Working to a monthly theme helps me to plan ahead – and planning ahead helps me to write with a greater sense of purpose.
I tried a new planning technique this month, using one of Chris Garrett’s productive blogging tips: using a mind map to generate ideas and topics for posts. His suggestion was to brain-storm or mind map around the focus of your blog (starting with a circle in the middle, and working outwards). I applied this to the theme of writing with purpose and started to doodle ideas.
Within 30 minutes (tops) I had 18 posts mapped out – more than enough for the month ahead, given that I don’t want to blog every day, and other things are bound to pop up as I go along.
I then ran through the list of topics and made some notes about the sort of posts they might turn into. I haven’t done this before but it’s a natural extension of writing with a greater sense of purpose, and tying my blog writing more tightly into my coaching and business purpose (one of the key messages to come out of SobCon08).
My overall purpose is to help people realise the power of their words. To convey my belief that our words count.
But I realised as I did this exercise that there are sub-plots going on in terms of my blog writing purpose:
- To use a variety of methods to keep readers engaged and interested
- To establish myself as a credible, authority blogger
- To generate material that I can use for some books I’m working on
- To create some audio content that I can transfer to courses I’m setting up
- To have some posts that I can write quickly, without too much time and effort
Getting clear on those sub-plots helped me to plan the month ahead – working out what kind of material I was going to produce and why; how much time I was willing to put into it (or not) and why; how to discount some things that looked like ‘good ideas’ because they don’t fit into the bigger picture of what I’m trying to do.
I’m not claiming to have cracked it, but this is the most purposeful approach to planning the month ahead that I’ve tried so far. I’ll let you know how it pans out, but meantime I thought you might be interested to see the results of the mind-mapping exercise:
Mind Mapping Blog Posts
The code at the bottom was how I mapped out the type of posts:
*material with a shelf life – pillar content, or material to use in courses or books
W writing tips
A audio material
P popular and linking out – popular might be the wrong word here! I was thinking of posts that are more explicitly linked to blogging, that link to other bloggers and attract people back here
check: short and easy to write ( I think the “check” signals I want and need some more of them!)
What other methods could I use to plan my writing? Have you got any tried and tested techniques that have worked for you?
Joanna Young, The Confident Writing Coach
Because our words count
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Joanna I think the smartest thing about what you did was stopping at your 18, and leaving some flow space. I can go a bit crazy with mind-mapping, with lines and colors going everywhere so it starts to look like abstract art rather than the tool it is meant to be.
Well done also with your focus within this process; those five bullet points you call your sub-plots may have been the best prize of all.
Interesting reflection Rosa – I guess those five points also served as the brake on the mind-mapping – I wasn’t looking to identify all possible ideas, but to generate ideas that would fit within my overall blog objectives for the month.
And yes, you’re right, those 5 bullet points are a prize
Joanna
I tried it, unfortunately my topics was crossed out quickly – work related stuff is difficult
Rosa, part of the mindmap is to get an abstract art result. You can put them in GIMP, blur a bit, apply some effects and put on a canvas
Roland, I hope one day you can write whatever you want
Much more fun that way!
I think your comment to Rosa will make her laugh…
Joanna
Hey, congratulations on a great application of Chris’s technique. I need to do that myself… :-\
I don’t know why I’ve always sortof resisted mind mapping. Mental block or something, I guess – or maybe I just am naturally resistant to structure. But I did like his “calendar form”. Think I’ll try that one first.
That’s a great technique, Joanna/Chris. Can it work if you don’t have a monthly theme?
When I first learned mind mapping in the 80s, it was called “clustering.” It works quite well as a tool, and after awhile you can just do it in your head.
I also like using lateral thinking, mainly because it is far more fun and freeing. I explain lateral thinking in relation to coming up with blog topics at:
http://spaceagesage.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/problem-solving-made-easier/
Wow, Joanna, is this ever a keeper. As I think about the variety of topics I have perhaps I could try this for a month… just to see how it fits my work.
Two tips I really like are:
check: short and easy to write ( I think the “check” signals I want and need some more of them!) Me, too!
To brainstorm the focus around the purpose of the blog is more targeted. In light of this, how do wedge in the little goodies neatly when you are tagged? This is where I have difficulty. How do you fit these into your list above?
Joanna, thanks for sharing this tip. I use mind mapping for strategy planning but only used it once for blog planning. When I did use it for the blog it was by far the best blog week I had. I calendared the posts in advance. Somehow I got off track and haven’t been as faithful to this technique. Your post is a reminder for me to pull it together. Thanks!
I love mindmapping, Joanna, and it’s a technique I’m keen to encourage my children to use. I sometimes find that my mind gets so full of ideas that I just have to pour them all out onto a piece of paper. I tried using Bubbl.us but that didn’t work out so well for me:
http://www.bubbl.us/
Apparently, I need to mindmap oldstyle to get that feeling of release as I plot & plan all my grand schemes!
