Image by: Austin Kleon

Choosing an organizational system can feel a little like picking your favorite cult. Whatever system you’re weighing up, you’ll always find teams of people ready to tell you how it’s changed their lives, made them more efficient and allowed them to achieve more than they ever thought possible. That’s particularly true when one of the systems you’re considering is Getting Things Done (GTD), David Allen’s “productivity principles for work and life.”

But despite what GTD’s fans will tell you — and they’ll be ready to tell you a lot — David Allen’s methods aren’t the only organizational system in town. Mindmapping can be no less effective in planning what needs to be done, filling in the gaps and creating a workflow that takes you from concept to product. So which is the most effective tool and which method should you be turning to as you’re planning your projects?

Mindmapping Keeps Students Awake

Mindmapping is said to have been created by psychology author Tony Buzan, although others have argued that the method has actually been in use for millennia. The motivation is supposed to have been the difficulty of creating lecture notes. They’re a pain to write at a time when students would rather be listening (ideally, and if they’re not sleeping) and they have to be reviewed before the student can make sense of them. Buzan thought that mindmapping would be a much more efficient way of remembering what the lecturer was saying. His brother, Barry Buzan, then described in his book The Mind Map how entrepreneurs and managers could use the same techniques to develop their ideas.

The principle is very simple. Mindmappers begin by placing an image or a word at the center of a page then extend branches around the page leading to single words describing individual aspects of that idea. Multiple colors can be used to show different areas of the concept, the branches describe how those ideas are related, and the distance from the center can be used to express the priority of those aspects.

The result, say mindmap fans, is easy brainstorming and a representation of an idea that’s free to grow organically, instead of being forced into the kind of linear structure that might restrict natural growth.

As an added bonus, the visual characteristics of a mindmap are supposed to make its contents easy to remember. One study found that mindmapping increased recall in students who used it by as much as 10 percent. The same study though also found that students really didn’t like to use it.

GTD Needs a Road Map

There’s really not a huge amount to mindmapping then. It doesn’t take long to get to grips with and it’s very easy to understand. GTD, on the other hand, needs a road map to understand. Designed by coach and management consultant David Allen, GTD works on a number of different levels. It uses a five-step information workflow made up of: collect; process; organize; review; and do. Plans are divided into six focus levels: current actions; current projects; areas of responsibility; yearly goals; five-year vision; and life goals. And then there’s the five-level “natural planning” process which organizes action by: defining a task’s purpose and principles; envisioning the outcome; brainstorming; organizing; and identifying next actions.

And it’s all centered on lists placed in 43 folders for monthly and daily planning. Plus a “tickler file,” which is a kind of procrastination box used to push nasty jobs to a definite point in the future.

In a straight scrap then, Occam’s Razor would make pretty short work of GTD. If the simplest solution is always the best, then Tony Buzan always beats David Allen into a messy pulp.

But it’s not that simple. GTD is more complex than mindmapping because it’s trying to do a lot more. Mindmaps have two functions: they draw out thoughts, allowing creative thinkers to dream up new concepts and link them together; and they make it easier for those thinkers to remember what they’ve been imagining. Mindmaps generate ideas, structure them, organize them and help people to become familiar with them. And then they stop.

It’s the next stage though that’s much harder. You still have act on those ideas, and that’s always going to require far more organization. A mindmap for a new iPhone app, for example, might place a bodybuilding image in the center then have different branches leading to areas for exercise regimes, diet-tracking features, updates from bodybuilding events and motivational slogans. The branches would contain words that remind the developer of the different features the app would contain and inspire him to add new ones.

Creating the app though, would mean hiring a programmer, designing the navigation system, deciding on the look and the designs, fixing a sales price, writing the copy, submitting it for approval, and finding ways to market it. That’s a lot harder than sitting on a sofa and scribbling single words on a page then connecting them with wavy lines.

But if it’s hard, it’s not always made easier by trying to figure out what David Allen meant by a “mind-sweep” (it appears to be collecting then ditching thoughts you don’t need), deciding whether to write one list or multiple sub-lists, and trying to figure out whether you should “do it, delegate it, defer it, or drop it,” another of Allen’s set of task rules.

In theory then, mindmapping and GTD aren’t really in opposition. Mindmapping is about concepts and ideas. It’s for brainstorming and thinking, not for planning and doing. GTD, on the other hand, is supposed to make action more organized. While it does have elements that are supposed to help creativity, it’s main role is to ensure that the thoughts you’ve already had are turned into plans — and that those plans are turned into action.

