Mind Mapping for Effective Time Management

Did you know that mind mapping can be used for much more than a brainstorming tool? In fact, you can use mind mapping for effective time management if you know how.

Mind Map Time Management Tool

Example of a Bubble Map for Task Management

The form to the right is one of the task management forms in the Original Bubble Planner that uses Mind Map Time Management techniques, which engage the whole brain in managing your To Do lists. Using this form will transform the way you manage your tasks.

"Information is a source of learning. But unless it is organized, processed, and available to the right people in a format for decision making, it is a burden, not a benefit." - William Pollard, Physicist

What is a Bubble Map? The form to the left is what's called a Bubble Map. It's essentially a mind map with a specific purpose, which is task management.

Why use a Bubble Map instead of a list? The Bubble Map design has several huge advantages over the list format. First, you can write down the tasks as you think of them without being concerned about where you put them as your mind automatically assigns them priority. Additionally, the mind map format acts as a magnet for ideas. The spatial layout gives you room to capture your thoughts in the thought bubbles. Your mind will feel refreshed and renewed after you download your thoughts into a mind map. Finally, even when you are not looking at the Bubble Map page, your mind remembers what you need to do. This memory benefit doesn't happen with a list format. The reason is that the mind map makes connections in your brain using it's natural language, which is pictures clarified with words.

How To Map Tasks with a Bubble Map

The Bubble Map shown above (this is also the design of the Next Action Note Pad) uses an advanced filtering technique called CHOP. Besides being a catchy acronym, CHOP is a tool that will reduce your desire to procrastinate. Here's how it works:

Think. Download everything that is on your mind. Write it all on the Bubble Map.
Act. For each item that you put on the Bubble Map, decide the very next physical thing that you must do to bring the item to completion. Essentially, give your list a verb. This is actually a very spiritual concept. This is the precise moment that you move your subconscious desire into a conscious thought and give it a physical form.
Place. Assign each "Next Action" a place. This is where the powerful forward motion takes place. Each Action will be given one of these categories:

Computer Action,
Home Action,
Office Action, or
Phone Call / e-mail.

Within each cateogory, you can also rank them either by color or number. By breaking your tasks into these places, you are able to spend blocks of time in one place, which significantly improves your efficiency. One by-product of multi-tasking is an exponential increase in transition lag time. Transition lag time is the time it takes for your mind to switch its focus from one task to another unrelated task. You will never recover the time you waste on transition lag.

How Does It Work? By CHOPping your tasks down, you make what you have to do manageable. Although there are many causes to procrastination, this is a solution that works every time. It creates a tangible, attainable micro-goal. Your mind is exceptional at achieving goals when the goals are well-defined.

Behind the scenes, the CHOP method combines both sides of the brain. Since the Bubble Map design engages the right side of your brain, which thinks primarily in pictures. The logical nature of CHOP recruits the left side, which loves structure and organization. The result is that you utilize more of your brainpower in everything you do.

Although I knew that the pads would improve my productivity, I wasn't expecting the amazing increase in ideas that they have spawned. It is truly a powerful tool.

Buy a Mind Mapping Time Management Tool today and release the power of your subconscious mind!