Eating the elephant - without computers

I mentioned this in a post last week and wanted to remind you of a useful tip.

When there is so much going on in your head that you feel overwhelmed.

• Get a flipchart, whiteboard or a sheet of Magic Whiteboard, plus some coloured marker pens;

• Create the mother of all mind-maps and just dump the contents of your brain onto the blank sheet;

• Keep going until there is nothing left - either personally or professionally;

• Put the kettle on, make a brew and just sit back and look at the mind map.

Later - come back with a new sheet and draw a timeline for as many 90-day segments as you like (maximum 3 years).

Transfer all of the individual components from your mind map on to post-it notes.

Attach the post-it notes to the timeline and create a prioritised and time activated task list.

Now you can eat that elephant one mouthful at a time (and sleep well).

I genuinely believe that doing this physically - wall, white sheets, coloured pens, post-it notes - is far better than a digital equivalent - especially if you leave the sheets on the wall as a constant visual reminder of your trajectory, ultimate destination and progress.