A Legend For Mind Maps – Keeping It Short And Sweet

Update: Gwynn recently came across XMind, an open source (free) mind mapping program. It’s really easy to use and allows for team brainstorming as well as personal mind mapping. The post I wrote earlier was part of the Keeping it Short and Sweet series I was doing here so it is very high level and brief. If you are looking for more information Marelisa of Abuncance Blog at Marelisa Online has recently written an article on mind mapping and goes into great detail, definitely worth checking out.

Move.

Update: Lately I’ve really tried to be consistent with the amount of moving I’m doing and it’s working wonders. I really don’t enjoy working out but I do like aerobics, yoga and pilates. So in addition to a couple of classes each week that incorporate all of those, I also have been routinely doing things during the day to help get me through. I dance or run around with my kids for at least 15 mins in the morning, I take them for a 45 min walk each morning just before lunch.  I’m happier, healthier and I’m building such a cool relationship with my kids. I’ve yet to see the downside here. Give it a try if you like.

Who Me? Worry? You Bet! – Part 2

Update: I am happy to report that my tips for reducing worry actually work! Three weeks ago when we got the call about our sons surgery I normally would have jumped into panic mode, worried myself sick (literally) and fully played through the worst possible outcome…several times. Instead, I kept talking myself through it, reminding myself that while this is certainly not routine for us it is a fairly routine surgery for cardiologists. I tried to feel and truly believe that everything would work out okay and that everything would go smoothly.

Despite a few unexpected things it did all work out in the end. Our son is back to normal, running around and playing as he did before. I came out of this experience a lot calmer and had a better understanding of what went on and what will happen next. This is usually clouded by worry and the storm of thoughts that whirl around in your head. Maintaining perspective, repeating a mantra, talking about what was going on with family, friends and doctors, and trusting that the doctors knew what they were doing all helped me in truly and honestly worrying less.

Keeping It Short And Sweet: Making Temporary Decisions

Update: Temporary decisions are still working well for us. Prior to having kids, I used to be very particular about how I did things and how stuff was arranged in our home etc. It’s safe to say that is far behind me now, my kids have mellowed me out somewhat. I am a lot more open minded and that means accepting that things don’t have to be perfect they really just need to be okay for now. Just like setting goals, if structure and order works for you then that’s great! If it doesn’t consider an alternative to setting goals. Life truly is about progress not perfection.

Other Bits and Pieces

1. I’ve recently started writing reviews for products that I feel you (my readers) will benefit from and get value from. I’ve looked at several products that I’ve considered promoting here on Serene Journey and so far only two e-books have made it through; Reclaim Your Dreams and The Essential Motivation Handbook. There are a few other products (books and services) that I’m currently looking at so stay tuned for more reviews.
2. Today, Lin from Telling It Like It Is has been kind enough to post a guest article from me called: Lessons In Frugality. There are many things I wish to teach my kids before they leave home and an important one for me is on being frugal. So head on over there and check it out.

Photo courtesy of: Łukasz Strachanowski

All The Updates You Can Handle In One Easy Post is a post from: Serene Journey

Uses

Mind maps can be useful in your personal, business and family life. I would have loved to have tried this out for note taking in University! Mind maps are best applied to:

• brainstorming
• note taking
• planning
• simplifying complex ideas
• organizing thoughts
• making decisions

How to create one

1. Start in the middle of a whiteboard or piece of paper and write an idea you want to expand on and explore further. Keep it short and sweet use as few words as possible to get your point across. Where possible use pictures or symbols. Draw a circle around this central idea. 
2. Draw lines from this central idea and add supporting ideas or related concepts. Draw circles around each one of these.
3. Repeat step 2 for each of the supporting ideas and so on. 

An example

Here is a mind map I did for the broad topic of organizing. This is just an example and it is not finished but it helps to illustrate that there are numerous subtopics or ideas that can come from that one central idea.

Mind maps help arrange thoughts, spark new ideas and unlock memories. The beauty of mind maps lie in their simplicity. Have fun with it use different colors, fonts, sizes and pictures. There is no “right” way to do this just let your creative juices flow and have fun!

See also:

 Eliminate Clutter Part 1: The Cost of Clutter and Where Does it Come From?

A Real Simple Way to Organize Your Pantry

7 Little Things That Make Me Disproportionately Happy

Photo courtesy of: shapeshift

A Legend For Mind Maps – Keeping It Short And Sweet is a post from: Serene Journey

Tips To Enjoy Life

7 Little Things That Make Me Disproportionately Happy

Gratitude Journal: 30 Days To Happiness

Quite Possibly The Best Homemade Crusty Bread Ever

Enrich Your Life By Facing Your Fears Head On.

