Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Bubble Planner Review





Visual Day Planner

Fun. Simple. Easy to Use.

Helps You Focus on What's Important

A
re you tired of missing appointments...unreasonable demands on your time...frustration overunmet dreams and desires...the feeling of falling further and further behind...and a seeminglack of support from those closest to you?
  • How much more quality time will you have with your family and the people you care about when you discover how to get your job done in half the time?
  • Since bubble maps are laid out like sticky notes on your desktop instead of a filing cabinet (like traditional planners), you are primed for action. As Aristotle discovered, your mind is designed to know “where” things are. This is why many people have found success with bubble maps when lists have failed them.
  • Regular paper planners and online organizers don't work for everyone. In a recent study, over 60% of the population preferred Visual to Sequential learning. This is why many people are unable to use an electronic calendar tool effectively. The linear nature of task management software is contradictory to the genetic make-up of most people. Our planners and time management toolsengage the Visual Thinker and opens new gateways for productivity.

    Peek Inside for the Big Bubble

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    Overview of the Bubble Planner

    The issue facing you today is not managing time. What’s at issue are the choices you make with the time you have.Choices are the currency that converts the present to the future. Since you have the ability to work anywhere oranytime getting things done faster ever imagined, you must manage yourself differently to make the best choices for your future.

    To fulfill your purpose in life, you must know (create, define, and clarify) the following:
    • What do you want to be?
    • What do you want to do?
    • What do you want to have?
    The key is to know these things at the precise moment of decision. In short, you need a time management tool that enables you to act at the speed of thought. The spatial design of the Bubble Planner allows you to organize your thoughts quickly. More than that, it actually behaves the way you think, which is in pictures translated into words. It moves beyond the linear limitations of traditional time management techniques such as task lists and taps into your brain's natural creative power.

    Bubble Map Basics

    The Bubble Planner combines powerful brainstorming techniques with life management principles. This combination recruits both the creative and logical sides of the brain. This tool allows you to capture ideas at the speed of thought and arrange them in pictures.

    As an illustration, let’s say that you want to invite the Hendersons out to dinner for a couple’s night out. Simply add a phone call action to today with the relevant information. Since it is a couple’s night out, you need someone to care for the kids. Draw a line to the next bubble as a reminder to call your babysitter if Bob and Tina accept.Basic Bubble Map

    When you complete a task, you can either cross it out or highlight it (highlighting maintains readability). The Bubble Planneris intended to be flexible. There are many ways to do everything. The only limit is your imagination.

    Sections

    The Bubble Planner is segmented into six sections that all work together:
    1. Radar
    2. Roadmap
    3. Rudder
    4. Register
    5. Renew
    6. Review.
    The first three sections (Radar, Roadmap, and Rudder) are directional. They are designed to propel your life forward in the direction of your purpose. The fourth section (Register) is a placeholder for things that must be done on a specific day. While it may be used as a calendar, it is designed as a planning tool to ensure you accomplish your goals. The fifth section (Renew) increases your capacity for production. The final section (Review) captures items for later reference.

    Radar - Goal Setting

    Goal Setting Graphic
    The Radar section is a big picture view of your life. It is critical to start from this perspective as it answers the question, “what do you want to be, do, and have?”. Where do you start? Start with the FISHES: Family, Intellectual, Social, Health, Economic, and Spiritual. These are goal categories. Spend time brainstorming what you want to be, do, and have in each of these categories. Feel free to dream in this section. When brainstorming, you should write down everything without filtering. Whether the goals are achievable or not will be determined in a later step.
    After writing down all of your goals, select the most important goal from each category and complete a Future Realitypage. This page clarifies our goals. The clearer the goal, the faster the manifestation. Here are the parts to the page:

    Goal Setting Worksheet Graphic

    What: Be as specific and detailed as possible. What is the end result? Add details, texture, sound, smells, feelings, or anything else that will bring the goal to life.

    Start and Due Dates
    : Even if you change it later, setting a date is essential for creating a future reality.

    Why: Each goal must have a reason. The best reasons extend beyond ourselves. For example, if you set a goal to lose weight, a reason may be to improve your health so that you will be there for your children and your children’s children.

