For every post I do it starts off as a mind map. I have an idea and I then need to turn it in to a blog post. A mind map is what I find most useful to help turn my idea in to a developed topic.
What's A Mind Map?
A mind Map is a way of visualising an idea and developing it further to explore all of the different strands and branches to that idea.
If you imagine your idea being the seed and then with a mind map the idea grows in to a trunk, branches and leaves.
There are many different looking mind maps if you were to Google it and the way it looks should not put you off. The concept is very straightforward and you can adapt it and make it your own
How To Create A Mind Map
Choose your tools. You can either create one on paper or a screen. My preference is paper as I just find it easier and like the way it looks.
So what I would do first is to start on a blank page and in the middle I would put the idea or blog post title and draw a square around it.
Now I would ask myself what are the questions or main areas of this topic that I want to explore? These would circle around the idea in the centre of the page.
Next I would then take it in turn to ask myself those questions again from each of those topics. And I would keep doing this until I cannot come up with anything else.
Where you position it on the paper is up to you and it doesnt really matter. To help keep that train of thought I would draw circles around each statement/word and then link them with a line. That way when you are looking back at it you can see where the idea strands in to.
Below is what my Mind Map looked like for my most recent blog post: The Life Cycle Of A Mistake
What You Could Use A Mind Map For
I use Mind Maps for my writing but you could use it for much more than that. Here are just some of the examples from the top of my head:
- Business idea
- Project
- Holiday plans
- Home renovation
- Helping to de stress or unclutter your mind
- Wedding planning
Advantages Of Using A Mind Map
Visualising your idea - This is probably the biggest advantage I find. It is easy to forget all of the facets of your idea until you get it on a piece of paper.
Helps you think things through - Once you start creating your mind map you find that you think about it more and give your idea some active critical thinking.
Helps declutter your mind - Not every mind map needs to be because you want to carry out a task. It is a great way to unload what is on your mind and once you do that you feel much better. It is like when you talk about a problem you let out everything on your mind and I find it is the same when you put pen to paper.
Gives you encouragement to do - Once you have a plan you are likely to follow it through. It is why I recommend everyone to have a Personal Development Plan (see below). Once you have your mind map for a particular task it gives you the encouragement to follow it through.
If you have found this post interesting, please share with others via the social media links below and click the Sign up button below so you receive my weekly newsletter (Sunday Snapshot) which has links to my new posts.
Thanks for reading,
Gav