Keeping It Short And Sweet: 3 Tips To Taking Better Pictures

Love Is A Verb

How To Be The Person You Want To Be

8 Tips For Effective Budgeting

Get Rich, Stay Rich – Emotional Bank Accounts

See also: 

Best Of Serene Journey: February 2009

Photo courtesy of: thejbird

Best Of Serene Journey: March 2009 is a post from: Serene Journey

GTD

GTD is an acronym for Getting Things Done, from the book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity byDavid Allen.

Objectives and benefits

Objective: Document every task you need to get done (now or in the future, personal and work related) so that you don’t rely on your memory. Benefit: Reduces stress since everything is captured and you don’t worry about forgetting anything.

Objective: Creating lists that you refer to often so you know which task makes sense to work on next. Benefit: You are able to make better decisions about what to work on based on where you are, what you’re doing (emails, phone calls), and how much time you have available.

Major components of GTD

1. Collect things that need to be done or addressed and put them in one central location. Gather todo lists on scrap pieces of paper or napkins, gather calendars with entries, emails, books and magazines.

2. Process or address each thing you collected above. There are several steps to this point but basically you need to decide if something needs to be done. If yes, list out next physical thing you need to do (aka actionable item) then do it, delegate it or defer it. If no, then throw it out, keep it for later date, or file it as reference material.

3. Organize the lists, projects and next actionable items in a meaningful way. Allen suggests storing them in: a project list,  a “next actions” list, a calendar, 43 folders (used for paper based organizing systems, this requires one folder for each of the 31 days in the longest months and one for each of the 12 months of the year – totaling 43),  reference files, “waiting for” list (when you’re waiting on something from someone else), “someday/maybe” list, email folders, read/review stack.

4. Review next actions of a particular task.

5. Do it.

Crux of the system

Daily action:

• Look through your organizing systems listed in point 3 above and determine if there’s anything that needs to be done today.

Weekly actions:

• Review lists and highlight uncompleted tasks emphasizing those that need to be finished soon.
• Collect new things that need to done and add them to your system (starting at point 1 above).

Yearly action:

• Review the content of the folders and decide if you still need everything in them. If not throw it out or add it to a reference folder.

Always have on hand:

• Paper and pen to capture things as they come up
• An item to read or review for when you have sime to spare (waiting for meetings to start, Dr’s office etc.)

So there you have it, a very high level summary of the GTD productivity system. I have given it a try and found it to be good and bad (how’s that for sitting on the fence? ). It works very well in a work environment as it helps keep multiple projects moving forward. I didn’t like using it at home as I found there never seemed to be an end in sight. By continually capturing things and adding them to lists, folders and piles I never had the feeling that I was getting on top of it. Instead, I use parts of the system such as keeping a list of projects, keeping my email Inbox empty, and for every task I list out the next physical thing that needs to be done. While I don’t use the entire system, these parts have made this book well worth the read. 

What has been your experience with GTD? Is this the first you’ve read about it? If you want more information you can buy David Allen’s book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity or visit the GTD official website.

See also:

Eliminate Clutter Part 1: The Cost of Clutter and Where Does it Come From?

An Alternative to Goals

Photo courtesy of: CHINNY!

Getting Things Done – Keeping It Short And Sweet is a post from: Serene Journey

Indecisiveness results from the fear of making the wrong or suboptimal choice. If you avoid making decisions because you’re worried that you’ll make the wrong one, consider making a temporary decision that is good enough for now.

Make temporary decisions 

Making temporary decisions is a technique that has worked well for us. These decisions are perhaps not the best but they are good enough for now. After some time has passed you can decide to make your temporary decision permanent or you can change your mind and choose something else.

Take Serene Journey , for example. It would take us forever to come up with the perfect appearance, we would constantly be tweaking and changing it. It would be launched months (perhaps even years) from now if we were waiting for it to be just right. Knowing this, we’ve made some temporary decisions on how the site will look for now. The RSS and email subscription icons (pictured left) are better than they were before but they’re still not perfect. The key thing is that they’re good enough for now. 

We know that this will not be feasible for every decision but it can help you get over inaction and start moving forward. Consider temporary decisions for things such as:

• Organizing items in your kitchen
• The way you layout a bedroom
• Website design
• A filing system
• A household budget
• Your education

Don’t get caught up in trying to make the perfect decision. Life changes and circumstances change so go with the flow and remember it’s about progress not perfection.

Photo courtesy of: i yudai

See also:

Enrich Your Life By Facing Your Fears Head On.

10 Tips To Alleviate Stress

************************************************************************

Keeping It Short And Sweet is a series of posts done every Thursday at Serene Journey. We will address topics that we are interested in learning a bit more about, topics that are generally useful and those that have helped us enjoy life just that little bit more. If you have any suggestions for this series feel free to drop us an email or leave them in the comments.

