The Power Of Mind Mapping – Forbes.com

Link via Forbes.com

Mind maps solve all these problems. I can capture ideas from an interview or a design for a book in a mind map, and I don’t feel frustrated or fatigued. Going from a linear view to two-dimensional space allows me to move around quickly and put an idea in the right place in the hierarchy by sailing right there with my mouse, expanding and contracting the level of detail as needed. Because this is quick and easy, I capture more ideas and restructure them faster, meaning my mind map better reflects my understanding.

When I return to a mind map, the context of my latest thinking is quickly restored; nothing is missing or lost. I don’t get that feeling of dread. Mind maps can be large and complex, and to control the depth, you expand or contract branches. I often use mind maps to organize and analyze information stored somewhere else, like all of the opportunities I am working on in Salesforce.com.

I use MindJet MindManager, which has a shareable version of maps called MindJet Connect. Shareable mind maps can be viewed and changed by many people at once. It is a wonderful feeling to work quickly on a shareable space to capture ideas and trade thoughts. Free Mind is a popular open-source mind-mapping tool (a step down in usability from MindManager, but it will give you the idea), and many other commercial and open-source tools are available as well.