kelstarrising
Kelly | GTD expert
Meg recorded a great audio tip about doing an outdoor mindsweep. Has anyone ever done this? Where do you do your mindsweeps? Do you ever find you get different information in different places?
Where do you do your mindsweeps?
- Thread starter kelstarrising
- Start date
Barb
0
Yes!
When the weather is nice, I do at least part of my WR mindsweep on my patio. I have a nice little pond with a waterfall--it's very relaxing.
Since I work at home, my patio becomes that place where I go to get away from my desk. I keep some reading out there, capture equipment, etc. I sometimes just sit and do a mindsweep.
I never take my laptop out there though. I think that would spoil the "change of scenery" feeling I get from doing it.
kelstarrising;69605 said:
When the weather is nice, I do at least part of my WR mindsweep on my patio. I have a nice little pond with a waterfall--it's very relaxing.
Since I work at home, my patio becomes that place where I go to get away from my desk. I keep some reading out there, capture equipment, etc. I sometimes just sit and do a mindsweep.
I never take my laptop out there though. I think that would spoil the "change of scenery" feeling I get from doing it.
Barb
0
Meg's Outdoor Mindsweep
I responded to Kelly's post before listening. Meg's podcast is more about walking around the outside of your house to pick up mindsweep items.
As for change of scene: I am well known for sitting at my desk and staring stupidly at any piece of paper marked "Mindsweep". Kelly's Guided Mindsweep webinar helped a lot with that, but I still find I can pick up another 20 or so things just by sitting outside. Some of the items are "outdoor items", but many are unrelated to where I am at the time.
sdann;69627 said:
I responded to Kelly's post before listening. Meg's podcast is more about walking around the outside of your house to pick up mindsweep items.
As for change of scene: I am well known for sitting at my desk and staring stupidly at any piece of paper marked "Mindsweep". Kelly's Guided Mindsweep webinar helped a lot with that, but I still find I can pick up another 20 or so things just by sitting outside. Some of the items are "outdoor items", but many are unrelated to where I am at the time.
There is a great book, which I found out about through the GTD Times blog, called Brain Rules.
For reasons explained in the book, brain activity can change during physical exercise. I have not explored this yet, but I wonder about the usefulness of a voice recorder (or a smart phone with a voice recorder) handy during runs, walks, stationary bikes (if you have bad knees), etc. to capture thoughts and recollections enhanced by the exercise.
rdgeorge
For reasons explained in the book, brain activity can change during physical exercise. I have not explored this yet, but I wonder about the usefulness of a voice recorder (or a smart phone with a voice recorder) handy during runs, walks, stationary bikes (if you have bad knees), etc. to capture thoughts and recollections enhanced by the exercise.
rdgeorge
Visual triggers for mindsweep
When I was managing the installation of a new factory, the daily and Friday afternoon factory tours with the contractors' managers always triggered all sorts of NAs. Now a look around my office or around the house (inside or out) and garden triggers ideas.
Japanese have the word 'gemba' referring to the 'actual/original place' where something happens ("Don't talk about it in the office, go and look at the problem in the factory"). Western management has coined the somewhat related concept of 'Management by Walking About'.
I've been thinking that this process is so 'right brain' that visual triggers are more appropriate than the textual trigger list in the the GTD book (p 114-117). Therefore, I'm trying to find ways to put such visual triggers in my office space, or elsewhere, to help with such thinking.
Photos of family and friends are one obvious visual trigger but organisation charts, logos of clients and other organisations, maps, etc. could also help. The more visual and the less textual they are, the more they are likely to help this process, I believe. Mindmaps only go part of the way if they are filled with text.
I'd welcome other people thoughts on this. I'd like to find ideas for converting everything on GTD p114-117 into a visual form.
Phil
When I was managing the installation of a new factory, the daily and Friday afternoon factory tours with the contractors' managers always triggered all sorts of NAs. Now a look around my office or around the house (inside or out) and garden triggers ideas.
Japanese have the word 'gemba' referring to the 'actual/original place' where something happens ("Don't talk about it in the office, go and look at the problem in the factory"). Western management has coined the somewhat related concept of 'Management by Walking About'.
I've been thinking that this process is so 'right brain' that visual triggers are more appropriate than the textual trigger list in the the GTD book (p 114-117). Therefore, I'm trying to find ways to put such visual triggers in my office space, or elsewhere, to help with such thinking.
Photos of family and friends are one obvious visual trigger but organisation charts, logos of clients and other organisations, maps, etc. could also help. The more visual and the less textual they are, the more they are likely to help this process, I believe. Mindmaps only go part of the way if they are filled with text.
I'd welcome other people thoughts on this. I'd like to find ideas for converting everything on GTD p114-117 into a visual form.
