Mind Mapping » How It Can Sort Mental Clutter

Part of my job is taking notes during Executive Meetings and writing meeting minutes afterwards. The problem was, I have trouble keeping up because I can’t take notes as fast as the managers talk. Moreover, during classes in the graduate school, I used to jot down some technical ideas and lecture notes, but by the time I re-read my notes, they make no sense – thus I always keep my USB flash drive handy to copy the presentations, but some professors are not that generous in distributing soft copies.

Similarly, developing an organized blog post was my biggest obstacle. I had my blog post ideas and article snippets scattered into different pages of my organizer with just a few phrases and keywords and nothing else.

My former boss [during my first job in an e-commerce company] suggested that I use Mind Mapping. I was intrigued by his claims that it is effective for easier organization, remembering ideas and increasing productivity and decided to give it a try. I fell in love with it and even downloaded and install FreeMind mind mapping freeware. [FreeMind is a premier free mind-mapping software written in Java.]

What is Mind Mapping

Mind Mapping is a useful technique that improves the way you take notes. You start with a central topic or bubble and branch out accordingly to categories and sub-categories. Mind Map have a natural organizational structure that radiates from center and use lines, symbols, words, colors and images according to your own concept. [Related variants: Spray Diagrams, Spider Diagrams, Spidograms, Spidergrams and Mindmaps]

Mind Map abandons the list format of conventional notes and topics like the table of contents of a book. This helps you make associations easily and is highly effective in getting information in and out of your brain because it literally “maps out” your ideas.

My favorite personal effectiveness Mind Maps

Although there are lots of sample Mind Maps you can find in the internet, I choose the following because the visual impact of these Mind Maps are strikingly creative and unique [click to enlarge.]

1. Blueprint to Success Mind Map by Adam Sicinski
The Blueprint to Success Mind Map by Adam Sicinski is a brilliant example of using Mind Mapping to inspire and make positive change; this is a Mind Map that instantly brings you back to being on purpose.

2. The Pursuit of Happiness Mind Map by Adam Sicinski
The Pursuit of Happiness Mind Map by Adam Sicinski is another great example of using mindmapping to share knowledge, inspire others and help make positive change.

3. Getting it Done Mind Map by Dan Porter & James Baylay
The Getting it Done Mind Map by Dan Porter & James Baylay is a highly artistic presentation of information. Wonderful illustrations.

Personal Note: 

If you do any form of research, note-taking or organizing blog post ideas, try experimenting with simple Mind Maps. I’m sure you will also find it incredibly useful.