Work Smarter, Not Harder – Part 3
I hope you started working on becoming great at automating (and strategic too).
Just in case you didn’t start yet (or you missed it today)… CLICK HERE to do it NOW.
Remember – this week’s assignment is coming up with at least 10 ideas… for a different question in the process – each day.
- Did you give the process a try?
- Do you have any question about the process?
- Did you get stuck anywhere?
This is your opportunity to ask any question related to this week’s implementation assignment – to make sure you get the maximum out of it.
It’s also a golden chance to help someone else – by reading their question in the comments below – and offering them an answer, an idea, an encouragement…
If you have any question regarding this week’s implementation assignment or you need some support – let me know in the comment box below, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
If you can offer an answer or support to anyone – please reply to their comment below.
Top Commenters – last 30 Days
Work Smarter, Not Harder – Part 3
I hope you started working on becoming great at automating (and strategic too).
Just in case you didn’t start yet (or you missed it today)… CLICK HERE to do it NOW.
Remember – this week’s assignment is coming up with at least 10 ideas… for a different question in the process – each day.
- Did you give the process a try?
- Do you have any question about the process?
- Did you get stuck anywhere?
This is your opportunity to ask any question related to this week’s implementation assignment – to make sure you get the maximum out of it.
It’s also a golden chance to help someone else – by reading their question in the comments below – and offering them an answer, an idea, an encouragement…
If you have any question regarding this week’s implementation assignment or you need some support – let me know in the comment box below, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
If you can offer an answer or support to anyone – please reply to their comment below.
I am looking forward to celebrate your progress and results on Friday (I’m curious to hear what solution you’ll come up with).
Until then…
Live fully, stay awesome,
Nisandeh
178 comments
Welk eenvoudige systeem&app raden jullie aan voor agendabeheer?
178 comments
Beste allemaal, dank jullie voor de gestelde vragen en de antwoorden. Als ik lees en nadenk over het automatiseren dan dacht ik in eerste instantie veel te ingewikkeld en duizelt het me van de mogelijkheden en systemen. Maar het wordt me duidelijk door alle reacties dat ook hier geldt: ik kan klein beginnen, als ik maar concrete stapjes zet. en ik realiseer me dat ik al meer automatiseer (in m'n agenda, in m'n telefoon) dan ik dacht. Alleen daar kan ik ook in doorschieten bv. door voor teveel taken een reminder in te stellen, waardoor de agenda 'vervuilt'. Dus daar mag ik ook weer in opruimen.
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As for many things in life: find out what is annoying you, and fix it once and for all. That's it. It's automated. The HOW is not very relevant in most cases. As long as you start fixing and stop tolerating, you'll make progress in freeing up time and headspace.
As for Taken, you can put each task in your agenda, or you can set a time slot to do tasks. And you get to pick at that moment what tasks you do. So you win when you work that time, not when you finish the task. It's way to frustration imo. I never get things done in the time I thought it would take.
178 comments
Thank you Sin!
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Week 3 day 3
What AUTOMATION tools could you use
We already have a core system for the Scan/BluePrint. To be able to further customize the reports in building blocks, we have to add new functionality. We have already created a functional en technical design and the next step is to select the tools for it. These tools are available for the customization:
1. Interfacing tools
2. Debian OS
3. JS script
4. Python
5. Ubuntu OS
6. Joblogic
7. Redwood
8. Activebatch
9. Zapier
10. JavaScript
11. Security tools
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Fantastic! I don't know anyone of these tools. Though Ubuntu gives me a good feeling 🙂
Great to see in your posts how you take everything as a opportunity to get your business on to a next level.
329 comments
Hi Nisandeh,
A question over tomorrow’s assignment (Day 4 – HOW to automate). What do you mean by learning curve?
Thanks in advance for your reply
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Some automation tools are pretty simple…
E.g. reminders or alarms on your phone are pretty self-explanatory.
However, other automations require a learning period.
