If organizing is so simple, why don't more people do it effectively? There are many reasons that people become disorganized. Often, the problem starts small, then, snowballs until it is totally out of control. Most Executive Organizers agree that even though the cause may be very complex, the solution is for everything to have it's place. The method that you are about to learn will organize your task list just as you would your office or sock drawer for that matter. We will put everything in it's proper place.

What's Different? Similar to the Bubble Planner, the pads use a unique Bubble Map design. While Bubble Maps are extremely popular in Europe, they are just starting to catch on in America. Although this is the first tool that I've found that tie them into time management.

For me, the Bubble Map design has several huge advantages over the list format. First, I can write down the tasks as I think of them without being concerned about where I put them as your mind automatically assigns them priority. Additionally, the format itself seems to act as a magnet for ideas. By the time I finish brainstorming, my mind feels refreshed and renewed. Finally, even when I am not looking at the page, my mind remembers what I need to do. This is a phenomenon that I've never experienced with the list format.

What's Next? The revolutionary aspect of these pads are the advanced filtering technique called CHOP. Besides being a catchy acronym, CHOP is a tool that will virtually eliminate procrastination. Here's how it works:

Think. Download everything that is on your mind. Write it all on the Bubble Map.
Act. For each item that you put on the Bubble Map, decide the very next physical thing that you must do to bring the item to completion. Essentially, give your list a verb. This is actually a very spiritual concept. This is the precise moment that you convert your thought into a physical reality.
Place. Assign each "Next Action" a place. This is where the powerful forward motion takes place. Each Action will be given one of these categories:

Computer Action,
Home Action,
Office Action, or
Phone Call.

Within each cateogory, you can also rank them either by color or number. By breaking your tasks into these places, you are able to spend blocks of time in one place, which significantly improves your efficiency. One by-product of multi-tasking is an exponential increase in transition time. Transition time is the time it takes for your mind to switch its focus from one task to another unrelated task. This is wasted time.