I LOVE this kind of thinking! Will get a mindmap planned out for http://www.thecenturytreereader.com right away!
Thanks,
Susan Hilton
I used to teach mind mapping for media training — and I never thought about applying it to my blog. Thanks for the wonderful idea! It’s so nice to know you’ve got blogs done, and deadlines met.
Thanks again,
Jan Sokoloff Harness
Robert, I consider myself pretty resistant to structure too! Actually I don’t find mind-mapping structured, especially when I do it freehand.
All you need is a circle in the middle, then a page big enough to doodle out the way and see what happens.
There’s no ‘right’ way to do it – your mind will come up with the goods.
Worth a shot – you might be surprised at the new ideas you come up with
Joanna
Brad,yes, of course.
You could just pop some of your key words in the centre and doodle out the way; or perhaps try it with “words sell: June” in the middle and see what emerges…
As I said to Rosa it helped having some other sub-plots, so you might want to let your unconscious mind know what else to think about (eg one post on cartoons, a links post, a humour post, a serious post, some short easy to write posts etc)
Let me know how you get on, or if you need any help / prompts
Joanna
Hi Space Age Sage
I guess I could do it in my head, but on the page means I get a list I can work from too, and cross items off as I work through them during the month (two exercises for the price of one!)
Thanks for the link to the lateral thinking prompt post too
Joanna
Robyn, I guess have two answers on what to do with tags. One, I leave enough room for some things that occur to me or I want to add in ‘for fun’. This list probably covers week-days only. I’m keeping weekends free just now, or for special projects like WILF…
The other would be to try and work tags into my themes. It’s not always possible, but it is good fun if you can find a way to make a connection between them.
And then again, answer three: as a wise person said on my ‘focus’ post – it’s useful to have lines round the edges… and then blur them
Hope that helps
Joanna
PS Thinking about the *type* of post definitely helped me – to think about structure, time, style, energy, research as well as the topic.
Hi Karen
Glad you found this useful. I’ve used a calendar for a long time now, but haven’t done the mind-mapping before – it definitely helped me to get things into perspective.
Will try it again next time… though no promises to stick rigidly to what appears at the start of the month!
Joanna
Amy, we are alike in so many ways
Yes, mind-mapping helps me too, in stopping my ideas from bursting out of my head. And likewise, I’ve tried some software versions, but they’re too slow or restrictive somehow compared to what you can do with pen and paper.
I loved seeing your kids’ mind maps last week – and have been thinking about the wonderful projects they’re dreaming up on the back of them!
Joanna
Susan, I’m glad you found it useful.
Thanks for stopping by
Joanna
Hi Jan
It’s always fun to find new things we can apply to and learn from our blogs
Thanks for stopping by
Joanna
Hi Joanna
I found this topic and your previous one on sense of purpose very inspiring.
I’m inspired (and I thought a bit about why I used that word and believe it does reflect how I feel) because although I’ve been using mindmaps for quite some time now they’ve been based more around strategy and are quite high level.
I’ve always known intuitively I could use the strategic topics to dig down deeper, but didn’t actually put two and two together and come up with blog themes and topics.
You are so right about a sense of purpose and now I’m armed (or re-armed more like) with your timely insights it’s time to take the next exit off the freeway to nowhere and use that renewed focus to move forward with confidence. So it’s off to some more mindmapping!
As an aside, I too like to use pen and paper to mindmap. I then transfer it to my ‘whiteboard’ which is some clear plastic contact sheets I have put on my walls in my office. This way they are always in front of me and help me stay focused.
Cheers, Jan
Roland, Joanna was quite right; I came back and laughed so gleefully at what you’d written. Your quick wit has “gotten me” quite often in Twitter, and now here! I’m going to pull out the 35er box of Pentels I have for the next mind map I attempt, and when I’m done, write “For Roland, with nothing crossed out!” across the bottom, and hang it on my wall
To every visual thinker out there, get your arsenal of highlighters and colored pencils ready! At the rate Joanna is going here, we’ll have to start mapping out our conversational threads… doodles with thumb-print people work quite nicely too! (And speech bubbles that have things like “blether” and “earywigging” in them, right Brad? Where would “swither” go Joanna?)
Jan, thanks for the feedback, you’ve quite made my morning!
Look forward to seeing where the mindmapping takes your blogging…
Best wishes
Joanna
I look forward to the pictures of the paintings of your artistic results on flickr Rosa!
Joanna
Joanna, looks like this is a popular post, and for good reason! I’m going to give this a try, along with separating the different types of content I write. I’ll have to think on that one, but this mind-map and the example you show have really turned another light-bulb on. So Thank You for that!
