Very Nice, Patrick.

It is refreshing to see how you are managing your vertical levels. I have based a lot of mine on the brief outline that you gave months ago. It is nice to see the whole picture.

Michael

Hey, I think I was one of the ones pressing you for details way back when.

Thanks for sharing.

Do you just put your monthly, yearly etc. reviews on your calendar?

Thank you for making the concept clear! I've struggled to understand but have never gotten off the runway. You took the conceptual and made a reality for me that will most certainly help me out of the role of firefighter.

In fact, this is my new project for today!

Thanks again!

Mike Greene

Thanks, Patrick

Very brave of you.

I think it's going to help me. I've been trying to come up with something similar for ages, but I always get stuck on the 40,000 foot level. Seeing something as simple as your 40k list will probably unblock something.

(mind you actually writing down something like "I will be married to Bethany and she will remain my best friend, partner and soulmate" doesn't come easy to us 'reserved Brits' even in a document I don't intend to show anyone and even if it's exactly what we mean (as long as you replace Bethany with Jane))

Steve

Glad it was helpful to all of you. As for putting reviews on the calendar...

I don't put anything on the calendar that is not something I absolutely will do on that specific day and time. Often, I like review time to be a little more "soft landscape". Therefore, I set up repeating reminders in Backpack for my weekly and monthly reviews. I still even manage to do them.

That being said, I would love to get to a point (and it is part of my 30,000 ft. map) where Bethany and I are taking yearly retreats for review and reflection. Such a thing will go on the calendar once planed. Mr. and Mrs. David Allen do this and promise me it is good for more than just nookie :-).

This might be just the sort of template I need to do the "Big Picture Day" I have planned for next week when I'm off from work. I want to take some time where I have zero distractions, sit down with paper, pens, pencils, sketchbooks, and whatever resource materials I need to plan the next stage(s) of my life. Am I on the right track? Is that what vertical mapping is?

It is certainly part of it. It depends on how far out you are planning. If you look at my map, you will see that I am using a "bottom-up" approach. I am starting with the 20,000 foot stuff (Areas of responsibility) which then allow me to drive the 30,000 ft. stuff (12 to 18 month goals).

For instance, by starting with the 20,000 foot and simply outlining all of the things I am responsible for and people and institutions I have a commitment to, I am able to then make the next natural (30,000 ft.) step of asking "Where would I like these things to be in the next year or so?". With such information in hand, one is able to make sure that their actions (Runway) and projects (10,000 ft.) are driving those goals.

Hope it helps.

I used Patrick’s example to start me off, then I added a 50,000 ft level. I figure, the more examples people have, the easier this thing is to do for all of us, so, you can download mine here:

http://www.box.net/shared/n9fi5h5s0s

I ommitted a name or 2, but for the most part, it’s my complete list. I hope the 6 degrees doesn’t lead someone to figure out who I am, but eh, I have little to hide.

You’ll notice, I am just beginning my career after getting a higher degree.

Enjoy!