Keeping It Short And Sweet: Making Temporary Decisions is a post from: Serene Journey

Sending a physical thank-you note through “snail-mail” has somewhat become a thing of the past, a little old fashioned perhaps, but it’s a great way to show someone how grateful you are. We’re now in the electronic age where it’s quicker and maybe a bit more convenient to whip up an email and fire it off without giving it too much thought. While receiving thanks through an email is nice it’s not nearly as nice or as personable as receiving a note in the old mail box.

Whether sending a hand written note, which in today’s world is extra special, or sending an electronic thank-you there are a few things to keep in mind. It doesn’t have to be long and wordy, short and sweet usually works best. So I present to you:

The anatomy of a thank-you note

The greeting: This refers to the person you are greeting. Make sure it is appropriate for the person you are sending it to. In a business context you will be more formal than if you are addressing family or friends.

Dear Jim and Linda,

Dearest Auntie Joan,

Dear Mr. Smith,

The personal remark: Write something about the context in which you received the gift. Was it at a wedding, a baby shower or house warming? If it wasn’t a physical gift but rather a job interview then acknowledge the time they took to meet with you.

We were so glad that you could come to Alex’s baby shower and meet him in person.

Bob and I were so happy that you could make it to our wedding and share in our special day.

I really appreciate you taking the time to meet with me over lunch today.

The thank-you: This is important, it should be personal and specific. Although it doesn’t have to be wordy, you should specifically mention the gift that you are thanking them for and if applicable, mention your intended use of the item.

Thank you for the serving platter. It matches my set perfectly and is on display in the china cabinet ready for Thanksgiving.

Many thanks for the new clock, it really fits in with the decor in my livingroom.

The wrap up: This is simply the closing remarks.

Sincerely, Gail

With warm regards, Bill

Best wishes, Joan

Here’s an example:

Dear Jim and Linda,

Doug and I were so glad that you could come to our wedding and share in our special day.

Thank you so much for the set of wine goblets they match our set perfectly! We can’t wait to use them when we get back from our honeymoon.

Thanks again for your generous gift.

Sincerely,

Doug and Julie

What can I send a thank-you note for?

You can send a thank-you note for anything you want to express gratitude for.  For gifts from a baby shower, wedding, housewarming, going away, welcome home or dinner party. Express thanks for a nice evening out, for being invited to a great party, for help you received in writing a report. Really anything.

How late is too late to send a thank-you note?

The simple answer: it’s better late than never.

Ideally, you should send out your thank-you note within the first 2 weeks of receiving a gift or participating in an event. There is an exception when it comes to things like a wedding for example, then I feel a note sent within the first two months would be perfectly acceptable.

A lot of times we freeze when it comes to the thought of writting a thank-you note. But following these simple suggestions will will make for a pleasant experience on behalf of you and the recipient.

Do you send physical thank-you notes or do you use electronic means? Which do you prefer receiving? How long has it been since you have thanked someone for a gift or a good deed? Should you be writing one now?

Photo courtesy of: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³

See also:

Gratitude Journal: 30 Days To Happiness

Grab the Reins and Enjoy Your Life

Tips To Enjoy Life

************************************************************************

Keeping It Short And Sweet is a series of posts done every Thursday at Serene Journey. We will address topics that we are interested in learning a bit more about, topics that are generally useful and those that have helped us enjoy life just that little bit more. If you have any suggestions for this series feel free to drop us an email or leave them in the comments.

Keeping It Short And Sweet: Anatomy Of A Thank You Note is a post from: Serene Journey

There’s a ton of tips, techniques, and guidelines for taking better pictures, but there are three in particular that I have found that provide quick and dramatic improvements to the pictures you take. By focusing on these three tips you should see a huge improvement in the quality of pictures you produce.

Three simple steps to taking better pictures.

1. Light. Light makes the picture, without light we don’t have much to work with. There is varying quality of light and choosing to use the best light available to you makes all the difference to the quality of a photograph. Where possible it is best to take pictures in natural light either by getting outside or if you’re indoors move next to a window. That said, you can further improve the look of you pictures by choosing to shoot early in the morning as the sun is coming up or late in the evening when the sun is setting. The light at these times of days is a lot less harsh and it also allows you play around with long shadows which often add a really dramatic effect.

2. Rule of thirds. This is a pretty basic rule of photography, that if paid attention to can really add interest and balance to a picture. Basically, for this rule you have to imagine that the view finder has a grid pattern dividing your field of view into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, sort of like tic-tac-toe (see photo below). With this grid in mind place the subject of your picture along one of these lines or at a point where these lines intersect. By purposely offsetting your subject your pictures can be a little less awkward and really draw the viewer into the scene. But like all rules there are some exceptions. Deviating from this rule of thirds can sometimes provide pretty spectacular results. So play around with it.