Rick
Joanna, you are right about doing it on paper for bigger items. I was thinking of how I used it for coalescing the elements of a single news story or column in my head between the interview and the writing. Before I started my blog, I had tons of ideas swirling around in my mind and this type of exercise helped capture them into more usable forms.
I was taught this process relies on first letting the mind relax and flow with right-brain creativity as you quickly write down ideas that will naturally pop into your head. After a while, the left brain wants to get into the act and starts to make you see patterns in the form of more connectivity between ideas and more solid structure to how they can be applied.
Is this how mind mapping works for you?
Rick, it’s a very simple and easy technique to use and I think you might find it quite creative – it’ll build on the work you’ve already been doing I know to clarify your ideas and sense of purpose in your blog (and beyond!)
I look forward to seeing where it takes you
Joanna
Hi Space Age Sage, I guess my answer is ‘kinda’ – it probably happens more quickly and subconsciously than a deliberate right / left split of activities… but I would normally start with a mind map and then use it to construct an ordered list
One of the things I like about mind maps is that it gets everything down and out of my head… then I can relax about the thoughts, knowing they’re somewhere on paper. Hope that makes sense!
Joanna
Yes, it does. Thanks!
Great idea – I’ll try it with one of my blogs today. I have a cool mind mapping software program that I’ve used with other projects. “Freemind” . . .
Hi Linda Jo
Thanks for stopping by
It’s a nice simple idea isn’t it? That’s why I like it so, and why it works so quickly for me.
Hope you have fun generating results for your own blogs!
Joanna
Excellent article! I got some really useful tips that I will use.I write a blog post almost every day, and it get´s more difficult as time goes by. By planning ahead the “theme” for the month it will get a lot easier.
Hi Joanna,
What a great idea this is. I could also do with some advanced planning so this method will come handy for a test. I can see it would work because I often use mind maps to brainstorm but have never even though about using them for blog posts.
Duh. Thanks so much for helping my aging brain get into the right checkout line.
That’s one of the greatest ideas about blogging I’ve ever read. Thanks!
Tom, glad you found the article of interest. It’s a good way to open up new possibilities – and contain our material within what’s feasible to get written in a month.
Monika – I’m sure your brain is doing just fine
But it’s good to share ideas, tips and suggestions to help each other along the way. Glad you enjoyed this one.
Friend from Browse Design: glad you found this of value.
Thanks all for stopping by
Joanna
Hi Joanna,
Found you today via Chris Guillebeau in this post: http://chrisguillebeau.com/3×5/how-to-retire-the-day-after-tomorrow/#more-250
Great piece that gave my husband and I – blogging podcasters with a pending BlogTalkRadio show – a jolt of excitement as we saw in a second how we could not only ‘map’ out our blog/podcast topics but tie in our radio show topics as well.
Hi Lissa
I’m glad you found me! Couldn’t follow how the link pointed here, but I’m glad it brought you here anyway.
It’s v. satisfying isn’t it when you can see how it all maps together… Good luck with the forthcoming show.
Joanna
Jonna, this is a great discussion and one filled with ideas that will assist me in becoming a more productive leader. I’m breaking out the pen and paper now.
All the best
Ron
Innovation Notes: May 30, 2008
Hi Ron
I’m glad you found it of value. To my mind there’s nothing like pen & paper to help us be both imaginative and productive…
Joanna
Hi Joanna
Thought I would add details of my Mind Map website which contains dozens of example Mind Maps that could help spark ideas for you and your readers. Everything is FREE to Download including some Mind Map Templates.
Hope it helps
Regards
Paul
Thanks Paul
I know people have been very interested in the possibilities that mind mapping presents, and are on the look out for resources – esp of the free sort – so thanks for letting us know about your site
Joanna
Thanks for this, Joanna. It’s a useful technique
Sharon Hurley Halls last blog post..The Freelancing Life
Sharon, I certainly found it helps to give shape to the period ahead, and to make sure you never run out of topics!
Joanna
This is a great idea..this method has been used with many things in writing or creativity, but never thought to apply to blogging. my blog is so all over the map, i wouldn’t know where to start, but i will give it a try.
Hi Valerie, it’s worth an exploration definitely. The trick is getting your purpose clear. It doesn’t need to be a narrow focus though if you enjoy exploring lots of different ideas. Could be something like “sharing ideas with readers in an entertaining way”. You could still identify patterns, themes and ideas for things to write about from that.
Good luck, and thanks for stopping by.
I just Stumbled and saved this post to delicious. This afternoon I sat down on my lunch break and within ten minutes, came up with five outlines for blog posts in the next month!
Carlas last blog post..Holiday Gift Ideas | Not Buying it
Carla, thank you! I think I’ll print out and frame this reply