Let’s get to work - start a project
If you did the future design exercise, you should have something in your mind maps to start working on. Or maybe your life is perfect already, in which case you could start a book or a movie project to let others know how you made it happen.
The structure I find myself using is loosely based on systems methodology. A technical description would be that a project is a future-oriented system that produces an output, or a change in the environment. It is a way to organize yourself, your actions, and your resources to reach a specific goal.
Management
It’s useful to separate the management of the project from the actual content. When in management mode, you put on the boss hat and think about the project as a whole. What are the things needed to be done and when, who are the people related to this project and what are the goals. You can create a management branch in your project map, or a separate management map, depending on the size of the project.
Content
If you run your own one man project you need to put your hands in the dirt as well. In the case of a book writing project the main content is the content of the book. The actual text is probably edited somewhere else, but part of the process can be done in mind maps, such as all the ideas and notes about how to improve the text, as well as the outline of the whole book. I call those things content that are the most closely related to the outcome you are after. The specification of the house you are going to build, the words and phrases of the new language you are learning and so on. You can think of content as opposed to management, that is more concerned about organizing the work than the actual details.
Resources
What resources do you need to get this project forward? Who are the people that could help you? What skills are relevant for your project? List them out. If you already have related mind maps you can link them to your project. If you have maps related to motorcycle maintenance, and now you want to drive across Africa, link these maps together.
If you are new to managing projects, create a separate map where you can think about project management in general. Collect notes, ideas and best practices about management there. These are not really specific to this project, so a better place would be outside of the actual project maps, in a separate resource map. When you create your next project you can then use that same map again. You can use it as a reference and continue accumulating knowledge and skills that help you become a better manager over time.
The to-do list
List all the things that you need to do, should do, want to do. Split them smaller. Categorize, prioritize. Get the first one done. Feel good. Repeat.
A to-do list is a typical way to go about organizing the tasks that you have to do to get the project further. The logical place for that is in the management section, right? Well, that is one logical place, but there are others, especially if your project spans multiple maps. If you have separated the management and content of the project to separate maps and spend most of the time in the content map, you might want to have a to-do list there as well, so you don’t have to jump between maps that much. Or if you have ten projects that you need to juggle at the same time, you might want to have a centralized to-do list for all of the projects.
After the project
What happens to the maps after the project is done and over? The content sections of this project might become the resource maps for your next projects. The management sections on the other hand is probably not as useful after the project. You might want to do a quick review and reflection, take out any key learning points you come up with and write them down in some of your other maps before archiving the project.
What next? After you have done your happy dance, take a look at your maps about the future again and start planning your next project, of course. What is the next thing you’d like to work on?