When you’re lost in your thoughts and you have a deadline making you more gaga than usual, what do you do? Me, I usually reach for the bottle of scotch I keep in the bottom right drawer of my desk, which probably isn’t a good idea when it’s only 8:30 in the morning.
Lately, I’ve been looking for ways to get my neurons careening from one synapse to the other without having to summon the ghost of Hunter Thompson for inspiration. Sometimes, I just need someone to push me off a cliff to get me moving on a project because I tend to procrastinate. What I really would like is to be able to organize my thoughts in a way that will make me more creative without having to wear some kind of brain cage. That’s what led me to investigate mind mapping.
Mind mapping is the process of diagramming the words, ideas and tasks bouncing between your ears and corralling them in a way that makes sense to you.
Yeah, I know, keeping your right and left brain working in synch is counter intuitive for lots of people, but that’s what mind mapping is all about. It’s a concept that encourages creative brainstorming but in an organized way.
The thinking is that if you can visualize those things that may be short circuiting your creative energy, or rein in your out-of-control thoughts, you’ll be able to look at them with clarity and serenity and generate fresh approaches to the same old challenges.
Your ideas are as free and agile as circus acrobats, yet, there’s always a net to catch them when they fall.
The core of a mind map is a single word or concept. Your words, ideas and tasks graphically radiate from the center like spokes on a wheel. Each spoke has its own word or meaning and it can branch out from there and keep on going in every direction.
Here’s what one mind map looks like:
Now, I’ll admit that I’m not completely sold on mind mapping. I’m still experimenting, using pen and pencil, with how it might help me develop new ways of thinking. I’m also going to look a bit deeper into mind mapping software, which seems neater.
I compiled a list of free mind mapping software so you can join me for a test drive. Some of these apps run on both Windows and Macs. FreeMind, which looks to be the most popular free app, runs on Linux, Mac and Windows.
Here’s a YouTube video of FreeMind in action.