For example - using an email program like ActiveCampaign will take you a few hours to learn how to use its basic functionalities, and maybe a few days/weeks to learn how to get the maximum out of its more advanced functionality.
So, in your planning, I suggest you also plan that time/effort/need to ask around/etc… until you can actually make the automation works for you.
I hope that makes it clearer.
329 comments
Yes it totally does make it clear. Thanks!
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Ik zit ermee dat ik een business hebt die loopt en ben ik ben iets nieuws aan het opzetten, omdat ik mezelf het huidige niet lang meer zie doen.
( Fietsenmaker (reparaties en onderhoud aan huis)
De andere plannen brengen me naar waarom ik hier ben. In wat ik te doen heb.
En ik ben voor mezelf en de wereld meer van betekenis.
Het laat me niet de keuze geven om mijn focus volledig op de nieuwe stap te richten. (schulden en daardoor het belang van huidige werk nog te doen)
Omdat ik niet helder heb wat nu de juiste koers
is en het huidige werk zorgt voor veel, veel op mijn bordje.
Vraag:
De vragen en dingen die we nu doen en moeten beantwoorden. likken een stap te ver. Omdat nog niet helder is wat en waar ik voor kies. Wat kan ik nu het beste doen?
Wat is je advies Nisandeh.?
Zouden we een sessie kunnen doen waarin dit helder wordt?
Welke van de ideeën in deze maanden mijn focus wordt en waar dus wel en geen aandacht heen gaat.
potentieel is enorm en de kansen
477 comments
Hi Leo,
Is het misschien een idee om contact te zoeken met een succesvolle rijwielzaak die jouw zaak wil overnemen? Dat zou dan weer een zorg minder zijn.
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In onze branche stoppen dagelijks bedrijven hoofdoorzaak dat er geen mensen om ze te bemannen. Er is personeel te kort.
Mijn bedrijf (rijdende fietsenmaker) zou dan een specifiek iemand moeten zijn die dat wil en kan. Daarnaast zou het me niet genoeg opleveren om van te leven. En ik heb niet direct geld uit de nieuwe onderneming. Dank voor je reactie, ik ga er wel over zitten en kijken naar de mogelijkheden wat hier uit kan komen.
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Hi Leo, best to write in English so Nisandeh can read along.
IMO, ANY business is scaleable. Even my own, that has the very same problem as yours. I looked at a lot of business models, and decided that in my case, automation and self-service is the way to go.
Have you ever taken a day to go over business models, to see how you can change your business to a better business that is scaleable, even if there is no extra staff involved? Do you want to stop because of the business itself, or because of the revenue? I've seen many start over, with the same business model in a different sector, facing exactly the same issues.
So - my advice: think. Stop for a week, get a decent sparring partner who askes questions that matter, and think. Do some business model research. Some soul searching. The answer is often easier then we think. And faster, in most cases.
IMO, this world needs way more bike repair experts. Way more. How else are we going to get more people to ride bikes? There are some interesting companies doing new models already - something to look at?
If after 1 week you feel you want to pick the tools back up - that's a sign. If you still get sick from the thought of it, that's a sign. Nobody can make that decision for you, only you can.
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Brilliant answer, Sin…
Thank you for that.
183 comments
tav Engels heb ik overlegt met nisandeh en in Nederlands was oké. Ik heb zelf overigens de vertaling van google aan staan en lees zo de berichten ook beter in Nederlands
Ik ben er al jaren mee bezig is niet iets van gisteren. ik kan het blijkbaar ook niet in een paar zinnen benoemen en heb daar iemand voor nodig die hierin mee kijkt en vandaar de vraag aan nisandeh. Omdat ik hem ken en vertrouw en weet dat hij beste eruit zal halen en de kansen en mogelijkheden zal zien.
Reden is dat ik mezelf dit niet verder de rest van mij leven zie doen.
1. tav mijn lijf
2. tav dat ik nu lokaal werk en maar relatief weinig mensen help.
