Mind Mapping To Plan Your Goals

Mind Mapping To Plan Your Goals

by | Goals, Planning-Organization-Productivity

When you use mind mapping to plan your goals, you change the way your brain thinks by engaging it in a creative and visual activity. Creating a mind map can be done on paper or with software. My mind wanders when I create mine on paper.

Commitments

I make commitments to myself to achieve certain goals. These goals are not just things that I want to do – they are things that I must do in order to be happy and successful. I make these commitments because I know I can and will achieve them.

A key to achieving goals is to break them down into small doable steps.

Creating A Mind Map

In the middle of your paper write the word – Goals, Commitment or that very special name you call them. I like to circle the main point, or you could write it in a fun color that POPS! 

These are some articles I found that I enjoyed and that helped me understand mind mapping.

The Mind Map Technique: How To Set More Productive Goals

Unlock Your Ideas With Mind Mapping In Just 3 Minutes 

Off of your middle circle create spokes to an exhaustive list of all the things that you’d like to do in your business.

Every little thing that you can think of, get it all out of your head and onto the paper. 

If you have any sub-thoughts about the goals write those down as spokes off of the goal. 

Do you feel good about your list? Do you have everything out?

Be sure to sit a few extra minutes asking yourself “What Else” this will allow for anything else to pop in. 

What do you want to commit to? 

There is everything in front of you. Be sure to circle the commitments that are most important to you, as well as those that are in alignment with your business.

Mind Mapping To Plan Your Goals

Mind Map Again To Create Your Plan

You have the commitments you’re feeling called to achieve. Now put that commitment in the center and begin to create an action plan and all the action steps that need to be done to accomplish your commitment or goal.

Do this for each of your commitments.

Which commitment do you want to begin with?

As a general rule, you should work on one commitment at a time rather than juggling too many responsibilities at once.

Create Your Action Plan

Now that you have all the action steps and the commitment to your goal, give an estimate of the time it will take to complete each step.

What needs to come first

What is the first thing that needs to happen?

Get this scheduled in your calendar.

Once I have the plan on paper, I add it to my Project Management Software, ClickUp. It actually has a Goal session where you can create all the tasks with your goal and set the date to complete them.

Remember Parkinson’s law that work expands to fill the time allotted for completion.

When I first wrote this article in 2019, I thought I underestimated how long it would take to complete a task; therefore, I’d double the time estimate.

As a result of acquiring my coaching certification with Yes Supply, this changed my mindset completely. Believing that you can complete the task within the timeframe is essential.

Do one thing daily…

Do one action every day to move towards your goals.

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Quote Of The Week

“Any dream is actionable.”

Rachel Hollis

Quick Wrap Up

  • Mind mapping allows your brain to be creative and think visually. 
  • Create a mind map with the word Goals circled in the middle of the paper
  • Create an exhaustive list of all the goals you’d like to commit too
  • Pick the top three and create a mind map of all the actions to complete it
  • Schedule these actions in your calendar or project management software
Five Email Organization Tips using Spark Email App

Five Email Organization Tips using Spark Email App

by | Planning-Organization-Productivity

Five Email Organization Tips using Spark Email App

As an online business email is a cornerstone to communication, it’s time to clear the clutter,  speed through your inbox and respond to what’s important with these five email organization tips using Spark Email App. 

You could say that I’m a tech enthusiast, I’m constantly checking out new software apps. This can be a good thing and a bad thing y’all.  

Spark has been my go-to email app for going on a year, I do not see myself switching. It has a number of time-saving features that allow you to respond to what’s important, so you can spend time on revenue-generating tasks. 

In addition, Spark Email App allows me to connect all my email accounts into one application. It works fantastic with Google, Exchange, iCloud, Yahoo, Outlook – are you picking up what I’m laying down yet?  

Oh plus, it syncs across all my devices. Friend, I have a lot of devices. 🙂

Ready, set, go

Here are the five email organization tips using Spark Email App that will get you clearing the clutter and speeding through your inbox.

Tip 1 is Smart Inbox

If you’ve followed Miss Task for any amount of time, I’ve mentioned once or twice that I sort my inbox before I even begin responding or doing the work. This lets me get all the clutter out of the way. 

What is the Smart Inbox? Are you familiar with Gmail’s categories that are the different tabs? Smart Inbox divide your inbox into different sections or cards as they are referred too in the Spark preferences. Here is a great image from Spark’s website to give you a visual.

When sorting through you messages you can pin them for quick and easy reference. Pinning important emails keeps them top of mine so you can respond to what’s important. 

Spark does some of the heavy liftings when sorting your inbox as it’s smart enough to know what type of emails are coming into your inbox. It will sort your emails into personal, newsletter and notification boxes to help you speed through your inbox. 

Tip 2 is Templates AKA Canned Responses

If you’re not using templates or canned responses you need to be! What I love about these templates, is that you can add labels that stand out so you know where you need to add personal information; such as names, dates, items that you’re working on. 

Templates can be set up for those emails responses that you send repeatedly to your clients. 

Here is another fantastic visual from Spark’s website.

Tip 3 is Scheduling

Are you answering your client's message at 2 am? Well, snooze that response to send later. They have time you can pick from or customize in the preferences or you can select a specific date and time. 

