Moving Vision into Action

Vision is great, but how often does it get created then put aside? Getting clear is certainly helpful and some things will occur as a result, but I want to work more consistently with my vision this year.

Creating a Mind Map

Mind maps organize information in a visual sense, so that is where I started. I have a tendency to create elaborate mind maps with hundreds of elements. I knew this wasn’t going to work, so I focused on identifying the key action areas that were the next steps in moving toward my vision. I use MindManager to create my maps.

There is still a lot here, but at least for this week, it felt like a manageable number of things to think about.

Looking for chunks to focus on

When I work on a big project, I work on everything at once. Doing something until I either finish or get stuck, then shift to the next thing. In the last few months, I’ve had  a bigger chance of getting stuck than finished, so I have been bouncing around a lot. Over a much wider range of tasks than is on this mindmap.

I am using the mind map to help select tasks to work on. I’m asking myself a couple of things:

• How can I select an action that will further multiple areas?
• What is easy that will clear space?.
• What feels stuck, but has a lot of payoff if I can clear it?

Going for Maximum Effect

Looking at my map, I saw I have a lot of content to develop. The end results will be used for different purposes on both sides of the map, but there is overlap in the general topics. I have years worth of articles, posts, case studies, handouts, and designs scattered all over the place. Some embedded in newsletters, some in the blog archives, in various folders on multiple hard drives. Just thinking about this felt yucky. There was no technology structure in place to help me keep track of it. Perfect example of something that offered big payoff and could effect multiple areas. Now just to find a way to make it easy.

I decided to use Google Sites to build a simple website to store all the parts. I selected a project template and built it out in a few hours. It is easy to make it accessible to only those I chose, so I can open it to selected contractors as well as our internal company members.  Once the framework was in place, I just had to find all the pieces and put them there. But look at what I gained:

• Created an off site back up of all the content
• Made it easy to share files in remote locations
• Organized content by topics that make sense for developing

I was able to get movement across the whole map. I did not have to use peak time to find, copy and paste, so I got a lot of it done during my less productive afternoon hours.

I still had time to paint!

Being more strategic in my choices, it was easier to spend time painting. I wasn’t as worried about using it to avoid other things. Besides I’ve committed to  being Creative Every Day . I’ve been doing a series of paintings about the winter holidays, now I’m doing a story about heart which is only half done. You can see them in this slideshow.

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