Met de potentie wat ik heb en wat ik weet (dit is niet net ontstaan, al 10 jaar mee bezig)
Ik zet me liever in voor de hele tweewieler branche zo kan ik veel meer mensen bereiken.
Na Nederland komt Europa en de rest van de wereld
start is http://www.fietsreparatie.nu het online platform voor fietsend Nederland
Hier wordt de ideale match gemaakt tussen de fietser en de fietsenmaker. Collega's geven alleen aan druk te zijn en spannen dan niet waar het over gaat of de reactie is ook wel te begrijpen omdat men het nu heel erg druk heeft en dan wil je geen bijdehand iemand die denkt het voor je op te lossen . En het gaat al (tijd) al goed dus waarom nu niet. Nu 12 fietsenakers aangesloten (met inleg van €150 voor een jaar) nu gratis gezet alleen komt er niet veel meer collega's die aansluiten
Op het platform ben ik bezig met online leeromgeving om de kennis voor zowel consument en fietsenmaker op hoger niveau te hebben/ houden.
Onlangs deed ik een onderzoek in de facebookgroep die ik beheer met ruim 1700 collega's en bleek dat er afgelopen 1 1/2 jaar er ruim 400 jaar ervaring uit de branche gestapt is. Weinig nieuwe aanwinst. En steeds grotere wachtlijsten.
Steeds meer bedrijven moeten sluiten door te weinig of geen personeel met online leeromgeving kunnen mogelijk sneller mensen instromen en als consument beter is ingelicht kan met het mogelijk zelf of is het al opgelost en kan de fietsenmaker doen wat hij of zij te doen heeft.
De fietsenmakers waarderen zichtzelf ook bijzonder slecht. Zelf in 2019 € 60000 verdient en in 2020 € 80000 met 3 - 4 dagen werken. Door diverse ziekte en diagnoses (inmiddels medicijnvrij en bijna klachten vrij ) Vanuit oa diagnose CVS
(Chronisch vermoeid) heb ik veel handelingen efficiënt kunnen maken en bedenken en uitvoeren met groot succes. Ook enkele collega's met zelfde succes. Dit soort zaken wil ik delen met fietsenmakers om uiteindelijk zoveel mogelijk mensen veilig en met veel plezier kunnen fietsen
Over mijn proces heb ik een boek geschreven " schakelen" (geïnspireerd in diverse trainingen van Nisandeh)
Ik ben keuzencoach bij de BOVAG en nu in contact met de ANWB omdat steeds meer bedrijven gaan zien dat de fiets het vervoermiddel van de toekomst is.
Hier vanuit (mijn naam en mijn kennis en mijn inzet) ben ik ook gevraagt als ambassadeur van een nieuwe beurs die opgezet wordt. https://worldofemobility.com/ en mag hier een repairplein opzetten. En het gaat een ontmoetingsplek worden voor de collega's. Ik heb en en krijg dus een enorm mooi podium. In landelijk blad ga ik columns schrijven en op de beurs lezingen geven.
Als met al is het veel en zoek iemand misschien wat je schrijft een sparringpartner, heb daar nog weinig geul mee. Van de laatste ben ik nu nog € 30000 aan het terug betalen. Daar zit een pijnpunt en ontmoet diverse mensen met allemaal goed bedoelde adviezen en zien ook het super is de kennis en vaardigheden en inzichten die ik heb. En uiteindelijk ligt de bal wel bij mij.
Ik ben nu de plannen aan uitschrijven, want er zijn investeerders geïnteresseerd in mijn plannen. Ook voor hun is het handig dat ik duidelijker en korter een helder duidelijke boodschap kan brengen en wat het kost en wat het oplevert
Dank voor je vraag Sin
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Dag 3 – WELKE tool ga je gebruiken
Herinner jezelf aan de taak/het proces dat je gaat automatiseren en onderzoek (Google, aanbevelingen) een lijst met tools die je zou kunnen gebruiken om te automatiseren.