Phil
Oogiem
0
I've been printing some labels for socks so had time where all I had to do was babysit the printer so I just listened to this tip.
I do outdoor mindsweeps all the time. In fact at least once a week during grazing season I walk the property in part to check the grass growth and see where I'm going to move the sheep next but also to pick out projects or items that either can be moved forward or need to be added. I don't do them as often in winter, the deep snow make sit hard to even walk some of the fields but I get lots of projects from outdoor walks.
Hubby and I just did one today that resulted in a new project for me. We were moving sheep from one side of the orchard to the other to fresh grass and we had to scoot them up past 3 grazing cells to where the working gate was to get them across the fence line into the other side. Following the rule of no fence is ever where you at first need it, we always put in temporary fences at first. We both just realized that the divider fence has been in the same place for 9 years. It was one of these "temporary" fences. So a new project is to see about getting our fence guy to make this a permanent fence but with easier to handle gates in more places. My next action is to pace off the fence line to get a rough estimate of length. I need to also see where 100 ft segments lie because we discussed putting in a gate every 100 ft or so. It got added to my list and when I walk the property later today to check on the sheep I'm going to try to walk it off and see how long the fence will be.
Related to outdoor mind sweeps are using my camera to take pictures of projects or action items that need doing. Sometimes a picture really is the best way to capture a project.
I do outdoor mindsweeps all the time. In fact at least once a week during grazing season I walk the property in part to check the grass growth and see where I'm going to move the sheep next but also to pick out projects or items that either can be moved forward or need to be added. I don't do them as often in winter, the deep snow make sit hard to even walk some of the fields but I get lots of projects from outdoor walks.
Hubby and I just did one today that resulted in a new project for me. We were moving sheep from one side of the orchard to the other to fresh grass and we had to scoot them up past 3 grazing cells to where the working gate was to get them across the fence line into the other side. Following the rule of no fence is ever where you at first need it, we always put in temporary fences at first. We both just realized that the divider fence has been in the same place for 9 years. It was one of these "temporary" fences. So a new project is to see about getting our fence guy to make this a permanent fence but with easier to handle gates in more places. My next action is to pace off the fence line to get a rough estimate of length. I need to also see where 100 ft segments lie because we discussed putting in a gate every 100 ft or so. It got added to my list and when I walk the property later today to check on the sheep I'm going to try to walk it off and see how long the fence will be.
Related to outdoor mind sweeps are using my camera to take pictures of projects or action items that need doing. Sometimes a picture really is the best way to capture a project.
conference room at work
back of the building in the shade
at my desk
While driving with a headset and voice recorder
In front of freemind on my PC
while walking with a hipster
back of the building in the shade
at my desk
While driving with a headset and voice recorder
In front of freemind on my PC
while walking with a hipster
More on mindsweeps
Places for mindsweeps:
Hiking with the dogs
Red Horse Cafe, downtown Corvallis (front table on the right, next to the window)
At my home office desk
On the way back home from travel, on the airplane
Almost always done on my laptop, with MindManager, using floating topics for fast capture without worrying about organizing thoughts. I pull them into a map later, when I'm done with capture.
t
Places for mindsweeps:
Hiking with the dogs
Red Horse Cafe, downtown Corvallis (front table on the right, next to the window)
At my home office desk
On the way back home from travel, on the airplane
Almost always done on my laptop, with MindManager, using floating topics for fast capture without worrying about organizing thoughts. I pull them into a map later, when I'm done with capture.
t
Tara;70475 said:
Working mobile sounds great! I really need to try that. I was thinking that might even motivate me to use mind mapping software more. I am not real familiar with Minda Manager; what's a floating topic?
I just thought of a few more that I use on occasion
- The husband/boyfriend bench at the women's clothese store
- Doctor waiting room
- Steakhouse lounge near my house with a beer in hand
Floating along...
@sdann Silke, your reply made me smile. What a lovely idea!
@12hourhalfday Hey Brian, floating topics are topics that not attached to any branch of the mindmap. In MindManager, a user can write them in and hit return to add a new one. I like using them because they are very fast to add, type, and add another so it's easy to get many thoughts down quickly without worrying about where they "belong." I organize them onto branches later on.
Have a great weekend,
Tara
@sdann Silke, your reply made me smile. What a lovely idea!
@12hourhalfday Hey Brian, floating topics are topics that not attached to any branch of the mindmap. In MindManager, a user can write them in and hit return to add a new one. I like using them because they are very fast to add, type, and add another so it's easy to get many thoughts down quickly without worrying about where they "belong." I organize them onto branches later on.
Have a great weekend,
Tara
Tara;70532 @12hourhalfday Hey Brian said: