[WI] How To Use Mind-Mapping To Bring Your Good Ideas To Life

One of the best – maybe THE best – ways of visually outlining any kind if information, is mind-mapping. With Mind-Mapping you use diagrams that can be simple, elaborate or quite complicated, but you don’t have to be a Leonardo da Vinci or a Michael Angelo to design it.

Many software programs are available that you can use for your mid map or you can invent your own designs. Whichever way, they help you turn good ideas into great actions.

4 Outstanding Benefits of Mind-Mapping

1. Give your creativity a massive boost: Mind-mapping sets your creative thinking alight. Don’t try write poetry – focus on getting all your thoughts down on a piece of paper.
2. Don’t always do it alone. Mind-mapping can be used as an individual activity, but can also be a great group activity. It’s not quite like AA meetings – rather more like a puppet or magician’s show… Communicating information visually makes it easier to understand the message and strengthens group memory.
3. Give productivity a boost. All you’ll need to do, is to automate certain routine tasks. This will allow you to be better organized which will free up time for other projects.
4. Be more effective. Mind-Mapping is the way to go to get effective results. Structuring and discussing information allows for greater engagement than sim ply passive reading.

8 Tips on How to get started with Mind-Mapping

1. Create a common topic. State your main subject in just three words or less. Think newspaper headlines… Make this the central image of your diagram.
2. List every relevant subtopic. Concentrate of and think about everything that has anything to do with your main idea. Brainstorm it. It’s a bit like drawing a family tree, starting with the trunk, then adding features. As you go along, you will be adding subtopics as branches using additional lines and shapes branching out from the center.
3. Get organized – arrange all the topics by categories and relationships. Once this is in place, you can start visualizing the way things relate to each other and group them. This will suggest how to position and connect different elements.
4. Link it: Add links to supporting information. Keep your Mind-Map easy to read by creating links to external resources such as an organizational chart that could reference staff biographies or a document for a meeting that could link to minutes from previous meetings or discussions.
5. Generate challenging assignments. It’s a bit like assigning “homework”. Get ready for action. Give each player specific and clearly defined responsibilities. To keep up the pressure, add a due date. Be specific – don’t generalize.
6. Review and assess. Continuously be on the lookout for ways to improve as you go along. Without spending too much time on it, you may want to make your labels more concise or vary color schemes or shapes.
7. Use text. Although this is a visual challenge, words play a valuable part. Don’t assume everyone always knows what everything means, so add a legend to explain frequently used symbols. Even use call-outs for something that may require some further notes.
8. Make a template. As time goes by, you may find that you frequently use similar formats over and over. Save these favorite templates to make it even faster next time round.

How to apply Mind-Mapping

1. Advance your career. Most people get introduced to Mind-Mapping at the office. It’s good for many tasks – from meetings to start-up discussions to project management. Spruce up your daily to-do list, work on your journal every day or work your way up to designing an impressive visual display for your next review.
2. Get those important decisions done. You can extend this visualizing process to other areas of your life. When you’re faced with a tough decision, map out all the pros and cons and the perspectives of different players. Then Get those important decisions done.
3. Keep a record of your thoughts. Keep a notebook and pen in your pocket, know how your mobile device works for voice recordings or find a handy app that can help you create a Mind-Map on your phone or tablet ‒ some of your best ideas might pop into your head when you least expect them. Be ready to record it…
4. Mind-Mapping to process large volumes of information. With the information overload of modern-day working and living, it is easy to understand why Mind-Mapping has become more common. Mind-Mapping is an easy and simple way to deal with loads of facts or masses of information in a very short time. Spot the connections between them.
   

Mind-Mapping has the ability to improve your life on a personal and professional level. It allows for improved planning, it consolidates key information, and it triggers meaningful insights. It also allows you to have great fun drawing your way to a better future.