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| Name: Neil ‘Lex’ McKee | |
| Title: Author, Editor, Sound Engineer; VIP (Vital Ideas Person) | |
| Social links: Twitter, Website, LinkedIn, Google+ |
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How did you hear about Mindjet?
I’ve been using Mind Mapping since 1985. This naturally led on to becoming a Trainer-trainer for what was then called “Buzan Centres.” In this role, I was always on the look-out for a software solution that kept to the principles of Mind Mapping, and thus became committed to Mind Manager from the earliest iterations.
The ability to work rapidly and share maps saved me two-thirds of my time on bringing projects to fruition, so I was hooked.
What do you primarily use it for?
As my business has matured, I’ve moved from being primarily a trainer to spending 90% of my time writing and managing my writing projects. I have found that MindManager offers me what I’d call a “liberating discipline” when it comes to planning, executing and then tracking complex writing projects.
As well as my own material, I ghost-write for a revolutionary economist. This has meant needing to learn and master a vast new subject area. Using MindManager for study has accelerated this process and helped me keep a key client happy!
What is your favorite feature and why?
Actually, my favourite feature is more of a function — speed. When researching the journey of those who are becoming more financially independent, one key common theme emerges: time poverty. It takes time, focus and commitment to face the fresh financial challenges of the 21st Century. I meet many people with the focus and the commitment but they say they have “no time.” Using the process that drives the effective us of MindManager saves me time, saves my clients time, and keep us all on track.
A key aspect of this is the Tasks pane — far more relevant to me now in managing more projects than ever before. It helps my Project Maps become the Dashboard from which I drive my business. In fact, it’s a bit like something from Lord of the Rings — I have one Master Mind Map hyperlinked to all the other detailed maps I need to control and track everything! I can see action priorities at a glance.
Is there anything the tool helps with that was unexpected?
I think I speak for multitudes when I assert it is far too easy to become overwhelmed by the amount and complexity of the information that assails me each day. Using MindManager has improved my health!
When I slacked off a bit on using MindManager to manage my in-box, I started waking up at night thinking about work. Restoring the “liberating discipline” of using MindManager for everything has meant I’m sleeping properly again and being far more productive as a result.
Tell us about your map.
“Living Organisations” is one of my own projects that I’m working on. The ideas are simple: we give the best years of our lives to work and usually the best hours of the day. It makes sense then that work needs to be satisfying, rewarding and energising. To achieve this, my concept applies the characteristics of a Living Organism to an Organisation — to make it a sustainable “Living Organisation.” When, like a Living Organism, we are moving towards more of what we want in life, are energised and motivated by feeding well, reproducing our best practice, dealing effectively with setbacks, growing each year, exchanging positively with others, and are becoming more intelligent — we can work and live “to the full.” It’s my recipe for a life lived to the fullest.
Download the full map here.
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