I'm new at this, too. I find myself intimidated by the activation step.
I'm mostly reading books about discpline and boys right now (I have a 2 year old!). I think my purpose is super clear as I start reading, and I'm wondering how much I need to activate. Can I just let the information I need about handling situations come to my concious mind when I need it? Or is this a cop-out?
I guess the 30 minute timer would help me feel less daunted, too. I'll give that a shot.
How do you all track your questions, trigger words and mind maps? I find I'm getting a ton of random pieces of paper floating around.