It's a perfect method for ADDers because it encourages your mind to roam freely on a subject, without boxing yourself into a structure that you find tedious or constricting.

Here's how it works.

As an example, I'll use Arial's Marketing class assign ment: to write a paper analyzing the booming popularity of Starbucks cafes in many cities. Arial chose this topic because she has found (like many ADD adults) that she focuses best on her work and studying while sitting in a Starbucks!

Starting with a standard 8 1/2'x11' piece of blank paper, she drew a one-inch circle in the center and wrote the phrase 'Starbucks' in the circle.

Then she considered different topics of this main subject. Each one was given a separate line coming out from the center circle, like spokes in a wheel. Each spoke was labeled with a phrase that described it. Arial's spokes were:

• Starbucks Facts & Statistics
• Typical Customers
• Appeal of Starbucks Atmosphere
• Starbucks Products
• Needs Starbucks Fills in Society

Taking one spoke at a time, Arial added aspects of the topic as small lines coming out of the main spoke.

So the 'Facts & Statistics' spoke had lines labeled:

• Growth trend of Starbucks cafes
• Number of cafes
• Geographic concentrations
• Average revenue per cafe

As Arial considered the statistics she would want to include, her mind leapt (in creative ADD fashion) to the food and beverage products Starbucks sold. When that happened, she simply moved to the 'Products' spoke and listed the products there: coffee, bottled water, snacks.

She thought of the price of these items and momentarily felt stuck; should price be listed under the 'Products' spoke, or under 'Statistics' as part of the Revenue line?

The great thing about mind-mapping is... it doesn't matter! The point is to capture your thoughts as they come without worrying about doing it right. So Arial listed Price in both sections.

As Arial continued to add lines off of spokes, some lines had sub-points, or smaller lines coming off of them. For example, the 'Typical Customers' spoke had a line for 'People Working.' But Arial created sub-lines off of that for: Laptop users, Students, People having meetings.

As she fleshed out this topic, Arial soon decided to transfer the 'Typical Customers' spoke to a new page to accomodate all the ideas she had on this rich topic.

An hour flew by as Arial's mind map grew. She soon realized that, rather than worrying about having too little material to write, she had enough ideas to fill a much longer paper!


Writing Stage
Arial was now ready to start the writing stage. Where to begin? Again, the beauty of mind mapping is... it doesn't matter! Sometimes, looking at the visual of the mind-map helps guide the decision of what direction the paper should take.

In this case, the Typical Customers topic had a lot more information than any other. So Arial decided to build her paper around Starbuck's appeal to different kinds of customers. Arial took any one of the spokes at random and wrote about it, crossing off each topic line as she wrote to make sure she got them all. In some cases, she decided that some of sub-points didn't need to be included.

Once she had all the topics written up, she decided what order to put them in and what to include. Only after most of the paper was written did she write an introductory paragraph and a conclusion. Finally she added sentances to the topic paragraphs that created graceful transitions from one topic to another.

The paper practically wrote itself.

Mind-Mapping for Planning Projects
So how would you use a mind-map for planning? Remember, a mind-map is just a tool for getting your creative thoughts down on paper. That means you can use it for anything, from plotting out the steps of a project to creating a business strategy.

Here are some different ways my coaching clients have had successful break-throughs using mind-map techniques:

• Designing a client's website
• Creating a new business plan
• Planning a room addition
• Developing an action plan for job-hunting
• Plotting a discussion with child's teacher
• Writing a Personal Development Plan for the boss
• Developing a marketing plan
• Outlining a book proposal

You can read more about Mind-Mapping (and even download software for it) at www.mind-map.com. Or take the teleclass on November 3! See details below.

Your Work Environment Matters
If you really want to succeed in getting 'unstuck' in your thinking, consider where you've been most successful in writing, planning or study. You may have to think back to high school or college. Did you write best with the stereo or TV on? Do you concentrate best in a cafeteria instead of a library? Are you restless in your isolated office? Do you require silence... or do you get a lot done sitting on the train on the way to work?

Try to duplicate the environment where you do best. Odd as it may seem, your ADD brain may need a little bit of hubbub around you to focus best. There's a reason why so many people are writing their novels in Starbucks instead of at home!

GET OUT of 'ADD TIME' FREE Teleclass - Wednesday, October 27

DATE: Wednesday, October 27 TIME: 9:00 PM Eastern Time PLACE: At home on the phone COST: FREE Telephone Classes It's teleclass season once again for Thrive with ADD! Here are four classes coming up on Wednesday evenings. 9:00PM Eastern time, 90 minutes long. Mark your calendars and REGISTER through www.thrivewithadd.com. GET OUT of ADD TIME: Eliminate Lateness from Your Life Wednesday, October 27 - FREE GET UN-STUCK with MIND-MAPPING: Your Ideal Technique for Writing, Planning & Study Wednesday, November 3 - $20 ENTREPRENEURSHIP and ADD: Potentials and Pitfalls Wednesday, November 10 - $20 RELATIONSHIPS and ADD: How to Avoid Frustration and Friction Wednesday, November 17 - $20 Click here for REGISTRATION and DETAILS.