How to improve your productivity and creativity with mind mapping?

I first read about mind mapping in Use Your Head by Tony Buzan, and by reviewing the book’s structure for this blog post, I understood just how much the concepts presented by Tony have influenced me in the last 20 years: Fast reading, memory and mind mapping.

It demonstrates the power of books for generating ideas, growth and learning. I dug into all these concepts and mind mapping became part of my daily life.

I started to use it on paper and later introduced the digital way. I still practice both, depending on the situation, but I use the digital form more often. The frame of this blog post has been built in a map.😀

A mind map is a diagram in which the information is presented in a nonlinear form. The subject is at the center, and from there, you attached branches with the main ideas. You can use words, images, symbols or drawings that demonstrate a relationship to the main ideas.

How to improve your productivity and creativity with mind mapping?

Mind mapping helps me to produce, organize and memorize content. It brings clarity, allowing me to connect the dots between different concepts, ideas and knowledge.

Breaking down complexity into simplicity is a fundamental principle for me. Maps are helping me with that daily.

More than 10 years ago, I restarted my studies while working. I was part of a group, already having a professional career and studying in the evening and on weekends. I once worked with a colleague who was brilliant.

Working as a doctor, she wanted to add business skills to her capabilities. While learning, she noticed that I had giant mind maps full of colors. I explained the concept. She found it interesting, but at the same time told me, “I couldn’t do that.” I asked, “Why?”
She answered, “I would feel that I was cheating if I had fun while studying.”

Some of us have been conditioned. We think that learning needs to be arduous. But it doesn’t.
I feel like a lifelong learner because it’s fun and mind mapping is part of it.

How I use mind maps?

I use them for many topics, but I notice that I have a common frame of 5 steps when I start a digital map.

1. Open a standard map with the main topic at the center.

2. Jot down all my ideas without structure, in brainstorming mode.
At this stage, I don’t judge my thoughts, and I don’t care about the format. Great writers’ teachers advise separating the production and edition process. It’s the same here.

3. Review my big mess. Here I feel a bit intimidated. There are so many things, and I don’t know if I’ll get something from it, and that’s when I get the most out of the mind mapping. It supports me to eliminate what is not interesting, associate what is identical, and connect what is different but somehow linked. I love the last part when I discover that two concepts that seem unconnected at first could work together.

4. Review my clean new frame. With the work above in step three, I usually feel comfortable with my new frame. I’ll review, connect it to images, leading words, and reduce it to the minimum needed.

5. Rehearse it, produce it… lose time, save time. Depending on the aim; preparation of a written document, a speech to deliver, etc., I’ll work on producing (writing a document) or rehearsing (speech).

At first, I feel that I’m losing time; I sometimes question whether it helps, but having tried multiple solutions, in the end, the mapping concept saves me time. When I start to produce, everything becomes more straightforward.

Discover my Resource guide: The 11 books that have influenced my career the most. (Including my favorite of all categories)

What do I do daily with the mind map?

I split it into four main categories.

I.Preparation

Call preparation: I have many calls during the day. Some of them are complex. I call them “tough talk.” We often try to avoid such discussions, as they are uncomfortable, but let’s remember the old saying: short-term pleasure, long-term pain.
So as much as I can, I plan them. Here, mapping helps me to prepare and remain focused on the main message without giving an impression of reading something. It’s just a few main words jotted down on a map. I can follow the frame, build on it and start the discussion. The conversation is more structured, and I stay focused on what I need to say.

Meeting preparation: What are the main topics? In which order should I treat them? With the map, I can reorganize and group topics into what makes more sense. It also allows me to better follow the big picture agenda.

Speech preparation: I have to deliver many speeches. How do I avoid falling into the trap of reading something boring for the audience and not forgetting the main messages? Mind mapping is my solution. If it’s a big speech without a lot of visual support, I will:

• Build a digital map
• Sort it to the maximum level of clarity
• Draw it manually with colors on paper
• Repeat the speech

I can then normally present my talk without notes and without forgetting any messages most of the time.
For smaller occasions, or when I can use visual (digital) support, I quickly build a digital map and go through it. I follow the structure, without giving the impression of reading.

Writing preparation: For a memo, a complicated email, a blog post. Any piece of writing that requires construction of thoughts.

II.Analyzing

Complex problems are often linked to many possible iterations. We don’t have certainty, so we need to guess, anticipate and build possible scenarios.

The flexibility of a digital map allows to develop, rearrange and imagine the many potential options. Each time that I treat a complex problem with a map, I gain clarity.

Clarity brings simplicity. Simplicity drives action. Action brings results.

III.Brainstorming

In my general process, every map starts with brainstorming, so it’s no surprise that you find it as a topic here, but let’s review the team brainstorming.

When you open a map on a complex topic for a group, everyone can state and visualize his or her perspective. The team sees the live creation of the map. Depending on the time, I either do the cleaning independently or with the team.
I’ll then present the results, and we can decide on our main priorities. Usually, the map has already provided a lot of clarity at this stage, so our collective alignment becomes easier.
I can’t recount the number of times when I moved from being stuck in infinite discussion with a group to a productive session resulting in a clear goal at the end.

IV.Transforming information in knowledge

In between my several passions and my work, I consume a lot of inputs. For summarizing a training, an important meeting, a book, a seminar, whatever I want to retain, a map is a magical concept.

For example, I will open my Kindle book records, extract my notes, and arrange them by themes. I’ll then consider if I can associate the ideas with other sources of knowledge. Finally, I’ll rewrite it in my own words.

This whole process transforms vague information into in-depth knowledge. Every step aids me to better integrate and apply my learning.

Conclusion

At this point, you understood that mind mapping is a big part of my learning and organizational process. It brings me so much. I simply can’t imagine working without it.

We all need to develop our creativity, memory, and focus. Mind mapping might not fit for you, but if you have never tried it, I suggest you do…

Enjoy!