    Why Not
    : What are the barriers to achieving your goals? Often the reason that you don’t achieve your goals is fear. FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. If you give the fear a name, then you are in a position to address it.

    Roadmap - Project Management

    Project Tracking Graphic
    Once something appears on the radar, it is time to map it out. First, write down your current projects on the brainstorming section on the left. Now, make a mini-project plan using one of the section to the right, which is similar to the Future Reality page excluding the Why Not and SMART bubbles. The Project Management Matrix at the bottom of the page. You can use this matrix in many ways. One of the most popular techniques is to put project milestones down the left and track projected versus actual progress for twelve weeks. Another popular technique is to use this section to track activities or habits. You may either cut it down to 7 columns to represent days of the week or continue to use twelve columns, which can represent weeks or even months.

    Rudder - Task Management

    To Do List Graphic
    The rudder is the steering mechanism. If you have properly defined your Future Reality and your Desired Results, your present moment decisions will be sharp and effective. The rudder will keep you on track and moving toward your dreams and goals.
    The top section of the Today page is divided into four action categories: Phone Calls, Computer Actions, Home Actions, and Office Actions.
    The clock at the bottom left is to help you plan your day. Enter your appointments in the section of the clock where it belongs along with the time. The bottom right is an area to add notes or identify high priority projects.

    Register - Calendar


    While the monthly calendar pages in the register appear to be normal calendar pages, they are a key to creating your future reality. It is a great visual reminder when you place key actions and milestones on specific days. The objective is to keep your life moving toward what you really want not just what you really want right now.
    Monthly Calendar Graphic
    The undated weekly calendars should also be a planning tool to help you visualize your goals coming to pass. It is not meant for keeping appointments and meetings as these activities are handled superbly by software such as Microsoft Outlook.
    Weekly Calendar Graphic

    Renew - Habit Development

    "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
    Franklin Virtues Graphic
    This section is intended to help you assess your current habits and change any habits that are not effective. There are two primary tools to accomplish this feat: The 13 Virtues and the Activity Log.

    The 13 Virtues is based on Benjamin Franklin’s plan for regulating his own behavior that he developed at the age of 20 and used throughout his life. Give strict attention to one virtue a week but track your progress on every virtue daily. After 13 weeks, start the process over to complete the course four times each year.

    Every evening, review the virtues and mark your progress. Put an “X” in the square if you missed the mark on a particular virtue or a check mark if you achieved the virtue. This is an enlightening process and, you must admit, quite humbling.

    Where are you spending your time? The Activity Log is a Personal Efficiency Tool that answers that question. To use, select the major categories for where you should be spending your time, then add some time waster categories like surfing, chit chat, etc. Track every 15 minutes, half hour, or hour (just fill in the portion of the hour used).
    Activity Log Graphic
    Use this tool just often enough to diagnose your efficiency. This could be for a full week every six months or for a day every three. It really depends. The best answer is just whenever you feel that you are not getting the results that you want.

    Review - Reflection and Follow Up

    This section captures items that maybe useful later. There are three primary forms: Follow Up, Discuss with, and Take Notes.
    Follow Up: Place items on this page that you delegate to others. This is a page that you review at least weekly to ensure your own success even when you have given responsibility to someone else.
    Delegation Graphic
    Discuss With: This will be one of your favorite pages. How many times have you just hung up the phone with your boss only to think, “I should have asked her about . . .”? This page creates a framework for communication for important people in your life. This could include your boss, your friends, your teachers, and even your spouse.
    Discuss With Graphic
    Take Notes: Often, the key to remembering things is using a consistent, effective methodology. This method is among the best available. Based on the Cornell Note Taking System, these pages prompt you to capture lectures, speeches, and even conversations in a way that engages your short and long-term memory functions.
    Take Notes Graphic
    During the lecture, use the “Take Notes” column to record the lecture. As soon after the lecture as possible, come up with questions based on the “Take Notes” column and write them in the “Review” column. After the lecture, use the “Summary” space at the bottom of each page to summarize the notes on that page.

With Prices starting at $14.39 this is and affordable way to help ease your mind and help you excel. Purchase your own at bubble planner.com and see how it will change your life.

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