Zorg ervoor dat u in de lijst zowel gratis als betaalde opties opneemt, zowel goedkope als duurdere.
Ik heb gekozen voor mijn mobiel te orderen. De vele aps die ik niet gebruik weggooien en verder indelen per categorie / pagina. zodat het sneller de juiste app te vinden is.
Google to do
Google Keep
Ben ik verder weer aan kijken welke de handigste is om alle indo te orderen en terug te vinden en taken te verdelen etc.
Bijzonder hoe je gewend bent aan een indeling en dat je op eerste pagina van je mobiel de makkelijke niet snel vind opdat hij op andere plek staat. Nu ga ik voor nog logischere indeling.
Schrijf ze ALLEMAAL op in het opmerkingenveld.
Kies vervolgens de beste tool/software voor uw huidige situatie en schrijf deze op.
7 comments
De druk op onze telefoon en mail neemt toe dus ik vraag mij af hoe we hiermee nog handiger kunnen omgaan? We werken al samen met een telefoondienst maar zij hebben niet de benodigde inhoudelijke kennis, werken voor vele verschillende bedrijven en zijn met vele collega's. Heeft iemand nog tips?
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Hey Stance,
What type of questions are you getting that you would like to be handled but aren't with the phone company (who, in a way, get paid to pick up the phone and tell your customer you're not there and that you will call them back so yeah, get your point:)) ? It would help me to get clarity on the solution you're looking for.
Right now, I'd say a VA looks like the way to go but... maybe you can answer the question first.
329 comments
Hi Stance,
In je bedrijf werken jullie al met een soort systeem om de telefonische gespreken te handelen?
Ik zit net te denken over je customer journey. Je heeft natuurlijk leads en klanten. De vragen zijn van algemene informatie, specifieke tot heel gespecialiseerde informatie.
Wat als je telefoon dienst “sorteert” de gespreken op basis van jou instructies. Dan kunnen ze de hele eenvoudige vragen zelf beantwoorden, en dan terug bel afspraken in plannen met een automatiserende programma zoals Calendly. Dan kan je bij voorbeeld de gemiddelde niveau vragen delegeren naar een specifieke collega. En dan de gespecialiseerde (moeilijkste) vragen kan je zelf beantwoorden. Dan in principe neemt de telefoon dienst alle telefoontjes op en plannen ze gewoon terugbel afspraken op jullie calendars.
De uitdaging is alleen je telefoon dienst te trainen om de telefoon gespreken goed te filtreren en de terugbellen afspraken goed te kunnen in plannen. Als dit lukt dan kan je gewoon werken en ook de telefonische gespreken lekker in plannen. Ik denk dat op dit manier je productiviteit om hoog kan gaan.
Is dat een idee?
Groetjes,
Maru
477 comments
Hi Stance,
Je zou een telefoonbeantwoorder kunnen inzetten en een aantal keren afluisteren en vervolgens de taken om dit af te handelen, delegeer je. De taken die anderen niet kunnen afhandelen, pak jezelf op of je instrueert hoe het moet worden afgehandeld. Op deze manier draag je ook nog kennis over.
329 comments
Now back to automation 🤗
In your experience Nisandeh, are there enough plugins/ programs already created to solve the main automation needs and appetites of a business?
Many thanks in advance for your reply
718 comments
Absolutely, Maru.
Don't bother with custom-made automation at this stage... (probably any stage, unless you need something specifically for you).
329 comments
HELP! MY DELEGATION PLAN OF LAST WEEK IS FALLING APART
Dear Nisandeh and Dear all,
For the Baby Hotel I decided to delegate the training of sleeping coaches to my former sleeping coach. Yesterday I had a meeting with her and she seemed very enthusiastic about the vision, she nearly said yes. However I woke up with a message from her saying that she was not willing to participate in the project anymore because of the following reasons:
- She wants to keep her business small, scaling her business is not something for her
- she does not want to commit to the training of people because it costs a lot of time and work. Also if it doesn’t work, her reputation may be at risk
- she does not seem to be bothered with the fact that she can only help a limited amount of people. As long as she enjoys her work
Reading her made me very disturbed. Why is it that great professionals/ entrepreneurs insist to stay small?
