Ask Bob The Teacher

Every productivity expert will give you their opinion about how to get more things done in the same amount of time.

They’ll show you how to make to do lists, categorize them with 1, 2, 3, or A, B, C and try to get you to eliminate tasks off your list.

These methods can be helpful for some, but if it’s not working for you take a look at mind maps.

Mind maps are simply visual representations of ideas. You’ve probably used them before to organize your thoughts on a business project, or back in school when you were thinking about writing a research paper.

There are plenty of mind mapping software programs out there, from free to expensive. All have their own merits, but my favorite one to use is Freemind.

This won the medal for me because it’s simple, uses a hierarchical structure, exports maps as images, PDFs, and text outlines.

Let me give you an example of my (pretty typical) to-do list from this weekend.

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Joanna and I are off to Poland for two weeks!

We’re both pretty excited to make the trip, although she’s petrified of flying. She keeps asking if we can take a boat instead. :)

We’ll be flying to Warsaw via Atlanta and London. After a day visiting with her brother in the capital, we’ll make the 6 hour drive to Debrzno on Friday.

As you can imagine, I’ll be trying my best to stay “unplugged” on vacation. So I’d like to remind you of how I can still help you while I’m away.

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Happy Mother’s Day to you and to all the Mothers in your life (sisters, daughters, friends).

To celebrate the day, I have a time management tip for you as you try to juggle all the things in your
life.

I’m often asked how do I get as much done as I do when there are so many distractions that come up.

Well, to be honest, I still get distracted and off track. But I’ve learned to recognize it early and not let it cripple my momentum.

Here’s how I do it…

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One of my favorite discoveries over the past few years is a software program that I couldn’t live without.

Well, I could, but I wouldn’t be able to do nearly half as much on an average day as I do with this software.

It’s called Freemind, and you’ve probably heard me talk about it before. I discovered it while I was still teaching. I quickly realized how I could use it to plan lessons, organize my unit plans, even arrange groups of students for projects or presentations.

One day I had a student come after school to get some “life” help.

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Today’s rant is all about taking more control over your business.

After all, it is YOU that should be in control of your business, and not the other way around.

When you are in control, you determine what hours you will work, the time frame for your product launches, even the growth trajectory.

But when your business is in control, you are back in the “employee” role again and have to react to situations as they come up.

So how do you deal with this? Seriously, I’d like to know.

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