Lots of folks carve out a few cycles this time of year to make plans, new year's resolutions, and such. I'm a very visual person, so I find that using a mind map helps me organize my thoughts and stimulates my thinking. My tool of choice is MindManager from Mindjet, but you can find lots of other mind mapping alternatives on the other end of Google.
I organize my map into three main "zones":
- A review of last year, where I identify highlights, lowlights, and missed opportunities
- A look ahead to help me frame my main areas of focus (more thematic or directional in nature)
- Making more concrete commitments I want to achieve (specific commitments and projects I want to focus on)
I've included my blank map below, and you can download my "New Year Reflection" mind map here. You can also launch an interactive (but not editable) version of the "New Year Reflection" mind map via this link.
Feel free to customize it so the prompts are more meaningful to you. And, if you use this approach, please let me know how it works out for you.