As if staying small is such a great virtue. I don’t share that view.
So my questions are:
1. How to deal with disappointment and set backs? Off course I knew up front that she may say no. But now that it actually happened, Aouch!
2. How can I continue developing a company where I have a clear vision and a clear pain to solve but I don’t have the expertise/knowledge to do it yet?
3. Does “Learning the business” means that I would need to become a baby sleep coach first in order to build the Baby Hotel? I rather work ON the business right from the start.
Many thanks in advice for your replies/advices/ insights. 🙏
718 comments
Sorry to hear that, Maru, and welcome to the real world.
Most people prefer to think small, act small, stay small.
It's not a judgement - just an observation.
I believe it's a human phenomenon, but definitely in the Netherlands is also has a major cultural influence ("doe maar gewoon", "als je je hoofd boven het maaiveld uitsteekt, wordt het afgehakt"...)
To your questions:
1. How to deal with disappointment and setback?
2. How to keep developing the company without the expertise?
See my last point in the answer to the question above.
3. Do you need to become a baby sleep coach first?
That depends... If there's only a handful of those experts in the world, than it might be a good idea.
If there are many of them - than I think your time, energy and genius would be better utilized in working ON your vision and business.
329 comments
Thank you Nisandeh! Your reply helped me to stop panicking, gather myself, recommit and continue.
366 comments
Can you learn rapid style from here to bring you to expert level, and do the trainings yourself? And start your project as an MVP while you learn?
329 comments
Hi Sin,
Thank you for your reply. It is indeed the choice I am confronted to right now. In one hand I would prefer to merely work on the business and delegate all the working in the business right from the start. However my gut feeling says that I need to “build some kilometers” and experience the work first hand. I am only afraid that that will take precious time from working on my business.
On the other hand there is indeed a rapid course (4 months) to become a certified baby sleep coach. So perhaps I will do that and build my expert position from there.
I must admit I feel a bit stuck in this dilemma. I really hoped my former sleeping coach would provide more guidance/support in accomplishing the mission. But now she seems to suddenly dislike me a lot for proposing her to scale her business together 😓
Now trying to rebalance myself again.
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Hi Nisandeh,
I have a question related to automation. I have a free E-book, 2 mini-courses, 3 bigger courses (start anytime) and a 6-month program that starts 2x per year. All courses are related to training horses and were supposed to ‘build’ on each other
1 - Connect to yourself and your horse
2 - Groundwork basics, work on the ground based on breathing/energy/bodyposture
3 - Groundwork advanced, help your horse get stronger to prepare for riding
4 - Mounting your horse in an easy way
5 - Riding based on breathing/energy/body posture
Course 3,4,5 I created recently (released this year) and some people bought one of these without buying the previous ones. I tag people based on the purchase, but it has become very complicated to send broadcasts with all these different courses. I have 5000+ people on my email list (approx 300+ have bought 1 or more courses) and I send every ‘broadcast’ manually (excluding people based on tags).
I don’t have overview anymore, so people might get emails twice or not at all. I NEED to automate the follow up email sequences. This means I have to create a workflow for all my online courses. I have been procrastinating this because
a) I’m the only one who knows all details of all courses
b) I don’t know where to start and how to do this….
Is there a tool that can help me with this? I know how to create email sequences, but I can only do that when I have overview first. I know about a tool called Miro, but that would be another project to learn. Where do I start? Thank you!
718 comments
I am not exactly sure what you're asking, Lucie...
A tool to help you with overview?
One thing I do get from your comment is the feeling that it's all very complex/complicated.
If I were you I would spend a few hours/days simplifying your system.
You have 7 different products and about 5,000 people on the mailing list.
Since you tag people based on their purchase, you should have 7 tags.
