How to Use Mind Maps to Unleash Your Brain’s Creativity and Potential

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Learn From Your Mistakes

The key to mind mapping isn’t simply storing all of your thoughts into a single page, rather it’s about using the space in a specific, well-designed way. Master the art of mind mapping for the sake of fun, but know that this way of working can be an important way to pick up valuable organizational skills, think about problems in a more strategic way, and see the big picture in a way that you may not have considered previously. By using mind maps to help complete goals, you can make the most of those wasted hours at work, perfect for boosting creativity and fuel your self-awareness. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of mind mapping:

Quickly and Easily Extract the Measurable Points

Next time you’re recalling a motivational message, a piece of great artwork, or anything else, be sure to jot it down, but don’t just write it down. Notice the specific points you’ve made and the emotions that you’re feeling. Prioritize your thoughts using a glance at the time, but if you notice something in the distance, you might want to take a longer look. Then note the area that you’ve circled and what you think came to mind when you thought of it.

Don’t Just Concentrate on the Most Intuitive Points

It can be tempting to focus on the points that seem like the easiest to connect to the next item in your mental to-do list, but don’t ignore the important insights you’ve learned that may have been thrown away because you were quick to focus on those points. Sometimes you simply need to pay attention to what’s most relevant to the memory and, hopefully, not just copy and paste every important detail to a document.

Embrace Reactive Creativity

You might be able to write down each detail that comes to mind in a way that fits with your current situation, but is it written in a way that helps you visualize a different problem moving forward? It’s a lot easier to imagine abstractly what you’re looking for than it is to recall the specifics. All it takes is a few ideas for a new idea on why your current picture will get you where you want to go, rather than memorizing and storing a bunch of different memories about what you would like to see before action can actually be taken.

Make Your Mind Maps Last Longer

Don’t clutter your mind mapping in mind with ideas that you’ll never use. That’s why having a side of blank space is crucial if you want to actually have a mind map that last long. Like the rest of your tasks, you need to craft your mind map with those possible solutions in mind, but try not to just throw them all in at once because it can come off a little overwhelming. Try to write down the thoughts you have, and then ask yourself what else you have to say to make a more focused mind map. Don’t forget about any new, fresh ideas that come to mind as you go over the material. Once you’ve built your maps, it’s easy to pull out the original ideas and easily include them on your project document to keep track of how your mind maps have been progressing.

Write Down What You Feel

If you’ve written down what you’ve thought on a past project, go ahead and include them in the mind map. If you’ve mentioned a feeling that’s about to bring you down, write it down too. The point of mind mapping is to pay attention to the points that are most important to you, so try not to forget about those same emotions. Again, if you want the mental map to be able to last longer, write down what you’re feeling when you experience those emotions.

Explore

You might not always have your mind mapped out as you work, and it can be nice to reflect on what you’ve learned and what you’re working on. When you’re struggling to learn a new task or miss something that you’re so focused on, it can be nice to have a mental map that summarizes what you’ve learned. The point of mind mapping is to gain control over your time, use those times to take a step back and see the big picture, and think in a more strategic way. A good mind map will provide you with a detailed breakdown of what you’ve been working on in addition to giving you specific visual cues for your next move.