Build a Personal Organiser Dashboard with XMind

In this webinar, Liam Hughes (Founder: Biggerplate) walks through the practical steps of creating a personal organizer dashboard using Xmind mind mapping software. The session explores common productivity challenges like information overload and context switching and demonstrates how a mind mapping approach can help users better capture, categorize, and prioritize tasks. The goal is to create a flexible, visual, and central "second brain" to support daily planning and long-term focus. Timestamped Themes & Topics [00:00:03] – Introduction to Biggerplate Certification Promotion of mind mapping certification offered by Biggerplate. [00:00:27] – Session Purpose & Overview Introduction of the session goals and the POST framework (Purpose, Outcome, Structure, Timing). [00:03:14] – Purpose & Structure of the Session Aim to help users get control over their personal and professional tasks using XMind. [00:04:37] – Session Map Overview Explanation of session structure using a mind map: Introduction ? Challenges ? Mind Mapping ? Capture ? Categorize ? Prioritize ? Plan ? Conclusions. [00:07:32] – Challenges in Personal Organization Key obstacles: information overload, context switching, and the limitations of traditional to-do lists. [00:18:43] – Advantages of Mind Mapping Benefits like seeing the big picture and micro details, creating structure, and providing hierarchy. [00:22:28] – The 4-Step Approach: Capture, Categorize, Prioritize, Plan Introduction of a practical framework to build the dashboard. [00:25:36] – Step 1: Capturing Tasks in XMind Demonstration of creating a mind map from scratch and populating it with tasks using keyboard shortcuts. [00:29:44] – Step 2: Categorizing Information Creating main categories (e.g., Personal, Customers) and subcategories (e.g., Finance, Health). [00:38:44] – Adding Detail with Notes & Hyperlinks Using XMind’s Notes and Hyperlink features to add background info and link to files/websites. [00:50:54] – Step 3: Prioritizing Tasks Using top-three prioritization, map structure (top-to-bottom, around-the-clock), and icons. [01:08:40] – Multi-Level Prioritization Examples Demonstrating prioritization at various map levels: customers, projects, and daily tasks. [01:11:07] – Step 4: Planning and Taking Action Eisenhower quote on planning; using flags and progress icons to track task status and movement. [01:17:03] – Action Tracking in Practice Applying flags and percent-complete icons to specific tasks within the mind map. [01:23:33] – FAQs & Final Recommendations On how long it takes to build and update the map, how often to review, and its value as a dynamic tool. [01:29:03] – Questions on Prioritization & Application Discussion on filtering, clockwise mapping, and applying techniques in broader contexts. [01:31:56] – Context Switching Support & Closing Thoughts Recap of how the map helps with task switching and encouragement to apply techniques.