December 8th, 2011

Freeplane|GTD add-on available

The Freeplane|GTD tool for extracting Next Action lists from a mind map can now be installed using the add-on manager in Freeplane:

  1. Download the add-on from SourceForge
  2. Using Freeplane 1.2.x, select Tools -> Add-ons
  3. Click the Search and Install tab then use the Search button to navigate to the downloaded add-on
  4. Click Install
  5. Restart Freeplane


You can download an example mind map showing how project and next actions are marked with icons, along with various options to include attributes like where the next action will be done, etc.
Many thanks to Volker Boerchers of the Freeplane team for help on the add-on.


Happy mind mapping!

November 26th, 2011

GTD Script for Freeplane Mind Maps

Freeplane|GTDA script for the Freeplane mind map tool is now available as an open source project (currently in ‘alpha’) that extracts GTD-style Next Action lists from a mind map. For more detail, see here.

November 18th, 2011

The Productive Mindset: Get Unstuck with a Future Reality Tree

Tapping a Pencil by Renett Stowe http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomsaint/2987926396/

We all experience procrastination that delays progress from time to time. This post is a simple example of how Thinking Process
techniques can be applied to getting unstuck and back in a productive mindset.

November 11th, 2011

Contradictions Do Not Exist, Check Your Premises (Part II)

This second part to the previous post will look at an example of mind mapping an evaporating cloud diagram. I’ll begin with uncovering a conflict to achieving a goal then examining the underlying assumptions to find the bad premise.

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November 4th, 2011

Contradictions Do Not Exist, Check Your Premises (Part I)

Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong.”
-Ayn Rand

This two part post explores resolving conflict that impedes progress. We’ll use mind maps to diagram the Evaporating Cloud technique introduced by Eliyahu Goldratt as part of his Thinking Process in the Theory of Constraints. Part I will give an overview of the technique, which will then be applied to an example in Part II.

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October 29th, 2011

‘Waiting For’ Lists in Mind Maps

Reaching your project goals often depends on other people completing tasks for you- in addition to the other demands on their time. Because both your needs and those of others is dynamically changing all the time, it is easy for a critical task to “fall through the cracks” unless there is adequate follow-up.

GTD systems have a solution for capturing the tasks others are doing for you: the “Waiting For” list.

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December 21st, 2009

Tip for Updating GTD Mindmaps

During daily or weekly reviews of your Next Action list from FreeMind|GTD, you’ll need to edit your GTD mindmap (the master source) to either add, edit, or delete Next Actions. Here’s a simple tip to make it easier find a Next Action in a large mindmap.

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December 20th, 2009

Mindmap Template for Product Development

Here’s a mindmap template I’ve found useful for managing product development activities. The right side of the mindmap contains the typical ‘phase’ activities that lead from concept to launch of a product. The left side of the diagram has administrative items like key milestones, documentation, and schedules.

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October 24th, 2009

Using Mindmaps in a GTD System

This article describes a “Getting Things Done” (GTD) system based around FreeMind Mindmaps and FreeMind|GTD Next Action lists.

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October 15th, 2009

Managing a Transformation Across Functions

Projects that have a goal of transforming some aspect of an organization need to be managed across various functional groups. Despite the importance of the transformation, inertia and competing priorities will require extra effort to move the project forward (since the transformation is often viewed as just another task on the list…). It is not enough to have an overall project plan; daily follow-up is often required to ensure next actions happen. This article shows how mind maps can be used to help connect the project plan with next actions from each of the functional groups.

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