Are you a visual learner? Do you see things more clearly when they’re laid out in front of you, on a list or a white board? I think most of us are that way. There’s something about getting the whirlwind of ideas out of your head and on to a piece of paper that really helps to clarify the project at hand. Am I right, or what? From a simple to-do list to an elaborate Gantt chart, that visual aid can pull things together and help you get your plan in place for moving forward.
I have to admit—I’m a bit of a list junkie myself. I love making lists of my projects, my must-do’s, my want-to’s, and even my hope-to’s. While I probably won’t go cold turkey on my list making, because it does still work best for some things, I have just recently discovered another way of laying out a project that works much better than those Post-Its (can’t believe I just said that!). It’s a very cool tool called Mind Mapping.
Mind mapping has actually been around since ancient times, and has been used successfully in all varieties of situations. It’s an easy and fun way to brainstorm a work project, plan out your week ahead, address a challenge or even take notes in a meeting. It allows you to get your ideas on paper as they come to you, whereas with a list, you might be stymied trying to capture your thoughts in the order they need to be done, which can be really frustrating. Because our minds think in terms of images rather than words, a mind map is much more free-flowing and can actually inspire more creative ideas and make the process more productive.
Using a visual image of a tree, here’s a quick summary of how a mind map works:
- In the center of your paper or white board, you write down the main topic of your mind map. This becomes the trunk of the tree.
- Reaching out from there, like branches on a tree, list 3 or 4 sub-topics that need to be considered as part of the project.
- Now start brainstorming! Under each of the branches, begin drawing smaller branches, listing, in no particular order, your ideas, thoughts and even images that pertain to each sub-topic.
- Continue to grow your tree with more branches, large and small as your ideas keep coming.
- Note…By association, using images and colors will help you to connect all the branches and remember your mind map later as you work through your project.
Admittedly, this is just an overview of the mind map process. For more information and step-by-step instructions, check out these articles:
“How to Make a Mind Map” at WikiHow.com
“Why Mind Maps Are The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread” at Teamwork.com
Mind mapping is easy and fun! You can keep it simple with paper and colored pens, or you can get technical and use a mind-mapping program if you like. Either way, give it a try and see what you think!
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