In practice though, by the time you’ve finished coloring in the different branches on your mindmap and highlighting the various aspects of your idea, you’re already going to be fairly tired — and possibly fed up with your concept. Toss in the creation of 43 folders and the endless lists that David Allen will have you writing and you’ll be lucky if you have the energy to get anything done at all.

Fortunately, in the end it doesn’t matter which organizational system you use as long as the result is that you stop organizing and start doing.

If you spend any part of your work day online, it’s possible that you get a heavy dose of information overload and excessive sensory input. E-mail here, e-mail there, voice mail, IM/chat, cell phone text messages, Facebook chat, Facebook wall, Facebook messages, Twitter, Plurk, and whatever else you can think of. On top of that, there’s actual productive work tasks you do. If your day is full of distraction, large tasks can feel overwhelming.

If you’re in this situation, there’s a simple piece of advice that bears reviewing, something you’ve probably heard countless times before: take one step at a time. It’s a very simple but powerful approach, since it’s far easier to focus on one small step or change at a time.

How It Works

The key to conquering large tasks is break them down into smaller subtasks, then to only focus on the current subtask. Even better, if you “hide” everything but the current subtask, it becomes easier to focus. You already know what comes after, but you keep distractions to a minimum by focusing. This way, you can enjoy small successes each step of the way, and large tasks become less intimidating.

Managing Tasks

Once you break a large task down into smaller tasks, you have a choice of methods for managing your taskload. Here are a few methods.

To-do List Software

To-do list applications are great for brainstorming a stream of consciousness and writing down thoughts as they come to you. However, they’re not as ideal later when you need to organize your thoughts, cluster ideas together.

It’s often better to scribble down your thoughts in a list, on a piece of paper, then apply another method, such as mind mapping (below). Another flaw with to-do lists is that if you have deadlines attached to each subtask, it’s sometimes difficult to get an overview of related tasks. Calendaring software (below) might be more suitable.

Some sample to-list applications are Ta-da Lists, Todoist, and Remember the Milk (RTM). RTM integrates with Google Calendar. Some of these function well on cell phones, especially those with large screens such as the iPhone.

Calendaring Software

Free Web-based calendar software abounds, and using it is another way to manage tasks, provided you know when you need to complete each task. The real benefit of web-based calendaring apps is that you can access your calendar(s) from anywhere that you have an Internet connection, often including from a mobile phone. Some calendar tools even synchronize seamlessly with to-do list applications. So you could import events recorded on your mobile phone, or from your web-stored lists.

If you don’t know which calendar tool to use, Mashable lists over 65 of them. Some of them, including Google Calendar, have APIs to build custom applications with. Or you could simply combine a to-do list app such as Remember the Milk, mentioned above, with Google Calendar, giving you a more robust way to manage tasks.

Project Management

Project management, aka PM, is a very sophisticated approach for managing a set of related subtasks. Good Project Management software offers a number of tools and methods, such as Gantt charts, critical paths, etc. If tasks are spread out over a team of people, you can track their efforts as well, check their workload, determine which tasks are project bottlenecks, and get a rough idea of how long an entire project is going to take. I say “rough” because subtask durations might change, and any later subtask dependent on a previous task will be affected, as might the entire project.

Project management is a very structured approach that is typically better suited to large, complex projects with many dozens of tasks and one or more team members. Smaller projects might benefit from some PM principles, though often there is too much rigidity or over-management of tasks.

Mind Mapping

Mind maps can take over where to-do lists leave off, are sometimes robust enough for managing projects, and are an ideal tool for  implementing a “one step at a time” approach for several reasons. (In fact, most mind mapping software allows you to put to-do lists aside, and offer equivalent functionality.)

1. Mind mapping software lets you expand or collapse parts of a mind map with ease. This allows you to see the big picture but to also focus on the small picture details when you need to.
2. They are a free-form way to record information, tasks, links, and other bits of data. To this information, you can apply as little or as much structure and hierarchy if and when you want to do so.
3. Mind map nodes can show text, icons, or images, and link to documents or activate applications on your computer desktop or in a web browser.  This means that if you use a suitable mind mapping application, you can integrate any type of to-do list, calendar or PM app from different parts of the map. Using mind maps, you have the benefit of all of the above-listed methods, if you want – giving you a more robust approach to task management. A mind map can then act like your project command center, and can itself be integrated with a master mind map or personal dashboard map.

An added benefit is that an increasing number of mind mapping applications – e.g., MindJet MindManager – are either incorporating PM features or are integrated with separate PM software, including Microsoft Project.

