Checking hoizon's 3,4 and 5

[Greyone]

Before Christmas breaks out i want to admit that i have been working hard completing my Purpose in life and formulating my long term vision and short term goals. Some have come about because of my projects and other through my own earnest desire. But one thought that strikes me now is if what i have is really and fits together in a manner i must for the moment describe as satisfactory/sufficient.

I'm asking myself whether my visions and goals our sufficient to for me to achieve my purpose in life. I appreciate that in may very well have a few holes and may always be something more organic and living than ever a finished product. But i feel it is worthwhile to create for myself a test to check for completeness/ check for any holes.

Had any one every successfully achieved this using a GTD or none-GTD technique ? I honestly feel that this is an important thing to do so that we can know/feel that what we create a these levels is all necessary and sufficient.

Has any one every answered these type of questions for themselves ?

As always THX for any advice.

 

[DenaDahilig]

Yes! Yes! Yes! Extensively!

About three years ago I made a huge mind map (I mean, huge... it covered the wall of a 10' long hallway.) of, well, everything. I didn't work from the top down or the bottom up. I just started with my areas of responsibility (20,000ft.) and it all sort of flowed out from there. As it took shape I could see a pattern that led me to a vision (40,000ft) and a purpose (50,000ft)... and I didn't really expect that.

It was so extensive, though, it was overwhelming. To stand back and have to see everything I was responsible for and all of the challenges and roadblocks I had created was sobering... and an amazing wake-up call. In the past three years, using the map as both a guide and a cautionary tale, I have consciously streamlined the essentials and red lined everything else. If I were to do that mind map again this year (and I should!) I wouldn't need a hallway, or even a doorway! It was the most valuable tool I've ever had.

So, rather than focusing on "satisfactory/sufficient" you could think of it in terms of "accurate/thorough" to start. Who are you right now? And be open to what emerges from there. Knowing the whole scope of who you are in this moment will help you clarify those goals and visions for the future.

Happy Christmas!

Dena

 

[Greyone]

i think you were very brave to dive in like that and maybe with so many things happening in my life and inextricably linked with two family members, that must be a must for me this year. My problem is that i like to work slowly. It took me 3 definite iterations to produce a PIL that reflects my life as it is now and as i want it to be, especially since it involves different areas of my life at different times. It has also dawned on me that many of my other projects have goals and are linked to other projects. I originally thought that i was working on just one area of my life for each vision , when in fact it involves at least 3. At the moment my chosen graphic form is not a mind map but a graph in excel with the horizontal a time line and groups of 6 rows to represent my different areas of focus ( some of course are.

To help me think i need to vision my ideas against a visible time line., but i map also try a mind map to at least get everything out of my head and visible.

BTW: My inspiration for doing this was when i realised 3 of projects were in fact my visions and came very close to what i wanted from life, so now i am a lot more comfortable. I think though over Christmas i'll spend my time doing something simlar to what you've done. Thank you for being so thoughtful and inspiring.

 

[DenaDahilig]

At the moment my chosen graphic form is not a mind map but a graph in excel with the horizontal a time line and groups of 6 rows to represent my different areas of focus

You are braver than I to map it all on a time line! Whatever I have predicted as my weekly, monthly or even annual progress has never been borne out with that kind of accuracy. Life is so very liquid! That doesn't mean that I didn't make great progress, complete monumental tasks and achieve my goals. It just means that I know I need to build in flexibility.

BTW: My inspiration for doing this was when i realised 3 of projects were in fact my visions and came very close to what i wanted from life, so now i am a lot more comfortable. I think though over Christmas i'll spend my time doing something simlar to what you've done.

This is awesome! Please let me know how it goes and if there's anything I can do to help!
Dena

 

[Greyone]

Will do and thanks for your interest. I'm not sure how successful I will be with my time line or how accurate it will be at the end of the day. For example by career goal at the moment involves a change in job ( from now till April next year) and then a period of defining my direction in my new role (1 year). Not precision i must admit but by giving myself a time limit i think i can give greater shape to my projects to make them smart . I'm certain that my projects will have to be Timed/smart and that will effect my Goals timeline which may need to be reduced or extended.

