By johnconeill222 / October 31, 2024
To help organize your own thoughts quickly.
How do I use this technique?
This is the standard method I use for documenting objectives. The inspiration for this is the book “The One Minute Manager” by Blanchard.
I often use this technique to organize my thoughts, for instance when:
- Attending a meeting
- If it’s my meeting I use it to organize my thoughts on what I want to accomplish with the attendees
- If I am attending someone else’s meeting I use it to identify what I want to get out of it personally (should I even go?)
- Planning a presentation
- Organizing my calendar
Tips
Often the objective is confused with the deliverable. Sometimes asking why helps differentiate between them.
Scope is critical, especially boundary conditions. Scope should define not only what is in scope, but also explicitly what is out of scope.
More
In a group setting, or when I want a more formal exposition of objectives I use the technique described in COMPLEX OBJECTIVES
Resources
See my review and link to Bookshop.org here
In the book, Buzan recommends the use of Mind Maps for taking notes instead of the standard linear method.
This has several advantages:
-It brings structure to your notes that help you break away from the tyranny of the list (how reluctant are you to go back to the third line of your notes and try and squeeze in another point that really should have been there?)
-It also highlights how organized or disorganized the presentation you are taking notes on is!
There are automated tools you can use to draw your mind map, including Excel, and also some free ones.