Of the methods listed above, mind mapping gives you the most flexibility and can incorporate the other methods.

By now, you’ve probably seen a number of Geekpreneur posts about mind mapping. Mind maps are a powerful tool that when used properly can multiply your productivity.

Here are some of the general ways that mind mapping can make the average freelancer (and other people) more productive in their work, followed by a list of some specific uses.

1. Offers blank canvas. Mind mapping software (or paper) gives you a blank canvas to work with.
2. Facilitates brainstorming. Allows unstructured brainstorming where ideas can be organized later.
3. Shows multiple detail views. You can switch between high-level and low-level detail, allowing you to see the big picture or focus when necessary.
4. Cues learning. More closely resembles human thought processes, so mind mapping research notes on a topic makes it easier to remember the concepts as a whole. This makes it easier to learn complex topics.
5. Integrates your digital workflow, since all mind mapping software allows map nodes to link to either other maps or document files. Clicking on a linked node fires up the default application for that file type.
6. Controls your workload. Allows you to break down complex problems into more manageable parts. For example, you can take a piecemeal/ step by step approach to writing articles and other documents.
7. Complexity flexibility. Mind maps can be simple or complex. Personal dashboards, for example, can be your daily workflow command center, integrating all your digtal/ web work tasks into one place.
8. Controls admin records. Easy to keep project completion records, with links to invoice files or to web documents.
9. Controls information overload. Freelancers – especially writers – often have to do a fair bit of research. Information overload can be a daily problem, but when using mind maps, it’s easy to build a reference map of articles, group and regroup information as necessary.

Some Daily Uses of Mind Mapping for Freelancers
Here are some more specific uses of mind maps for freelancers.

1. Personal Dashboard. A personal dashboard using a mind map allows you a powerful way to manage your work and personal life. Sections of a personal dashboard can start as a cluster of notes but can later transform into articles, documents, books, websites, business plans.

2. Task Management. Personal and work tasks are only a fragment of what you might put in a personal dashboard, but they’re an important part of your daily life. There are a variety of ways that you can manage tasks using mind maps. You can use them for simple to-do lists, track goal completion, develop ideas and more.

3. Idea Generation/ Idea Bank. Using mind mapping software, it’s fairly easy to simply brainstorm ideas. Once you’re finished brainstorming, you can applying filtering criteria to accept or reject each idea. After filtering your list down, you’re left with an idea bank. You can now easily organize your ideas. Hierarchies for information often “reveal” themselves, so it’s dificult to say in general how you should organize everything.

4. Learning Log. Mind maps aren’t just for brainstorming and recording ideas. If one of your tasks is to learn a subject or niche topic, mind maps allow you to build an organic knowledge base.

Start by recording what you know, in the same way that you might brainstorm. Brainstorm first, then organize your thoughts. Now arrange your notes into whatever natural information hierarchy occurs. You can add notes to your knowledge base as you learn something new, and even turn it into an idea bank.

Need to learn a language so that you can translate your writing (or someone else’s)? Mind mapping is one of the most ideal ways to learn a language. Not only can you link to web pages with podcasts or lessons, you can add images to map nodes to speed the learning process. You can build your own paced lesson plan this way, and with some mind mapping packages, share interactive maps.

5. Problem-Solving. A visual approach to problem solving often stimulates solutions that might not otherwise have occurred to you.

1. It allows you a big-picture view of the problem, although you can zoom in on details as well.
2. Mind mapping also allows you to break a problem down into component parts and dissect it piecemeal.
3. Allows you to explore relevant questions and various options radiantly, without confiining you like a list or spreadsheet would.
4. Stimulates “intersection” (Medici Effect) solutions from unrelated disciplines. These are those types of solutions that are often labelled “inspired.”

6. Scope, Plan, Develop and Write a Book. Regardless of the type of freelancing you do, if you plan to write a book about your skills, mind mapping software is a perfect tool. Some mind mapping tools are even integrated with word processing software, making conversion from map to finished document even simpler. Mind mapping also works for developing novels.

7. Document Version Control. Create a sophisticated version control manager for your documents, whether you write articles or code, do graphic design, or some other form of digital freelancing work.

8. Easy-Access Password Cache. Freelancers often have to maintain multiple website accounts. A password cache mind map allows you to hiearchically organize accounts by category of web service. Add in the site’s logo or favicon and you have a visual cue to find passwords faster. Most mind mapping programs let you link a map node to web page, so you can activate each web service from its corresponding map node.

