My wife and I are planning a house renovation (starting Jan 3rd). I’m excited about the prospect of what we’re planning, but am fearful and overwhelmed by the prospect of actually going through it.

So I’ve brought out the big guns and turned to my favorite fear fighting tool: making a list!

But not just any list, no. I made a MIND MAP.

First, more background: My wife and I have actually been planning a house renovation ever since we moved into our house a year and a half ago, but it has taken that long to find an architect, get drawings done, have planning and building permits approved, find a builder, agree on costs. The list goes on. It seemed like it took an eternity, but now that I write this out, a year and a half doesn’t sound all that bad.

Anyway, back to why I’m scared about going through the renovation. We’re two and a half years past our last big move and we’re about to go through another upheaval, with all our stuff going in storage, living with family temporarily for a few months, not having our “own space” to work/cook/live, and not really knowing how long all this is going to take.

Add all that along with the kids and dog in tow and I’ve been sticking my head in the sand hoping things might magically figure themselves out.

Enter the MIND MAP.

I did this mind mapping during art time with the kids while we were all “in a zone”. It started out on one piece of (large) paper and kept growing such that I added more and more items.

It turns out that this is a really simple and powerful tool for getting (most) everything out of your head on a topic so you can breath and not be paralyzed by the thought of spending three months living out of a suitcase and having dinner every night with your in-laws.

Sounds like fun right?

Now that I’ve got a map the journey seems a little bit less scary.