Mindmapping is one of the simplest, yet most powerful, tools a person can have in her creativity toolbox. It is a non-linear way of organizing information and a technique that allows you to capture the natural flow of your ideas. Here's a five minute workshop on how to use this flexible tool...try it the next time you need to write a memo, prepare a meeting agenda or are trying to get a bird's eye view of a complex project.

Step 1: Lighten Up!
Let go of the idea of finding a cure for cancer, ending hunger, solving the problem or writing a report that your boss will love. Mindmapping is simply a brain dumping process that helps stimulate new ideas and connections. Start with an open, playful attitude ... you can always get serious later.
Step 2: Think Fast.
Your brain works best in 5-7 minute bursts so capture that explosion of ideas as rapidly as possible. Key words, symbols and images provide a mental short-hand to help you record ideas as quickly as possible.
Step 3: Judge Not.
Put everything down that comes to mind even if it is completely unrelated. If you're brainstorming ideas for a report on the status of carrots in Texas and you suddenly remember you need to pick-up your cleaning, put down "cleaning." Otherwise your mind will get stuck like a record in that "cleaning" groove and you'll never generate those great ideas.
Step 4: Break Boundaries.
Break through the "8 1/2x 11 mentality" that says you have to write on white, letter-size paper with black ink or pencil. Use ledger paper or easel paper or cover an entire wall with butcher paper ... the bigger the paper, the more ideas you'll have. Use wild colors, fat colored markers, crayons, or skinny felt tipped pens. You haven't lived until you've mindmapped a business report with hot pink and day-glo orange crayons.
Step 5: Center First.
Our linear, left-brain education system has taught us to start in the upper left-hand corner of a page. However, our mind focuses on the center ... so mindmapping begins with a word or image that symbolizes what you want to think about placed in the middle of the page.
Step 6: Free Associate.
As ideas emerge, print one or two word descriptions of the ideas on lines branching from the central focus. Allow the ideas to expand outward into branches and sub-branches. Put down all ideas without judgment or evaluation.
Step 7: Keep Moving.
Keep your hand moving. If ideas slow down, draw empty lines, and watch your brain automatically find ideas to put on them. Or change colors to reenergize your mind. Stand up and mindmap on an easel pad to generate even more energy.
Step 8: Allow Organization.
Sometimes you see relationships and connections immediately and you can add sub-branches to a main idea. Sometimes you don't, so you just connect the ideas to the central focus. Organization can always come later; the first requirement is to get the ideas out of your head and onto the paper.
Uses for Mindmapping: organizing information and ideas for reports, memos, letters, novels or poems, "to do" lists, presentations, meetings, brainstorming sessions, managing projects, grocery lists, vacation planning, journalling, note taking ... in other words for anything that deals with people, information or problems! The important thing is to TRY IT!!!

Software: There are two excellent mindmapping software packages: Mindmanager and Inspiration

(Mindmap at the beginning of this article is reprinted with permission from To Do...Doing...Done! A Creative Approach to Managing Projects & Effectively Finishing What Matters Most by G. Lynne Snead and Joyce Wycoff)

Source: Innovation Network

Mindmapping

Mindmapping is a great tool for thinking and learning. When I returned to university, I created separate mindmaps of the books, articles and subjects we studied. First, I used Mindjet Mindmanager for that. Soon, these separate maps became annoying. The typical (1-to-many) tree-shape of a mindmap became too limited for me. How do you easily connect different branches of different mindmaps? PersonalBrain allows you to create many-to-many relationship 'mindmaps'. Also, PersonalBrain allows huge (really huge) maps. To get an impression of how big it can become, have a look at Jerry Michalski's brain (his site here) .