Need to learn a niche fast? Learning something new always has, well, a learning curve. But if you want to shrink the time it takes to learn an entire niche, one of the most efficient and productive methods is to use mind mapping.

Workflow Benefits of Mind Mapping
There are literally hundreds of uses of mind maps, and mind mapping, but here are some of the important “work flow” reasons to use this process:

1. Mixed map views. If you’re using mind mapping software, you usually have the luxury of switching between either detailed or high-level views of your maps at a click.
2. Easy info gain. It’s fairly easy to record a variety of information about a niche: links, documents, images, notes, etc.
3. Easy info organization. Because mind mapping software generally offer up a blank slate with loose hierarchy, you can organize information in a mind map in any way that you feel comfortable, within the parameters of the software’s features. If you’re using paper-based mind maps, then there are few restrictions. (Starting with paper maps and then transcribing to a digital mind map is something to consider, depending on whether you are researching online or from printed matter.)
4. Easy info reorganization. It’s easy to shuffle around sections of a digital mind map, rearrange individual nodes, change hierarchies and sub-hierarchies.
5. Easy to explore options. The organic nature of a mind map makes it easy to explore sub-niches or to look at various problems to be solved.

Reasons to Use a Mind Map for Learning
Here are just some of the things you can do with a mind map when it comes to learning a niche:

1. Catalog what you already know about your niche.
2. Catalog what you still have to learn (provided you know what that is).
3. Produce a lesson plan for learning your niche topic.
4. Manage your “learning” task list.
5. Record whatever you learn along the way. (I.e., anything you didn’t know that you didn’t know.)
6. Brainstorm an idea bank.
7. List any niche-related problems that you need to solve.
8. solve problems by exploring various problem solving techniques such as tunneling or color coded visual analysis.

There are other reasons that you’ll discover as you go along.

Suggested Process for Learning a Niche
Here is just one process you could use to learn a niche using mind maps.

1. Find your starting point. If someone asked you what you know about a niche, you might draw a blank. So instead, start recording niche-relevant websites and web applications that you frequent. Add in links for software, books, magazines, etc., that you might recommend. If you don’t know where to start, try a niche search engine.
   1. portals
   2. voting sites
   3. industry sites
   4. “tips” articles
2. Collect additional bookmarks. While you record bookmarks for websites you already know and are surfing, you might come across links to other sites and articles that may be useful. Don’t worry about the info hierarchy just yet. You can take care of organizing information later.
3. Save RSS feed URLs. You can subscribe to RSS feeds in a feed reader such as Google Reader. Alternately, some mind mapping software (e.g., MindJet MindManager Pro 6 and up) even allows for creating sub-maps with RSS feed headlines. (MindJet calls them “smart map parts”.) You could also build your own custom feed aggregators, rivers of news, or news timelines, depending on how sophisticated your niche tracking needs to be.
4. Dissect content. This is where your actual learning takes place. Everything else is just “setup” activity and maintenance. As you browse/ read an article, dissect it. Jot down salient points and concepts in your master mind map, or create a sub-map and link to it. Try to summarize the article’s information in point form, but in the form of a mind map. Because of the “radiant” nature of mind maps, information absorption is far easier than if you use straight lists.
5. Reorganize info. When necessary, move mind map nodes around to suit your learning needs. Change the information hierarchy around until you find something easy to remember and maintain.
6. Enhance your map. Emphasize various portions of your niche map, making sections and concepts and hieararchies distinctive aids in memory retention and learning. Some possible enhancements using mind mapping sofware are:
   1. Use different node shapes. E.g., circles, ovals, rectangles, lozenges, hexagons, etc.
   2. Use node background colors and textures.
   3. Use node border colors.
   4. Use connecting line colors and thicknesses.
   5. Use colored, bolded, and/or italicized text.
   6. Use different font sizes.
   7. Use icons to categorize nodes or sub-maps.
   8. Add images for emphasis.
   9. Use different map modes (layouts), if available.
   10. Use boundaries around clusters of related map nodes.
7. Keep the info mapping process organic. Depending on the duration of your learning, you could be constantly adding new information as you come across it. It does not have to be a one-time, single session effort. So you’d be repeating some of the above steps as necessary.

The above process is merely suggested. Adjust it for your own needs and learning style.

Example Niche: Photography
Some of you Geekpreneur readers know that there’s a sister site, Photopreneur, with its own photography blog. So this is just as good an example niche as any other.

