Simple starting points for the Mindful Maverick

Just getting started can be tough – use these tips to help launch your list-making lifestyle.

Visual cues Adapt your organisational style to your personality type and make your system work for you. Are you visually oriented? Or more about seeing things than reading words? Rather than trying to use someone else’s system, lean into your outlook to create more organisation in your life. So, if you’re a visual person, keep a stack of Post-it® Super Sticky Notes, 76mm x 76mm around — with no lines, they’re the perfect place to jot down drawings and doodles that keep you inspired. Since you can stick them and re-stick them however you want, you can use them to create a visual map of your thinking and change it as often as you like.

The brain dump Get things out of your head and onto paper! Unloading your mind helps you focus on what’s important. If your tasks are just racing around in your brain and you don’t know what to do first, try a good old-fashioned brain dump. Using a stack of Post-it® Super Sticky Notes, 76mm x 76mm, take five minutes — no more — and write down every single thing you can think of that you need to do in the next week, one on each note. Write down whatever’s cluttering up your brain, personal or professional, and get it out of your head. Once you’ve cleared things out, you can forget about what’s worrying you and get back to what’s important.

Is something bothering you? Jot it down! If you’ve got a nagging task that starts to take up too much headspace, get it out of there. Occasionally, a small task that isn’t very important can be disproportionately distracting. Whether it’s something you’ve been putting off or something you’re not sure how to accomplish, this kind of task can easily become a huge energy suck, causing anxiety that gets in the way of productivity. When that happens, even though it might not seem like that task should be a priority, it’s time to make it one. Put it at the top of your to-do list on a Post-it® Super Sticky Note 101mm x 153mm, and put it right in your line of sight so you can’t ignore it.

Thanks to the mindful maverick, www.3m.co.uk