Mind mapping is a term you have heard of, and it has nothing to do medical sciences. It is a way to note down your thoughts, so you can remember them later, or organize them better. All of us have ideas, plans, to-do lists, grocery lists and we do from time to time, jot them down on a piece of paper, as a list. It is no easy task, and it is hard to manage. Imagine trying to jot down things across different pages, and trying to collect them together, but then make some changes to them. It is hard to note down ideas when it is a constantly evolving plan. It’s also hard to do when you are busy with something else or travelling and need to put it down somewhere. That is where mind mapping comes in and there are a range of tools that can help you.
Mind mapping is nothing more than taking an idea and all its related topics and branching them. It is all about visually putting it down on paper (or an electronic medium), and it can help you communicate it better to others. It is easier to debate ideas and detail them. You can also extract a list of actionable points from what would otherwise be just a massive expanse of uncontrolled, arbitrary ideas. You can mind map on paper, but you would need a large sheet of paper, preferably.
If you are attempting to do some mind mapping, start off with the primary ideas, a heading, then think of all the different branches. For example, if we were to mind-map this article you are reading, you might think of a storyboard, of all the things you need to talk about. That would include an introduction, the difficulties of taking notes, the reason to take notes, how to take notes, the kind of software you can use, and a conclusion. Each of these points could further be branched out with finer details. This should give you a gist of it. When a topic is as straight-forward as this, it is effective, but its benefits became truly known when the topic is way more complex, like setting up a new e-commerce web site, or to create an on-boarding plan for employees or storyboarding a movie.
In effect, a mind mapping tool is ideal for all kinds of individuals, from programmers to designers, to writers, to finance professionals, hobbyists, and everyone with a range of tasks to complete. A mind on paper might typically has a set of nodes, interconnected by lines, much like a tree has a trunk, then branches, subbranches and leaves. On paper, it is difficult to remove a node or move it to a new place. The canvas is limited too, so you need to flip the page on a notebook or unfold a large sheet of paper. It is hard to carry it everywhere you go, every time you have thoughts. This is where mind mapping software come in.
Mind mapping tools should be simple, and intuitive. Using keyboard shortcuts when using a laptop or PC are effective ways to get down your thoughts into images quickly. Most mind mapping tools let you create new nodes and connections using the Tab key, and let you navigate around the tree using just the direction keys. You can add more nodes, add notes, interlink ideas and more beyond this point. Most mind mapping tools will allow you to export your mind map to documents, spreadsheets, even images that you can use in videos or presentations.
Windows users can start with mind mapping using software such as Freeplane, Xmind, Freemind, etc. You can also find web based, mind mapping tools that you can log in using your laptop or PC and create mind maps. There are even mind mapping web services you can access on your web browser. Some may even allow collaborating with teams, so others can also add to your ideas and make changes. There are a growing number of these, with some of the popular ones being, Coggle.it, mapsofmind.com, mind42.com, etc. Most are free with some limited features. If you are planning to use mind mapping tools through your day, opt for software installed on your PC or laptop. These software may have somewhat different ways of working, but it is something one needs to get habituated and comfortable with.
If you are a Linux user, there are quite a few options as well. Consider checking out Minder, since it is quite minimal and easily available for most Linux distributions. View Your Mind is another popular mind mapping tool, as is Freemind and is available for Windows as well as Macs. There are also apps for Android and iOS devices, but they tend to be paid.
There are advanced tools available as well, which let you add videos, images, and links to other web sites straight into every node. These better suited for users who need to detail every fine visual element of their story, but for most beginners, tools like the ones we mentioned earlier should work very well. There are more advanced mind mapping techniques you can explore once you get used to these tools. We hope you can adopt mind mapping into your workday and workflow, and it brings value to you. If you liked learning about mind mapping and want to learn other interest things, keep visiting us here at RelianceDigital.in.