So suppose you’re trying to learn (more) about photography. Your reasons could be one of many, and would actually dictate how you use mind maps to learn this niche. Some possible reasons:

1. To become a photographer (or a better one).
2. To write about photography.
3. To teach photography.
4. To learn to use photography in design.

There are of course other reasons, and each one requires a different starting level of knowledge about photography. So what information you mind map will differ from what someone else maps.

Let’s refine our example and say that you intend to write about photography, but that you do already know something about it. So you’re building on prior knowledge, but you want your mind map to be a master reference for the niche.

Now, what info might you map? The diagram below shows some possibilities.

If your daily work involves a substantial amount of writing or research, you know the frustration that sometimes comes from trying to manage information for multiple projects. It doesn’t matter whether you’re writing business plans, company reports, articles for clients, or doing academic research. Coming up with an effective way to manage multiple document files and research notes can make a difference in your work productivity.

One of the most ideal ways to manage research notes and multiple forms of writing is mind mapping. A digital mind map is like a blank canvas that gives you multiple benefits.

Benefits of Using Mind Maps for Research and Writing

1. You can see high- and low-level views of document details.
2. Easily organize and reorganize the information hierarchy in whatever way is optimum for a given document.
3. If you work as part of a remote team, you have the choice between web-based mind mapping applications or new shared workspace features that complement desktop mind mapping tools.
4. Most digital mind maps, regardless of the originating application, integrate well with files on your desktop and the default applications tied to their file types. You can associate each node of a mind map to a document file. Double-clicking your mouse on a linked node activates the desktop application associated with that file type.

To summarize the benefits, a mind map gives you powerful control over multiple document from a single place. E.g., a master map, which will give you a high level view of all your research and writing projects and files. You can then link a map node to either a document file or even to another mind map that contains even more details about that project. If you link nodes to document files, you can then quickly open those files in the associated text editor, word processor or web browser. Ditto for image file links. (Note that some high end mind mapping tools have native editors, word processors, spreadsheets and browsers embedded in the interface.)

How to Use Mind Mapping for Research and Writing

Storing Research Data
When you use a mind map to store information, notes, hyperlinks, images, spreadsheets or whatever else, you have a  lot of leeway in how you store your data. The simplest way is to either type, copy/ paste, or drag and drop your information into a sequence of mind map nodes. When you start to see hierarchies, you can rearrange the map nodes however you want.

Writing
When it comes to writing documents using mind mapping, you have a number of options:

1. Brainstorm. You can brainstorm semi-randomly, recording what you already know, building a list of related topics, and cataloging (research, links) what other people have written about similar topics, as well as relevant images. Then start asking questions. If you’re writing articles, you might ask yourself what others have not said. What can you add to the collective conversation about that topic? Continue to collect notes, links, and whatever information you need to form your article.  On the other hand, if you’re writing business or academic documents, it’s likely that you need to follow some document structure.
2. Structured writing. Start by listing off the sections your document needs, depending on the structure you need to follow. This gives you a basic outline and is actually a powerful way to help you visualize completing complex writing projects. For example, you might have the following sections in your mind map:
   1. purpose
   2. assumptions
   3. tools
   4. processes
   5. notes
   6. intro
   7. body
   8. summary
   9. references

   Now flesh out the sections in layers, adding details as you go, including point form notes, examples, theory, interpretation, or whatever you need for the type of document you’re writing.

Cautions

Don’t overthink. It’s possible to overplan when using a mind map. Take notes in the form of your map, then start writing. Either use your mind map’s native text editor/ word processor, or a third party application.

Don’t obsess about the writing. Do your best to edit, check typos and grammar after you have a rough draft.

Let it flow. When you use a mind map to record research notes or to write an article or document, you give yourself an unstructured canvas that can be intimidating. If you get stuck, try collapsing portions of your mind map to look at the big picture (high-level view), not the details. Maybe the flow of your document or article’s sections is not quite right, but you will not notice if you’re only looking at the details.  Let your mind map nodes flow and develop naturally. You can always alter hierarchy after you’ve noted everything you feel is necessary. Your final document does not need to include everything that you have in your mind map. The map is only a guideline towards your completed writing.

Example
As an example, take a look at the PDF file via the Scribd window below. It’s a PDF of my final mind map for the article you’re reading. You can see the structure I’ve applied, though it looks extremely different than what I started out with.

Mind Mapping for Productive Research and Writing

Final Thoughts
Mind mapping can be used for any type of research and writing, and gives you a greater degree of control over large quantities of information. A master mind map can be the glue that helps you manage a large set of research notes and document files.

