Alec Satin’s Soft Skills Blog for IT Managers and Leaders

Mindmapping is a technique that can be helpful to you as a project manager or IT professional.  Mindmaps are most valuable in notetaking, brainstorming by yourself or with a team, and in preparing well organized documents and presentations.  If you like making lists or outlines, you may not immediately see the benefit to mindmaps.   This post may provide you with some ideas on how and why you might want to create some mindmaps for yourself.

Try out Mindmapping

The best way to see the value of mindmapping is to try it out in the next 3 or 4 meetings you attend.  You don’t need any special software to start.  Just use a clean sheet of paper.  Place a circle or square in the center and label it with the name of the meeting and date.  Each time a new subject is introduced, write two or three words max to describe each and place these in a new circle near the original one.  If there are sub-topics for a subject, add these in the same way, but this time around the subject.  After you’ve practiced a few times, you’ll be able to tell if this is a process that could fit in with your particular style.

Background

1. Wikipedia article on Mind Maps.
2. Joyce Wycoff’s paperback Mindmapping: Your personal guide to exploring creativity and problem solving is highly recommended.
3. Tony Buzan video describing mind mapping.

How to Mindmap

1. Susan Dunn’s explanation of how to create your first mindmap.
2. Celine Roque’s quick overview of mind mapping techniques.

Advanced Mindmapping

1. Advanced mind mapping study skills.
2. How to use mind mapping to enhance speed reading.

How to happily waste hours and hours of your time

1. Mappio - library of thousands and thousands of FreeMind, MindManager and JPG mind maps to browse and download.  Take a look at Mind Mapping for Dyslexics, Edward de Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats, Mind Mapping v Mind Mapping Software, or Affirmation Tree.

Blogs

1. Mind Mapping Software Blog - Read The real value of mind mapping software for project management.
2. IQ Matrix - Accelerating Your Learning Potential Blog -  Read Adam Sicinski’s Becoming a person of influence.

Tools

Creating mindmaps on paper is an excellent way to go.    If you would like to use software to create, save and share your mindmaps, you can choose between online and software based solutions.  Here are some places to start.

Software tools

1. MindManager - The standard by which all other mind mapping tools are measured.  If you want the best, this is it.
2. MindVisualizer - Read review.
3. Freemind - free, open-source tool written in Java.

Online tools

1. bubbl.us - Web based mind mapping.  Completely free.
2. MindMeister - Web based Ajax tool.  Collaboration possible.  Free version is limited.

I have gone back and forth with using mindmapping as a tool.  Currently I’m back on the wagon and very much enjoying MindVisualizer on my Ironkey USB Flash drive.  Do you mindmap?  If so, what sources have been helpful to you?  Let me know in the comments.
(Communication mindmap by fabi k) (Topic image by edmittance) (musicophilia mindmap from wikipedia commons) (GTD mindmap by tanja de bie)

Tagged as: brainstorming, Effectiveness, linkfest, Meetings, mindmap, mindmapping, notetaking, techniques

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