BTW: I tried to draw a relationship diagram for my H 3,4 and 5 and to my surprise (at least) it started to look like a very funny shaped mind map, so now I'm taking your advice and mind mapping, starting with my visions and goals, but at the same time I'm also working up from my projects to see if the have valid goals or visions. One of my simple projects is nothing more than to get all of my CD's onto my I-POD, then my commercial tapes etc. . So I've created a long term vision because there is so much work to do over the next few years. I've also decided that this is the year for me to tackling a lot of my unanswered health questions and I'll be creating a long term vision for that as well.

This is why i think a timeline is so important so that i can give as much structure to my projects as possible. Although some of my projects only appear to go as far as being aligned to my Areas of Focus.

I've set myself the target of this weekend to come up with something creditable, so I'll post again on Monday.

 

[ChristinaSkaskiw]

Hi Greyone,

I'm intrigued. Reading your posts I was thinking how using a time line could actually reduce stress, given that the time line is realistic, rather than non-timed goals, which could sit inside like "as soon as possible" and cause stress and overwhelm.

I've spent a great deal of time in the past musing over purpose. I envy people who just know from an early age what their life is about. Most people, however, seem not to give it much thought whatsoever. Personally, I was looking for direction, for something that would inspire me. I heard a talk (possibly a TED talk) on happiness where the speaker suggested that there were three ways that people found happiness. One was simply having pleasurable feelings and maybe lots of people fall into this category and that's why they don't worry about their purpose in life. Another was to challenge themselves, to set goals and achieve them. Maybe you know a few like that. I suppose many of them would be interested in sports. And the third was living a life of meaning and that's where I fall, but I haven't so far conceived of a clear meaning. I have some ideas though

Best wishes with finding a new job!

Christina

 

[Dave Edwards]

About three years ago I made a huge mind map (I mean, huge... it covered the wall of a 10' long hallway.) of, well, everything. I didn't work from the top down or the bottom up. I just started with my areas of responsibility (20,000ft.) and it all sort of flowed out from there. As it took shape I could see a pattern that led me to a vision (40,000ft) and a purpose (50,000ft)... and I didn't really expect that.

That's a brilliant idea, Dena. I need a big wall.

 

[DenaDahilig]

I need a big wall.

Actually, I used mind mapping software that allowed me to expand in all directions without limitation. Then I just exported to .pdf and printed tiled pages that I taped together.

If you wanted to, you could print at any size, or print any portion of the map... just make sure it's still legible! The first time I tried printing the whole thing onto 11x17 paper, it just looked like little lines and dots!

Dena

 

[Greyone]

Well with a bit of effort, i've started a nice mind map using real paper, because at the moment my GTD system is paper based and in an A5 folder. My only nod to technology in planning is to use excel to manage what i have on my horizons. When i make a big leap to Windows 10, i'll probably try mind mapping software.

Christina - I'm not sure where, whether in the latest edition of the GTD book or in one of the podcasts, but i think I've seen the SMART acronym used. But for me having a time-line does give me comfort and inspires me to complete things. Visions and Goals come with default settings, 3 - 5 years and 1 -2 years respectively i think. But i'm striving to make all of my projects SMART starting with my Big projects. I have 3 Big projects at the moment. Mum in Elder care, moving house and changing jobs. For all 3 i have visions and/or goals and having a time line i think will help me manage them. My only concern is that i dont want the expand too far the amount of time i spend managing things. But using software is a very sensible idea. Glad you mention TED talk because i was inspired to try harder by a TEDX talk i think it was called, they're really cool. But for me, my time-line and mind map are going to be big exercises.

My original aim in posting was to find guidance on developing a snug fit between all of my horizons. I'm now happy with my Horizon 5 and because i want to grow in all my areas of focus, i was easy for me to construct a long term vision and 4 short term goals. Interestingly my only AOF's not yet aligned to my purpose in life are my health and finance. Finance will be very soon because of my big projects. Then finally i will deal with my health. Then i will feel a lot happier. I'm also trying place each of my projects into at least one AOF (My house move project obviously has a very significant and maybe i should say equal finance part, my job move is obviously influenced by my finance focus. But on the whole most of my projects lean towards one AOF.