3. Fill the frame. This one is usually overlooked but you really should give it a try. Usually the closer you are to your subject the more impact it’ll have on your picture. Including too much of the uninteresting background will detract from what you’ve found beautiful or what you really want to capture. So if it’s your kids get down to their level and be sure to get as much of them in the frame as possible. Same goes for a flower. Taking a picture of the whole plant will be far less impressive than if you zoomed in and only captured the bloom.

These are three pretty basic tips for taking better pictures and you don’t require any fancy equipment or a really expensive camera. Give it a try with the camera you have at home already. Take a shot following these rules and then take a similar shot breaking every single one of them. Which one is better? Why? Here are some examples of pictures we’ve taken following these simple rules and for the most part they aren’t too bad. I hope you’ll give it a try!

************************************************************************

Keeping It Short And Sweet is a series of posts done every Thursday at Serene Journey. We will address topics that we are interested in learning a bit more about, topics that are generally useful and those that have helped us enjoy life just that little bit more. If you have any suggestions for this series feel free to drop us an email or leave them in the comments.

Keeping It Short And Sweet: 3 Tips To Taking Better Pictures is a post from: Serene Journey

If keeping your inbox empty improves productivity then surely there is room for improvement on writing the actual message itself. I didn’t really think about how I compose emails until recently.

Start by asking a few simple questions.

• Are my emails too long?
• Does it take me forever to get to the point?
• Why is it in some emails I don’t get ALL my questions answered?
• Why do some messages not get responded to at all?

I went searching through my archives and found emails that I had written a while ago. When looking at them from an analysis point of view, yes my messages seemed to be a bit long. Most emails had a lot of fluff before getting to the point and if I was asking questions they were buried in a heap of text making it pretty difficult to keep track of.

Example of a long, wordy email likely to be skimmed and overlooked (oh and totally made up!):

Hi Sue,

It was really great catching up with you the other day I hope we don’t leave it as long before we do it again. I really liked hearing about how your most recent projects are coming along. I always knew you had it in you! Right from day one I knew you would succeed. Anyway, I was wondering if you would be willing to send me a copy of your business plan so I could have a look at it? I can’t remember where you said you got the template from either. 

I’m still working on getting my second company up and running but I’m starting to get bogged down in all the details. You know how it is endless meetings and phone calls it really difficult to find the time to do anything else.  How did you find your assistant? Was it through the yellow pages or a temp agency? 

Ok well again it was really great catching up with you today. We’ll have to do it again soon.

Bye for now,
Laura 

Long right? Not easy looking at a glance what it’s really about and what Laura wants from Sue, if anything.

I’ve come up with a short and sweet list of guidelines for composing emails that should help if you’ve encountered some of the problems I elude to in the questions above.

My tips for writing clear concise emails that get responses.

1. Be concise. Keep it short and sweet. Get to the point within the first sentence or two MAX.

2. Be clear. If you have several questions you need answered break them out into numbered bullets.

3. Be specific. Don’t imply or assume. People are not mind readers. Spell things out such as deadlines, resource needs or what their specific role is.

4. Add formatting. Over use of formatting can be really annoying but bolding a key concept or question will draw the recipients eye and the point will less likely be over looked.

5. Use attachments. If a message is too long and cumbersome it’s likely it will only be skimmed and left for later. Put the details in an attachment and refer to it in the body of your email.

Same email with tips applied: 

Hi Sue,

Great catching up with you today. I have a few follow up questions for you:

1. Could you send me a copy of your business plan? 
2. Can you tell me where you got the template for your business plan?
3. How did you find your assistant, Jane? Yellow pages? Temp agency?

I’m getting started on my business plan today and could really use your help.

Let’s do lunch again next week.
Laura 

Your email is more likely to be read if it is short, to the point and presented in a manner that it is structured and clear. If done in this way the recipient knows exactly what you want or need from them. It not only saves them time reading it, but it also saves you time writing it.

Do you send emails that are long, wordy and nearly impossible to decipher? Do you have any other tips on making email writing more efficient? Have your say in the comments.

Photo courtesy of: Incase Designs

************************************************************************

Keeping It Short And Sweet is a series of posts done every Thursday at Serene Journey (this is the first one!). We will address topics that we are interested in learning a bit more about, topics that are generally useful and those that have helped us enjoy life just that little bit more. If you have any suggestions for this series feel free to drop us an email or leave them in the comments. Be sure to sign up for our free subscription and have posts delivered directly to your email inbox or your RSS reader. Thanks for reading!

Keeping It Short And Sweet: The Science Of An Email is a post from: Serene Journey