fail to take action and complete tasks on time. This type of procrastination isn’t healthy. It’s fear based, keeps us from making decisions, learning new things and moving forward.

The science behind procrastination goes much deeper than I cover here but the bottom line is that we procrastinate when we have to make decisions about what we are doing with our time and when we are going to do it (now or at the last possible moment?)!

The really important thing to understand about procrastination is what is behind your procrastination. Is it a delayed decision or are you making a conscious decision to do something later? If it’s the former, it might not be such a bad thing.

If you find that your stuck and overwhelmed then you need a SYSTEM to help you move beyond your procrastination. Some truths about procrastination…Procrastination begins with just one thing distracting us & taking us off track. Systems work to move us beyond procrastination, here’s how you can create your own…

Find your why & let that motivate you!
It only takes ONE small distraction to send us down procrastination alley…something like checking emails, or Facebook, grabbing a snack. You know your tactics.
Knowing why we are procrastinating can help us move beyond it. Is your procrastination a confident-I’ve got this scenario or fear based overwhelm?
Find an accountability partner or system
Work in intervals, using time boxing or other techniques to break larger projects into smaller tasks
Take healthy breaks between intervals-eat brain boosting snacks, drink water, rest your eyes, do a meditation, you get the picture, but set your clock and get back on task when the scheduled break is over
Eliminate distractions, turn email notifications off, close other browser windows, put your cell phone on silent, put a do no disturb message on your door etc

When do you find yourself actively or passively procrastinating and why? What systems do you use when you find your in a procrastination zone? Please share how procrastination impacts you in your daily life in the comments below.

Being Fearless means asking for help

January 31, 2018 by Heather Filed Under: Planning & Goals, Productivity, Wellness & Mindset 1 Comment

You might be wondering how being fearless means asking for help. Since selecting my WOTY, Fearless I have begun to understand that being fearless is about surrendering. It’s about taking the leap, allowing the free fall and trusting the outcome.

In examining what my deepest fears are, I understand that many of us are striving to control the outcome of almost everything in my life. After all, I’m a professional organizer, which means perhaps I am predisposed to trying to control the outcome of not just my circumstances but my clients! Well, that’s kind of true on the surface but if we began to talk more about why people need to be more organized, there are many reasons.

[bctt tweet=”Being more organized can lead us to feeling more free, not more controlled. ” username=”hkpowerstudio”]

But we often think that in asking for help we are showing weakness, we think we should be able to EVERYTHING ourselves…or some of us are taught to think this way.

Say it ain’t so! I promise, it isn’t. That is old programed mindset that we can all choose to free ourselves from.

When I began to investigate what I can do to be more fearless, I realized it meant I need to be more willing to ask for help. I began to see that if I really wanted to do all the things I dream of it would require taking some big leaps of faith!

Being fearless means asking for help. Deep rooted in the old lack-mindset programing is the idea that I will not be supported, that I will fail, that asking for help is weak.

That’s a big burden to place upon ourselves! That is part what fires me up to help others find systems and solutions for their support! As incredible as it is to be strong, independent women (or men), it’s also totally necessary to ask for help in order to grow personally and professionally. Living in fear means we are limiting our growth, freedom, creativity, health and future.

So absolutely YES, being fearless means asking for help! My clients model that for me on a daily basis.

Since I have spent time investigating my mindset of fearlessness, I have discovered where I feel panicked and afraid to asking for help. Since much of that is related to $$ Mindset, I have limited the kind of help I’ve been willing to ask for. I’ve been afraid to make a commitment to hiring help because I’ve been afraid that the abundance will stop and at some point I may not be able to afford to have the help. In my mind, I LOST the game before it began! That is not my truth, that is no way to live and I am way too curious and adventurous to let that old mindset (ego) hold me back!

Since December I’ve been searching for, interviewing and hiring several helpful people who can make my life and my business run more smoothly. I am 45 years old and have never hired a housekeeper…that was the second person on my list and I was practically walking on CLOUDS when I found the right person and agreed to have them come help in my home two times a month.

I CANNOT WAIT to hand over $$ to them for this kind of help! That is how Fearless should feel!

Do you struggle to ask for help? What holds you back and what makes you feel fearless? I’d love if you share in the comments below or on Facebook here.

Word of the Year::Acceptance

January 4, 2017 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Planning & Goals, Wellness & Mindset

The word that has discovered me for 2017 is Acceptance.

“Acceptance is a virtue that doesn’t require any form of doing in the “physical sense” of the word, it’s a chosen way of being.”–The Power of Acceptance

After quite a few years of selecting a word of the year, the process has become more fluid. I use some of the tools I listed at the bottom of this post but I’ve come to discover my word by taking a meandering path, jotting down words that stand out to me and letting them sit with me for some time until my word for the year reveals it’self like a beacon. Over the past two years, I have noticed this is especially true. I have chosen words that are on the periphery, I dance around the edges until I can simplify the feeling that I’m trying to get to the truth of and voila, my word pop’s out to me while reading or talking to others. I write the word down, near all the others and continue to let it sink in. But I usually know it when I discover it, or really…my word discovers me!

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