Thanks to everyone for posting, this is a most enjoyable discussion.

*** Finally - a mind mapping question ***
Does anyone thing it is possible or even worthwhile to let my AOF's influence the layout of my mind map. I had thought of dividing my paper into different areas for each area of focus. For example i have 7 AOFs and i was thinking of diving my sheet with 7 lines radiating from the center ?

 

[DenaDahilig]

*** Finally - a mind mapping question ***
Does anyone thing it is possible or even worthwhile to let my AOF's influence the layout of my mind map. I had thought of dividing my paper into different areas for each area of focus. For example i have 7 AOFs and i was thinking of diving my sheet with 7 lines radiating from the center ?

Areas of Focus absolutely dictated my layout. It's easy to throw the buckets up there and fill in the rest above and below.

I thought you might like to see an example, so I cropped out a portion of my mind map as an illustration. To give you an idea of what's going on, at the time I did this map I was a member and webmaster of an arts council for a local university. I had also just been elected to a 2-year term as its president but I wouldn't be assuming duties for another 2 months. The vision for this section spanned other Areas of Focus so it doesn't appear in the cropped part.

I also realized that throughout my life plan there are recurring actions that sit apart from next actions. As a result, I have listed all of these "routines" under each of my AOFs.

Hope this helps! Enjoy!
Dena

Attached files

 

[Greyone]

WOW, that's all I can say for the moment. As well as phew , what a relief.When you said mind map , I immediately thought of one of those crazy drawings that start in the middle and radiate out. Now I see what you've done and I am relieved because it looks like the map I was doing , with Horizon 5 at the top , then 4,3, and two in descending order. That's a relief because when you said mind map I was thinking of the ones I used to do many years ago. But your layout is much more elegant than that. I'm going to try and print yours off on a colour printer tomorrow so I can fully appreciate it. I think what you've done is brilliant. Mines I bit primitive still, all in red and acronyms. But I'm still developing my visions and goals on a spread sheet without graphics first so I don't get too lost. Just tonight I've created a new (not sure if its a vision or a goal yet) for my personal finances. I promise I'll share mine soon. I really am most grateful for you in sharing this with me. I'll post again soon.

 

[Greyone]

Firstly. Thank you for sharing a portion of your mind map. I must admit that i was thinking of one of those old fashioned ones that looks a bit like a flow chart but radiating from the centre. I had started doing something similar to you in Excel and then wondered if i should revert to the old fashioned mind map. Your example suggests that my original idea was right.

I'd started off by using excel to tabulate my horizon's 5,4,3 & 2 . It took me 3 versions and many drafts to come up with my purpose. At the moment it encompasses Career, Family & Myself. I suppose i shold really define a project for this because i have many ideas in my head on how it should go. I was going to say that my next step would be to include Finance and Health in my purpose , but what i really want to do is define my visions of goal as things are.

Not as good as using some of these modern and funky packages , but as Excel is everywhere, i am using an Excel workbook to tabulate my Horizons 5,4 & 3 on one tab, the 2nd for my areas of focus and how i see them sub dividing, the 3rd to list my projects that have yet to be completed or ditched, the next table for the projects i have completed or ditched and a final one for my graphic of H 5,4 and 3 . I've yet to use colour in the same way that you have. But i use red , yellow and green to show my stages of development. I'm also trying to incorporate time scales in my graphic. Some for my purpose are arbitrary , but i have given it a working period of 30 years. for my visions and goals i use the standard definitions and for my projects no more than a year. So in Excel my time line goes horizontally and my horizons vertically.

Thanks once again for the graphic and once mine is respectable , I'll post it.

 

[DenaDahilig]

That sounds pretty great, Greyone!

Finance and health can certainly figure into how you state your Purpose, along with family and career. My overall Purpose is, well, a bit of a run-on, but it is succinct in its concepts and vast in its inclusions.

And don't feel you have to post your mind map. These are personal things and, unless you're looking for accountability - which is totally cool - you might want to keep the raw, honest evaluations private. Certainly what I shared was only what I was comfortable sharing and is, now, all work that has been completed.

