MindMapSwitch

Mind Map Recipe: Next Actions by Context

If you haven’t heard of Getting Things Done then where have you been?  Getting Things Done or GTD for short, is an action management system by David Allen.

Part of this system involves a weekly review where you can create lists of actionable items that lead to a completed goal.  Each of these actionable items have a context.  The context of the actionable item is the context in which it can be done, e.g. “At home” or “@home” for a shorter notation.

This recipe will allow you to quickly create a mind map of your actionable items by context.

Here’s the structure of the mind map:

• The centre of the map will be the date this list is effective from. My mind maps usually consist of a weeks items at a time.  In the centre of the map I’ll usually simply use the date as a starting point.
• The 1st level of branches are the different contexts your next actions have. Create branches for each of the contexts you think you’ll need.  If you have your items already listed somewhere, go through the list and create the context branches you’ll need.
• The final level of branches are the actionable items themselves. For the final level of branches you can now add your actionable items.  I tend to keep my actionable items short in description, but if you can shorten it further to an image that works for you then use that image.

There you have it!  A review of your actionable items by context.  Unless you take pride in the appearance of your mind maps, I wouldn’t get too caught up over the presentation of the map.  Your mind map is only valid for a week, so it’s only got a short lifespan.

Related Articles:

1. Mind Map Recipe: Next Actions by Project
2. Mind Map Recipe: Mind Mapping a Book
3. Mind Map Recipe: Taking Notes at a Meeting
4. Mind Maps and Projects – Part 3: Task Management

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