Then design the next step you want each client to take after their purchase.
So, let's say that after someone took your free e-book... what is the next step you want them to take.
Don't think of more than one step.
Design the email sequence they need to receive in order to take the next step.
When they took the next step (let's say they bought one of the mini courses) - remove them from the first sequence and move them to the beginning of the next sequence (e.g. moving from the first mini course to the second mini course).
I don't know what email program you use, but in the one we use (ActiveCampaign) it's called automations and it's a piece of cake to design (and there are hundreds of Fiverr providers that are happy to design it for you for a few dollars).
If you can do that - so each product has a next step - then it's simple, clean, clear, doable...
IF, however, people can get any product at any time that might make things a bit more complex... so my suggestion would be to keep the same structure...
No matter what product they take right now - there's always only one "next step".
If your system is more complicated than that - you need to ask yourself, "why".
What's the benefit for you AND for them - that it's more complex.
Most of the time we're not complicating things because it's necessary, but because we can...
Hope that helps...
412 comments
Nisandeh,
Do you have experience with several lead generation tools?
I'd love to hear which one you use and why it works for you and which one you think is suitable for a coach.
Thank you!
718 comments
I'm not sure what you mean by "lead generation tools", Manny.
Is it the lead magnet, or the traffic to your lead magnet, or the landing page (where you convert the traffic to qualified leads)?
Or maybe you refer to something else...?
412 comments
Hi Nisandeh, I mean software to find / approach /manage prospects. Maybe something like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, but I don't like that one, I don't follow the logic behind it and get confused by the layout of it.
718 comments
Thanks, Manny... for the clarification.
I have no knowledge/experience in such tools.
I hope others can share some of their experience/recommendations.
412 comments
Thanks for the honest reply, Nisandeh. I will find my way.
412 comments
Goodmorning all,
Just one question for anyone who can help: how do I know what to automate if I don't know what is possible?
I guess there are different 'levels' of automation, like a natural order.
Right now - I think - I've got the basics covered. What's next for a coach?
Thank you in advance!
718 comments
The simple answer, Manny, is…
Almost everything is possible.
NOT everything is worth the investment in time, effort and money - but I never think from what is possible, but what is it that I want to achieve.
Just look at your business (or life) and ask yourself - “what am I doing at least a few times a week/month, that I don’t want to keep doing myself.”
Anything you’d come up with can be either automated OR delegated.
About “natural order”… I would organize the list of automation possibilities first by the pain and frequency each process causes me.
For example, forgetting an appointment used to be for me - painful and happening often enough to feel stupid) - so I automated it.
Then come those recurring tasks/actions you do daily or weekly.
I put automatic alarms (on my phone) for every recurring action (daily, weekly, or specific days each week). Today my phone alarms are my “boss” and “accountability buddy”. It’s not just that I don’t forget/miss any of those anymore - it’s also that I never need to think about doing them until the alarm goes off… a major relief for my overworked brain…
Another criteria would be return on investment… if you can find a free or very cheap automation - then go for it. If it cost good money - you’ll need to consider it it’s worth it…
I hope that gives you the first step…
412 comments
Thanks for this very down-to-earth breakdown of my question, Nisandeh 🙂
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In your opinion, is there an order to delegating, automating (and maybe eliminating, so stop doing things)?
Are there any automations I should not delegate? (For instance, scheduling posts is an automation, but I don't have to do it myself)
718 comments
Great strategic questions, Max…
To answer the first question about the order…
It all starts with systemizing.
Systems include both automation and delegation (insourcing or outsourcing).
This is my understanding of a system…
It needs to get the job done with minimum amount of steps/moving parts.
The simpler the system, the faster, cleaner, more accurate it works.
The more complex it is - there are more places for errors, frictions, and breaks.
