Sometimes your ideas aren’t linear. They involve complex relationships, dependencies, etc.
When that happens, a mind map can be an invaluable tool. A mind map allows you to describe concepts, related ideas, relationships and branches to help you organize your thoughts. I’ve used mind mapping when my head is swirling about a single or multiple issues, for example, when I am designing a presentation or doing some big-picture planning. This year, we’ve been thinking about whether additional leadership staff would benefit our team, and in what ways. My mind map to help me figure out what to do looked like this:
As you can see, I had a lot of ideas in my head – and those were just around the factors we needed to consider as we made our decision! Starting with a mind map helped me think about which factors to consider first.
Mind mapping came fairly naturally once I got started. I realized that I’d dabbled in mind mapping for a while. For example, I’d finish a meeting with a series of lines, arrows, and circled comments linking agenda items to my written notes. My colleague, Jessica, told me what the concept was called, and I accessed YouTube for some more ideas. While many of the videos have very fancy ideas or are associated with software, I still found them inspiring. One in particular took a very low-key, straightforward approach that I found helpful (although before watching this video be aware that it starts with loud music and has strong religious messages that you may or may not like).
If you have left pen and paper behind, you can use software to create a mindmap. I’ve used both Microsoft Visio and Xmind to create mind maps. In Visio, I use their flow chart options and organize boxes and ovals connected by lines and color-coded for meaning. Xmind is specifically designed for mind maps. It’s fairly easy to pick up, and their website has great sample mind maps. I’ve found the forced reliance on a central concept a little constraining if I’m feeling less concise.
Are you using mind mapping in your work? I’d love to hear about how it’s helped you, or where it has fallen short of your needs.
As you can see, I had a lot of ideas in my head – and those were just around the factors we needed to consider as we made our decision! Starting with a mind map helped me think about which factors to consider first.
Mind mapping came fairly naturally once I got started. I realized that I’d dabbled in mind mapping for a while. For example, I’d finish a meeting with a series of lines, arrows, and circled comments linking agenda items to my written notes. My colleague, Jessica, told me what the concept was called, and I accessed YouTube for some more ideas. While many of the videos have very fancy ideas or are associated with software, I still found them inspiring. One in particular took a very low-key, straightforward approach that I found helpful (although before watching this video be aware that it starts with loud music and has strong religious messages that you may or may not like).
If you have left pen and paper behind, you can use software to create a mindmap. I’ve used both Microsoft Visio and Xmind to create mind maps. In Visio, I use their flow chart options and organize boxes and ovals connected by lines and color-coded for meaning. Xmind is specifically designed for mind maps. It’s fairly easy to pick up, and their website has great sample mind maps. I’ve found the forced reliance on a central concept a little constraining if I’m feeling less concise.
Are you using mind mapping in your work? I’d love to hear about how it’s helped you, or where it has fallen short of your needs.
