There are a number of ways and software methods out there to help you get visual with strategic thinking.
Personally, I’m a fan of posting up colored sticky notes on the wall and/or on scratch paper.
I also recommend the sticky notes method if you have projects with multiple members of your team that are too simple for a project manager, but complex enough that visualizing will help.
Take project elements and arrange them as a timeline or flow chart on the wall. You could use a different color for each owner, or maybe for their level of contingency on other events.
Then, take a picture of it. No need to type it up or get fancy. If your handwriting is legible enough, just take a picture. Done.
If the visual you create needs to be more permanent, simply transfer the notes to pieces of paper.
The photo examples below are all about a small project I undertook about a month ago:
Develop blog posts around four specific topics, enough to last through September, but make sure the topics rotate.
As I brainstormed blog post ideas, I used different colors for each topic. Posting them on the wall helped me ensure that they were balanced.
Then, I rearranged them into a more logical order within each topic.
Next, I pulled some scratch paper from the recycle bin, and labeled the pages with May, June, July, Aug, and Sept.
I added the dates for each Wednesday on the left sides of the pages.
Finally, I pulled the notes from the wall and assigned them to a day, then took a pic of each month to refer back to.
If you zoom in, you will see “sticky note wall” on the June sheet, next to 24. That’s today. 🙂
Simple and effective. And, it’s all in the recycle bin again now.

Thanks for reading,
Alan Feirer
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