It’s been said for the past couple of decades that many of us will change careers a handful of times. This was before the Internet access to the Web was widespread, when opportunities we more limited. Now, with the offline and online opportunities that are opened up online, especially for freelancing, career management becomes more of an issue for web workers and other geekpreneurs.

If you find yourself in the state of mind of not knowing what to do long-term, consider using a mind map for career planning. Whether you’re a freelancer trying to supplement your income with online and/or offline gigs, or you’re transitioning between careers, you can apply the method discussed below.

Career Planning Approach

The mind map above shows an initial approach, though this is refined in later. In essence, you want to list all possible opportunities, then filter the list with criteria that’s important to you. Pretty simple, right? (Note: the above diagram indicates a “realstic” measurement scale of 1.0-10.0, which I did not use in later diagrams. The idea is to refine your mind mapping approach as you go, and as it suits your needs. This is what I wanted to illustrate.)

Step 1: Brainstorm Work Options

Start by brainstorming all possible sources of income that you are currently involved in or have an interest in. Don’t “edit” mentally as you list items. By “source” I mean type of work, not a specific client. In the example below, I’ve intentionally included both offline and online opportunities to better illustrate the approach.

Step 2: Add Filtering Criteria

Now you can start the filtering process:

1. Which of these are work options are desirable to you?

2. What’s the $revenue potential/ month? You can be specific or you can just put down high, medium, low. You can also add in “very high” and “very low”, or switch over to a numeric scale. Remember that you are only apply your own frame of reference, in terms of the work currently/ possibly available to you.

3. How is realistic is it that you will get any work from this source? You can apply a high/ med/ low or a numeric scale. Use what you feel comfortable with. Keep in mind that over time, the “realistic” measure of an opportunity might change. That is, say, three months from now, you might find something is far more realistic.

4. What are the drawbacks of pursuing this work? Include any thoughts about time investment, physical or mental toll, training, etc. For example, you might want to do something and know that there’s a market for it, but there might not be any direct revenue. (One example from my list is WordPress plugin development.) Note that every opportunity can have its drawbacks. All that matters is whether something is a problem for you or not.

Step 3: Sort Your Work Options

To make this step easier to follow, the diagram above is the same as the one in Step 2.4, except that I’ve added color-coded lines (dotted) between column critiera. What we want to do is rearrange the list so that our best options are at the top.

I’ve put “Desirabilty” as the leftmost column of the filtering criteria. This comes from years in the workforce, and the realization that work enjoyment matters far more to me than money. The beauty of this mind mapping method is that you can rearrange the filtering criteria to suit your needs. For me, “Potential” comes after “Desirability”, followed by “Realistic”.

Consider: not being happy in what you are doing means potentially sloppy work, which means potentially unhappy clients, employers, or end users.  You can add other criteria to suit your needs. For example, you might put in a column of “Positives,” to compare against “Drawbacks.” I find that I’m intrinsically already thinking of positives, but if an opportunity is new to you, it might help to write them down concretely.

Rearrange the remaining items from most likely to least likely to bring you short-term income. The result will be something like this:

Step 4: Cull Your List

Now that you’ve arranged your options from what is the best course of action to the least, long-term or short-term depending on your criteria, you’ll want to cull the list down. Remove any items that have little possibility of bringing you revenue in the next, say, 6 months, or will bring you so little return and might interfere with more lucrative opportunities. Focus only on the short-term. You can work on longer-term goals separately.

Above, I’ve only removed a few items, regardless of what their desirability was: editing, podcasting, freelance diagrams, co-producing (film). I love podcasting and diagramming, but neither is likely to bring me much revenue in the short-term. As for film producing, that is a long-term goal, so I’ll revisit it in another year or two. On the other hand, I left a couple of options with low desirability simply becaus they are highly likely to bring me some short-term earnings.

Final Thoughts

This method isn’t perfect and you do have to adjust your filtering criteria according to your needs (short-term, long-term, freelance, entrepreneurial, contract, salaried). Overall, this approach to career planning allows you to see that something you thought you wanted to do might be better as a short-term, means-to-an-end opportunity rather than a long-term career path.

Still, going through this career management process with a mind map will give you a bit of a blueprint of where you might want to focus your career efforts. Just keep in mind that this plan can and should be organic. Revisit it every few months, or whenever you’re finding what you’re currently doing is unrewarding.

Notes

The maps in this article were produced with MindJet MindManager Pro. You can get a free, fully functioning trial for Mac (21 days) or Windows (30 days), but you do have to sign up.