Life as a whole
Take stock to help generate new ideas
Techniques for reviewing key events
Review your life so far and the key events that may have influenced any major decisions.
Using a lifeline
If you want help to think carefully about the significant events in your life, use a lifeline form (RTF, 20KB) (see example). This activity can help you to discover aspects that you might want to develop and change, and can be the starting point of planning for the future. Spend at least 30 minutes on this activity, then move on to the Mind Map below.
Mind mapping
Drawing a mind map like Jon’s, that includes your hopes and dreams, will open up your range of options. Mind maps help you to generate new ideas and make associations between things that you haven’t thought of before. One way to do this is to take a blank sheet of paper, write ‘me’ in the middle and work outwards to get your ideas down as they occur. Re-work your mind map if necessary in order to produce an organised structure.
Take some time to reflect on what the lifeline and the Mind Map say about you. Are any particular themes appearing?
Continue with the career planning activities by moving on to Your Values.
OU students can contact a careers adviser if you would like some help making use of these activities.