I really believe that this kind of mind map is like gutting your life and spreading the pieces out to look at them in the flesh. Yeah, not a good visual... sorry... but you get what I mean. It serves you best to be detailed and honest with yourself. It probably doesn't serve you think others might be looking at and evaluating your final product. And that might change how you craft it, and not for the better.

Keep it up! It sounds like you're making great progress on an ambitious project!

Dena

 

[Greyone]

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Hi , no probs. I use acronyms in my mind map so the meaning is well hidden. My purpose in life is artificially set to 30 years , so here's the first 7.
I always use excel so it's portable and all my other info is in the same workbook. At the moment, colours represent completion. The time scales are just for perspective and planning though.

Thanks very much everyone for all your time and advice in this post. I've gotta lot to get out of my head at the moment.

Thx

 

[Greyone]

Hi , no probs. I use acronyms in my mind map so the meaning is well hidden. My purpose in life is artificially set to 30 years , so here's the first 7.
I always use excel so it's portable and all my other info is in the same workbook. At the moment, colours represent completion. The time scales are just for perspective and planning.

Thanks very much everyone for all your time and advice in this post. I've gotta lot to get out of my head at the moment and add much more detail.

Thx


Attached files

 

[DenaDahilig]

ILTA!
(I like the acronyms!)

As long as you remember what they mean 30 years from now!

Good job!

Dena

 

[SteelcaseGTDr]

Great questions. My opinion: It's not an exact science and is meant to be dynamic as you change and conditions change.
What I'm doing feels good for me anyway: I keep a list in my list manager (Wunderlist) called "Horizons of Focus" which takes me from 20k thru 50k (Projects and next actions are on their own lists of course). I scan down thru it as the 2nd step of my Weekly Review (after mind sweep).
It often triggers NA's, sometimes projects. I refine the content as I go.
I love having it in my LM. Everything in one place.
My goal is course is to live a higher % "on purpose"....aligned and focused and it really works. Again, never perfect.
If you're familiar with "Strategy Deployment" this is similar, in fact I'm using David's model in my business versus other models for SD. Works great!
Hope this helps.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Greyone]

It sounds like your approach is in the same "ball park" as myself. After much thinking , soul searching and aggravation I managed to come up with my purpose in life, it only encompasses my self, career and family. I'm not sure that it covers all of my self , family and career , that is my problem.
I dare say it will have to be organic. Already I am trying to include Finance and health without any certainty of completeness. I think my question has always been how can I test for completeness other than gut feeling ? This week I am "looking down" from my purpose in life to see if my long term visions are aligned and that is the scary bit. I don't do this every week mind you, I'm just trying to develop my mind map. Any other tips would be welcome.

 

[Cpu_Modern]

I dare say it will have to be organic.

It has to be!

You are traveling through time and space. That means new information (to use the most generic, all-encompassing term), is incoming all the time. That means, if you want to stay true to yourself and others, your purpose definition (again, most all-encompassing term I can muster) will have to change!

Maybe not every five minutes in it's totality. But to hammer a "thou shalt do" in stone is of questionable worth. Yes, on lower levels, 40,000k , 20,000k, standards and principles for projects, these things can be of value.

But don't put your self into a box and then spent your life hitting that box with a baseball bat! Serves no one!

IMHO, of course.

 

[Greyone]

Its funny you should say all that , because i've spent this week to date giving my list of projects on a spreadsheet and coming to some interesting conclusions. Firstly I've been too focused on projects. That's just me playing the rookie. One of my projects was supposed to be to organize events for my mother during the spring and summer months, I've made that into a goal. Other things on my list our recurring projects and can work even better with just check-lists. I've also got rid of a few things that are past their do by date. I'm looking at other projects to do with myself and finding they're really short term goals and long term visions.
So I've created a new TAB on my projects spreadsheet to record my PIL, Visions and goals.

I think I'm now starting to use my Vision sand Goals to give my system a little structure and having a time frame helps also, esp since the good book indicates time-scales for projects goals and visions , so its unavoidable. I USUALLY review my PIL every year, visions every quarter and goals every month, along with my weekly review of projects. But my recent realisation shave been most interesting - thanks for getting in touch.