Mindmapping is a great way to brainstorm out ideas around books to write, courses to create, podcast episodes, and more.
I’ve used mindmapping software for years! And even though I love them, I don’t always use them, and definitely don’t use them consistently.
However, something shifted for me last week when I discovered a video on YouTube that is a TedTalk about using Mindmapping for note taking.
I discovered this video because I was searching for a great overview of what a mind map was so that I could share it with one my group coaching students to give an example of how she could use a mind map to lay out her course, and low and behold, I became inspired in the process.
The TedTalk Want to Learn Better? Start Mind Mapping by Hazel Wagner is what kicked off my inspiration. She lays out (pictures included) of how she learned to mindmap as a way to take notes in order for the subject to increase understanding, memorization, and retention.
This has forever changed how I take notes.
Here’s the video:
Then of course YouTube made some great suggestions which lead me down a rabbit hole of inspiration.
Next I was inspired by Peter Draw’s Method of Mind Mapping to Success where he shows you how to create a Mind Map to brainstorm out how to achieve your goal. 🤯
Here’s the video:
(Don’t let the background image intimidate you)
And lastly, I was inspired by Sheng Huang who is a business consultant and uses mind maps with every client to help solve their problems and brainstorms everything out in his notebooks, turning the mind map of the problems into the project management map.
The notebooks themselves that he creates greatly inspired me to start doing mind maps in my bullet journal instead of a traditional to-do list and regular note taking that usually goes on inside the pages. Just this simple switch over to pages of mind maps has got me using and opening my bullet journal every day again.
Here’s the video:
And to give you an idea of how I’ve been using mind maps now, over the last two days, I’ve created two mind maps that I’m going to show you below.
Mind Map Examples
The first page (on the left) is a live video I brainstormed out that I did as a guest post in a group about Morning Routines.
The second page (on the right) is my brainstormed to-do list of all the possibilities that could get done.
The process with the to-do list is not linear like a normal list. I love linear lists, they make sense to me, however, I’m finding this twinkle of excitement happening from the way the mind map works.
In essence, each idea becomes its own project with subtasks underneath it, clumping those tasks together and can be added on as more ideas come up for that particular project.
With a written down linear list, the projects can get jumbled up really quickly and can become messy really fast. Unless of course you create different areas for different projects on your page. Then at that point, we might as well go back to the mind map.
If you prefer a clean list, consider mind mapping out your ideas first, and then add them all to a clean, linear list to help with your organization.
The Human Design Piece
Now, let’s relate this to Human Design for a minute.
I have the 64/47 Channel of Abstraction defined in my chart. This channel takes puzzle pieces of information and ideas and clicks them into place, always looking for the ah-ha moment when it all fits together and the whole picture can be seen.
All of the ideas that swirl around in the brain can become confusing and overwhelming, so I have found that getting all of the ideas out on paper, sticky notes, and/or index cards is incredibly helpful to start being able to see the big picture of what it all wants to become.
I find that using a mind map also helps me to pull all of the pieces of information out of the either (and my brain) and put them down on paper so that they can start to make sense in the world.
It’s another tool to bring clarity to the confusion and overwhelm that I am rediscovering and am deeply inspired by.
Hi Natalie! Recently re-listened to the call we had earlier this year and it’s just the best and so are you. You’re so generous with your info and so practical in the way you lay it out; very helpful and inspiring! Somehow this led me to your website which led me to your blog which led me to this which is perfect, because I was messing around with mindmaps the other day but going nowhere, and here you are. <3
Anyway, just a random note to say thanks for being you and for sharing your authenticity and power and progress in the world and inspiring all of us to do the same.