While today’s computers can perform calculations and digest content faster, AI has yet to provide the tools to think and solve problems the way humans do.
The brain’s analytical networks tend to perform better when the problem has structure and organization. Capturing, expanding, and analyzing ideas made brainstorming sessions run smoothly, while driving the popularity of the concept of mind mapping, the growth of the idea of individuals or teams starting with a central theme to build connections.
This article will cover some of the basics of MindManager mind mapping and explore how it can be better used as a productivity tool in everyday life.
First order association
After setting the central theme for the new mind map, the real brainstorming begins. You and your team will work together to create a first-level association that links to a central topic.
The first level of association can be any topic that needs to be considered to satisfy the central topic. Try to keep these relatively generic so you can continue to build from them. Each first-level association should have two or more branches separated from it to provide more detailed or actionable content. Still, you want to keep each link short by using more keywords and fewer full sentences.
In general, you should avoid more than seven first-level associations in total, with a maximum of three or four levels per association. Otherwise your mind map will become too crowded to understand at a glance. In addition, the mind map should not be like a spider’s web, the sub-levels should always be related to their related first level relationships, and there should be no lines across the map.
Goal-oriented mind mapping
The goal is to add structure to your daily life and increase productivity in both a personal and professional sense. When it comes to mind mapping, using a single map for your work and personal goals is actually the most beneficial, helping to prioritize and focus on what’s most important to you. Teams can also use goal-oriented mind maps, but try to avoid mixing individual goals with team goals.
Before creating a new mind map for your goal, it’s a good idea to take a brain dump and create a simple list of everything you want to achieve, regardless of category or time horizon. At this point, write the goal in a complete sentence or phrase. For this mind map, your central topic should be marked as a goal in the middle. Then look at your goal list and divide it into four or five high-level categories, such as work, education, money, networking, and fitness. A simplified description of each target is then added as an association directly below the related category.
As you move through the mind map and focus on each category and goal, your sub-levels should become more specific and action-oriented. For example, if one of your job-related goals is to get a new job, your mind map should include levels related to updating your resume, networking with colleagues, and performing an online job search. When your mind map is almost complete, you should have a visual idea of where your goals are focused and what you need to achieve them.
Achieve SMART goals
The most explicit goal follows an acronym called SMART. SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and time-bound. Especially in a business environment, SMART goals are critical for proper project management.
Specific:
A goal is specific if it can be clearly defined in a few words when answering a question or solving a problem. For example, saying I want to train for a marathon to lose weight is a specific goal. On the other hand, just saying you want to be healthy wouldn’t be a specific goal.
Measurable:
Measurable goals are goals that can be tracked and quantified. This is important because you want to refer to your mind map over time to see how you are making progress toward your goals.
Attainable:
Big dreams are great, but when it comes to brainstorming goals with mind maps, you need to have some realistic ideas, otherwise the whole exercise becomes frustrating.
Relevant:
Determining the relevance of goals is entirely up to you. You shouldn’t prioritize goals just because others around you are focused on them. Choose goals that help you improve and grow from your current life.
Time Bound:
Finally, goals on a mind map should be time-limited. They do not all have to share the same time frame, but you should be able to clearly define when each goal is achieved.
The benefits of drawing software
Some people find it helpful to use a large whiteboard to jot down ideas and notes during brainstorming sessions. But there is always the risk that the whiteboard will become a temporary space, which makes it difficult to grow and iterate on the ideas it contains.
Therefore, mind mapping software has become a very popular choice. With tools like MindManager, you can choose from a variety of pre-built templates to use for common business or personal activities. It’s easy to move elements around the map, and you can save drafts to see how your brainstorming has evolved over time.
In addition, you can link external artifacts to concepts on the map. For example, you can actually embed a Word file, chart, or E-mail into a map instead of just marking text descriptions as sub-levels.
MindManager’s SmartRule feature allows you to see cause and effect as you change elements in your mind map. For example, if you build timelines, resource allocations, or budgets in a goal-setting mind map, you can create SmartRules that dynamically tell you the impact of the changes you make to each variable.
Goals throughout
At the heart of mind mapping is planned practice. There is no guarantee in mind mapping tools that you will achieve your goals; it requires a lot of focus and willpower on the part of an individual or team.
That being said, you can use the best practices in mind mapping to help you reach your goals and stay on track. Once the relative levels of your mind map are finalized, it is recommended to browse through each level and translate it into measurable action items.
The best action projects are incremental projects with multiple checkpoints along the way to the final goal. This way, you can show productivity from mind maps. It is recommended to take advantage of MindManager’s task information tool, which allows you to add start and end dates, priorities, schedules, and resources for each step towards achieving your goals. To turn a goal-setting mind map into an actionable calendar, you can also use the Schedule or Gantt Pro features to guide you through your final goal.