Collect and a place for everything

I am probably not the most organized person in the world. When I read about the idea of having one trusted place for all your next actions in 'Getting Things Done' by David Allen, it inspired me to create a trusted system/place for my data, information, knowledge and even wisdom too. If I find something on the web, see somehting on tv, read in a book or article and don't want to forget about it because for some reason it inspired me or moved me, I put it in my PersonalBrain. I prefer digital media, because it can be incorported in the brain so easily. The tool even allows me to do a full search through the websites or documents that I've attached to the thoughts in my brain. After a few months, my brain already contains around 8000 thoughts with many, many links. It works great for me: I've uncluttered my documents from my PC, thoughts in my head, and stuff in my bookcase, desk, drawers, my bookmarks and notes. They are all in my PersonalBrain, easily accessible via numerous links and associations that I added.

My wish: PersonalBrain interface and principles integrated in file system

As described above, I include a lot of shortcuts to digital media files in my brain. I don't bother about filenames nor locations anymore. Naming and organizing is done in PersonalBrain. Now imagine the situation where your file system of your operating system is actually a relational database. You could add endless links and association between files or to thoughts without files. Microsoft planned such a feature (WinFS or Windows Future Storage) for Vista, but they couldn't do it. I hope that this idea will soon become reality, and on top of that I would love to have the visual interface of PersonalBrain to browse through and maintain this database.

Anyway, i.m.h.o. it is a true killer-app. Try it. There is a free edition of it too. Check out a few of these video's here, here, here and here to get an idea of the power and flexibility of this piece of software.

Starting the Reorg has been a major pain but necessary.  You know, everyone needs a little gut check.  I had one a few months ago and realized that parts of my daily routine could use some major tweaking.  Certainly important to get all cylinders working.  To know what direction I'm going, I've mind-mapped these ideas on Mindmeister.  Excellent site.  I had written down these ideas previously but in a list form.  Apparently, that was an abysmal way for me to get a road-map to life system sustainability.

Life system sounds a bit gimmicky but I really have no better word to describe it.  We all run our lives in different ways.  We work different hours, have kids, don't have kids, take vacations more often or less often or never.  Our genetics make us neat freaks or pigs.  We are many varieties of order and chaos.

I tend to fall closer to the chaos side of the spectrum.  That's not to say that I can't be organized.  Usually, my work tends to be quite orderly just based on the sheer fact that someone else depends on it.  My mind, however, is a sponge that must constantly be wringed out to prevent ten, 15 or 20 ideas and concepts from flooding the system.  My brain needs order brought to chaos.

This reorg is about everything that makes me function during the day, from first light to sleep tight.  The goal is that it become so routine and rooted in my daily schedule to where I don't even know it exists and it can be changed, flowing flawlessly.

Mind mapping is great for the visually inclined, will get those ideas out of your head so you can start making decisions.

In a previous post I wrote about a webcast featuring Jamie Nast, author and creator of the Idea Mapping Blog and Chuck Frey, author and creator of The Mind Mapping Software Blog.

Recently, Chuck Frey conducted an interview with Jamie Nast.  

Jamie Nast is one of the most prolific trainers and speakers on the topic of visual mapping. In this interview, she candidly explains why it's critical that executives learn to express their ideas visually, using hand-drawn idea maps and mind mapping software, and the risks of not doing so.

This is an interview you don’t want to miss!

Click here for the Interview.

However, there are some rules which you have to follow in order to create a mindmap:

1. the start of your mindmap consists of the subject (e.g. STP);
2. every word is connected to each other;
3. use important keywords;
4. use your own writing style;
5. use colours, symbols and codes;

In these modern times, many mindmaps can be made online. Here are some examples of online Mindmapping-tools:

• Mindomo
• Mindmeister
• Mind42
• Comapping

Most of these online mindmapping tools are not free of use (except for the 30-days trails).

Why do I write this post? - The reason for this is very simple: I help my customers in the concept/brainstorming phase of their project to quickly get insights in their own thoughts. I guide them through the thinking and creative process. With these mindmapping techniques I try to minimize the time needed for this process.

How can I help you? - Just contact me at: marcel.jansens@businessbrains.nl