Another way this is handy? Perhaps you have a Podcast and you chat with a potential guest. They ask if you could follow up with them at a later date maybe three months down the road. Don’t add it to your to-do list, just get it done after the call and snooze the email to send in three months. That way the conversation is fresh in your mind while you draft the message. Pretty handy, dandy am I right? 

Tip 4 is Quick Replies

I use this ALL THE TIME! I’ve set up quick replies to acknowledge receipt of work from my clients, a quick reply to let them know that the work has been completed. A simple Thank You and You’re Welcome with of course a cute emoji. 

In short, quick replies allows you to set up predetermined short responses with your own personal twist. 

Here is an example of Quick Replies for Spark Email App. 

Five Email Organization Tips Using Spark Email App

Five Email Organization Tips using Spark Email App

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Tip 5 Built-In Calendar

No need to jump to your calendar application to check your schedule or add a meeting. Spark has a built-in calendar that is associated with your email accounts. 

For me instead of going into Zoom to schedule my calls I’ve added the Zoom integration to Spark and it can be set up right from the calendar. So much easier! 

Quick Wrap Up

  1. Smart Inbox this divides your inbox into sections or cards
  2. Templates allow you to create saved responses that can be used over and over again instead of drafting a message from scratch.
  3. Scheduling Message no more 2 am responses to your clients schedule them for delivery during working hours.
  4. Quick Replies because sometimes you just want to say “Thank You!” with a mouse click. 
  5. Built-In Calendar to keep track of your calendar and schedule without having to open another application.  

Ta-Da, a list of five email organization tips using Spark Email App! 

Miss Task helps online businesses simplify project planning by breaking down big projects into small accomplishable daily tasks.

If you’d need help planning and organizing your Inbox schedule a planning project workshop today!

Book A Planning Project Workshop
Time Blocking For The Productivity Win

Time Blocking For The Productivity Win

by | Planning-Organization-Productivity

Time Blocking For The Productivity Win

You’re going a million miles per hour and looking back at your day you feel less than accomplished. Enter time blocking for the productivity win.

What would it feel like to look back at your day and feel productive and efficient? You’d feel like you won the day, just saying. One small step that you can do for the productivity win is time blocking.

No worries Friend if you’re not a planner. It’s a life skill that you can improve on I pinky swear, plus I’m guessing that you’ve got a little bit of a planner in you. You’re showing up for your meetings on time, am I right? Please say I’m right. Woo, you have me scared for a bit there.

When Are You In The Zone

What day or time do you feel your productivity superpower coming out? If you’re not sure, start to pay attention and simply jot down a little note of the day and time that you crushed your work.

This would be a good indication that you’re in the zone of productivity.

Let’s make this your first official time block. You’ll want to use this for a creative project that’s going on or one that you have been procrastinating on for a while.

What are things to time block

  • Days that you take client meetings
  • Days that you take discovery calls
  • Days that would be just working
  • Days to record your podcast, videos
  • Days to write your blogs

Time blocking goes hand in hand with batch creation. When you batch like work it will get you into the flow and keep you in the state of flow verse bouncing from one thing to the other without getting it completed from start to finish.

This can be done in many different ways,  what’s is important is to find when you feel like a productivity rock star.

Often when I ask a new client about time blocking or batch work, most of the time I get a giggle because this isn’t something they are doing at all.

Start Small

If this whole time blocking and batching is new to you start small. Begin with 45 minutes of dedicated time that is scheduled 2-3 times a week and see how it goes.

What is something that you’re getting behind on, that you find you’re doing it at the last minute EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK.

My own example for the past

When client work began to fill my days, the creative work for my business went out of the window.

My blog and social media posts came to a halt. Blah, so all that time I’d spent building it up well y’all that don’t stay without being nurtured. Business lesson learned number 209.

Now my first two hours of my workday are dedicated to creating content in my business. I work in sprints of time, I set the timer for 25 minutes and pour out all the words. Somedays I’ll have it all done, others the struggle is real and I start over a bazillion times.

When I plan my day I know that client work does not begin until 9 am for me. Blocking this time and setting the bounty has also taught me to not say yes to all the thing and projects.

Which with my people pleasing, helpful personality it's important that I do not overbook myself. Business lesson learned number 388.

My time blocks are simple

Every weekday is content focused, while I enjoy my coffee.

Discovery Calls are the afternoons on Mondays and Tuesdays

Client Calls are scheduled only during their scheduled time block Monday – Wednesday. 98% of the time the block is consistently scheduled at the same time every day.

Planning workshops are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. With the preferred day Wednesday.

Thursday is 100% focused on the work

Friday is blocked for my operations and financial. Financial Friday WooHoo. Client work is kept to a minimum.

This is a typical Wednesday

  • 7-9: Content Creation
  • 9-10: Client Project
  • 10-11: Client Project
  • 11-12: Client Project
  • 12-1: Client Project
  • 1-2: Project Management Work
  • 2-3: Daily Work Out/Get Ready/Eat
  • 3-4: Wrap Up the Day and Finish Anything Undone

Please send me your questions and comments, either here or a direct message on Instagram, find me here.

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