How a Productivity Consultant Uses MindMeister with Clients

This is the first in our new series of sharing remarkable MindMeister stories and features Helen Crozier, Productivity Consultant based in Sydney, Australia. Got an interesting MindMeister usage story we should know about? Let us know!

Helen Crozier is an independent Productivity and Technology consultant based in Sydney, Australia. Building on over 10 years of independent coaching experience, Helen works with clients from a wide variety of industries, tailoring her recommendations to each individual situation. One of Helen’s “go-to” tools to help these individuals organize and prioritize is MindMeister.

Without a solid way to visualize and organize their lives, Helen is most often confronted with individuals that are simply overwhelmed. With project A due next week, project B three weeks from now, next year’s budget submitted for approval by the end of the quarter, keeping up with social and business networking connections, and a growing inbox, Helen has seen more than a few project deadlines fall by the wayside, ultimately resulting in an even larger to-do list, less productivity, and opportunities lost.

Helen’s first task with her clients is to obtain a general overview of where they stand. The first step in this process is to put it all into a mind map. Once a general “brain dump” has been completed, Helen and her client then begin breaking items down into top-level nodes. They then continue this process until each item is properly categorized.

With a bird’s eye view of their life, clients are quick to point out imbalances in particular projects and plans. Together, they use this mind map as a strategy map and begin the process of increasing productivity.

“Once I show MindMeister to my clients, 9 times out of 10 the first thing they say is, ‘Wow! I could use that! I could use that with my clients!'”

From Helen’s side, using MindMeister helps her to zero in on exactly what her clients need and what they don’t. If a client has a heavy focus on “I’m falling behind in my email communications,” she knows immediately which areas of her technology toolkit to draw from.

Tapping into MindMeister’s sharing and task management tools, both Helen and her clients are able to stay on track and achieve their goals. Clients use the task management features to plan and organize their day/week/month. Helen uses the task management feature to make sure that her clients are in fact using the system, and getting things done.

Prior to using MindMeister Helen had, “no solution that could do this for me.” By using MindMeister’s collaboration features, she’s able to work simultaneously with her clients even when not physically in the same space. Likewise, through using the MindMeister task system, both Helen and her clients can remain in sync and on track.

Since using MindMeister, Helen reports that she’s been able to do more in less time, ultimately resulting in being able to take on more clients simultaneously and increasing her billable hours by 50%.

Sydney, Australia Business Productivity Consultant Helen Crozier can be found at businessproductivitygenius.com or on Twitter @helencrozier