So, when I’m looking at systemizing anything in my life (business, health, education, gardening, cooking…) I will do the following process:
1. Define my purpose (why do I want to systemize this process)
2. Define my systemizing goals (what do I want to gain/achieve)
3. Find out anything that is UNnecessary - and eliminate it
4. Look at what’s left and simplify it
5. Now find out the 80% of the steps that give only 20% of the value - those should be automated or delegated
6. When the system works perfectly, look at the 20% of the steps that give 80% of the value and do step 4 for those 20%… (repeat as long as necessary)
Automation vs. delegation
If it’s repetitive, and is being done a lot - I’d prefer to automate instead of delegate.
366 comments
Good morning! I have 2 questions to Nisandeh and the group:
1. I'm looking for 3D mindmaps / 3D visual thinking support. I've got Thornspace, it kinda does the work, but I'm looking for alternatives. Can be fancy and AI, but just plain 3D will work as well. If you don't know about software that does this, but are interested to buy it, please let me know in the comments as well - I might look for a way to develop it.
2. I'm also looking for a way to have my clients book an assessment with me. Now, beware, this is NOT about booking a time slot as such. I want to show for instance 4 squares a month if I am willing to handle 4 assessments in a month. They are red if they are booked, green if still available. Something like that, but I'm open to other options. So, again, not 'use calendly and make 3 days 1 time slot'. Who knows my magic solution? So far, I only got to: put images on a webpage, and link 'green' ones to a contact form so they can book it + a script that turns them 'red' once a form has been submitted. Plus a backend button to do the switching manually.
Anybody else out there with the same software need? I might have a wp plugin build to do this if I can't find a cheap commercial option.
366 comments
I should have mentioned that I'm looking for CONCEPT maps in particular, not just mindmaps.
What did I come up with so far? (been looking for some time now)
1. I know about TheBrain.com -- but find it to confusing to actually find something or get an overview
2. topicscape, that has a great concept to retrieve information, but is still very hierarchy based, while I'm looking for relations between things. Weights of certain topics. A way to see how much impact each node has.
3. There is also mind mapping 3D on android -- but it doesn't work on a large screen. You need to run an emulator for android on windows and still it is a tiny screen. This however is very close to what I'm looking for.
4. What I like as well is buildyourmap.com. Not the best interface, but this is useable.
5. Same goes for inforapid.
6. There is noda, but I get headackes from using an oculus. So no go for now, but with lighter gear, great option for what I need.
Anybody know of other options?
718 comments
I read your question, Sin, and I have no idea what 3D mindmaps / 3D visual thinking support is...
So, it made me think...
There are two ways to ask a question (ourselves, others, Google, experts...):
1. What's the best way to get from MY point A to MY point B?
2. What car should I buy?
It seems that you already decided that the answer to question #1 is a "car" - so now you're asking question #2.
If that's true - then in order to get the best answer to question #2 - you better phrase it like, "I am looking for a CAR that would take me from MY point A to MY point B. Does anyone have a good recommendation based on experience?"
It that's not true (meaning - you didn't consider all the ways to get from YOUR point A to YOUR point B) - then I'd start with question 1, modified slightly: "What's the simplest, quickest, most affordable way to get from MY point A to MY point B?"
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Ok... not sure if saying the more general description will help, but here goes.
I'm looking for a digital tool, not a paper one, to represent concepts and their relationships in 3D. So, like a mindmap, that is 2D, but in 3D. The goal is not only to represent the concepts and their relationships, but also how they high or lower order and what their weight is in the total structure. The visualization must also be able to work with non-hiërarchical nodes. A tree is not able to show relationships between leaves - and most complex issues aren't trees at all. they are like root systems of mushrooms. That is why a 2D mindmap is not able to help me to represent complex cases.
the reason I'm looking for a way to automate it, is because I am now doing this on paper or blackboard, with my own codings - what isn't accessible for others. Simply put: they don't get it, and I can't blame them. I myself often miss important relationships because of the 2D layout. As this is a crucial step in my work - find the root causes, not the misguiding tree truncks, I want to find an automation for it.
I take that the other question was clear and 'open' enough given Jeroens answer.
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Hmmm. Your challenge reminds me of a seemingly similar need that I had quite a while ago (2007). I wanted (and thought I needed) dynamic graphing software, with the possibility of flexible and multiple relationships between concepts, including representation of weight of nodes. Back then, there was hardly any such software. So I started investing in that (the delegation trick), and found out very soon that money burns fast in that area, and that continuing without a solid commercial perspective was a very bad idea. So after 1.5 years, I put this venture in the fridge and started new ones. Over the last couple of years, the idea grew in me that I had been too rigid in thinking that complex visualizations would be absolutely necessary for the functionality that I tried to build (which had something to do with knowledge management, in particular capturing and reusing knowledge from experience). That's a pretty long introduction to get to my following response thoughts, but it gives some context to them.
1. It seems to me that the market for your need hasn't matured a lot since then. After a quick search, https://graphstream-project.org/ seemed to come closest.
2. If you want to keep searching, perhaps "dynamic graph software" is a better search key than "3d mindmapping".
3. I'd recommend to reconsider how crucially important these complex visualizations are. If you want to convey information to others, they usually can't process data points with more than 4 dimensions or relations anyway, and these might be represented in easier ways. This point relates to Nisandeh's Type 1 question.
4. I would give it a second thought to invest in developing this yourself; if the off the shelf solutions are hardly there, then this might be a signal that it's tough to crack this code.
Not fully satisfactory answers, I know, but food for thought.
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Michiel, you just solved it for me! Not knowing how to call it, was indeed the issue. And yes, you ask very relevant questions. Do I really need it? This way?
Thing is, I've got some other large scale projects in mind, where the need is similar. In the demo of graphstream, you can see how it is used for nodes in GIS and traffic simulation. Those are my working area's, that's how I think and that is where I want to explore what has not been done with existing software. That's kinda my thing. Take what is there, put it in a new context.
4D is fine, 4 relations can be solved by adding data on a different level, like a page linked to a node in 3D. That's very doable.
Thank you for pointing me towards dynamic graph software, made me really happy to know there is hope 🙂
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Glad you've come a relevant step further!
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Hi Sin,
I don’t know if I understood you correctly, but why not using WooCommerce?
You can make 1 product, with different variations.
Example:
Product: Assessment
Variations: July Assessment 1, July assessment 2, July Assessment 3 etc.
Stock per variation is 1.
When Assessment July 3 is purchased, WooCommerce Will only show the other ones.
Then you can Connect WooCommerce to your bookkeeping system and payment server provider to automate.
Hope this can bring some inspiration,
Greetings,
Jeroen
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Hi Jeroen,
that is a great idea and easy to implement as I already am going to use woocommerce for the automations on that same site. Thank you.
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You’re welcome Sin, I’m glad I could help.
Cheers,
Jeroen
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He Jeroen
Dat klinkt heel handig en simpel, maar ik kom er niet helemaal uit. Ondertussen ben ik wel een tijdje aan het stoeien ermee, maar wellicht kan je mij misschien verder helpen hoe het precies werkt 🙂
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Hi Sigrid, sure.
Just reach out to jeroen [at] mijnwijncursus.nl and we schedule a Zoom session or call.
Cheers,
Jeroen
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If you will get the answer, I also wanna have that tool. Because I only want a few appointsments a month and only I will choose the time slots.
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Hi Sigrid, If you only need a limited number of time slots, you can use almost any software: doodle, calendly, ... Just pick when you are available, and the client will only see those time slots as available. In my case, I don't want time slots, I want 'cases'. So Jeroens suggestion makes sense: sell cases online per month, and gone = gone. Youtube has great instruction video's on how to set up time slots.
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Hello Sin,
Maybe https://tabletopsimulator.com/ actually fits your needs. It is a 3D environment that is used to play and develop board games.
That means you can fill a table with all kinds of cards, pawns, images. It is even possible to do animations/interactions.
(and when you are done, you can flip the table)