Most of the time you don’t even know you are sitting on a goldmine like it is with the topic of how mindmaps increase productivity. You are probably familiar with mind mapping already. You may have even created a few of them. But how much do you really know about them? Do you know enough to increase your productivity using them? Let’s explore.
Mindmaps Increase Productivity, 5 Tips
Let’s start with an obvious one, you create a plan in a mindmap. Doing this gives you a good overview of what you need or want to do. It also enables you to understand your day or time much better.
The beauty of this tip, and the other ones as well, is that it is done quickly! Personally, I create a 90-day plan that helps me to know where I will be at the end of this 90-day period. The time it takes me is usually no more than 5 minutes (initially). During the 90 days, I will update the planning of course. Things are removed which are done. Items are added to make sure I move beyond the first planning.
The further from the start, the more I accomplished and the further I got that period.
You can create the planning in a radial manner with the center being the present, aka the moment you made the planning.
What you can also do is start at the left of your sheet or screen, and work towards the right-hand side. Just have a look at what is good enough for you. Remember, we are not in the business of mind mapping. We just want clarity in our information, time and thoughts.
Number two is note-taking. I can vividly remember the moment I was the person who could take notes during a team meeting. During the meeting, I was just really busy writing. Afterward, I was often just trying to remember what everything meant (and what was actually written on the paper in my bad handwriting).
Now I don’t do that anymore. I do create notes, but they are in mind maps. Ready to be used afterward. No more putting ideas into a nice Word template. Just creating a mindmap with tips and tricks.
You can make sure you get your hands on a meeting outline before you start talking. Or you quickly use the agenda of the meeting that you receive just before or at the beginning of the meeting. Either way, it will help, but it is not necessary. Your mind mapping skills will help you create good reliable notes.
Doing and preparing for presentations is not really my favorite activity. I kind of hated it.
Now I create a presentation in minutes by using a single mindmap. From that map, I am able to talk for hours (when needed). I have a couple of 1-day training courses which are just a single mindmap each. I explain the content and we do exercises (also mentioned on the map). Really easy and time friendly.
You could ask people if they mind about you using a mindmap. Most often they won’t. Even if they do, you still create a map of your presentation first, and then you create the PowerPoint or other presentation format they like from that. The reason for this is that a map will give you a good overview of the entire talk, and dozens of slides normally don’t…
Do you feel overwhelmed by all the things you have to do and the ideas you have? It might be smart to start organizing your thoughts using a mind map. What happens is that you will see much clearer what is urgent and important and what is just there to mess with your mind.
My tip for you is… take 10 to 15 minutes to really put every little issue on paper. This will help you to see what the noise is in your head. You don’t need this. You want to be productive or at least have that awful task gone. The moment you do that, your mind will release that stress. It will be calmer. You will look more relaxed. Just by creating a simple mind map.
Another very powerful usage of mind maps is sharing information.
I saw this in many companies. People are bored looking at the plain old other presentations or announcements. They want to see something different. They want more entertainment.
Give the people what they want. Create a colorful map that jumps off the bulletin board! Help them to understand how to read a map. One way of making this easier is outlining the entire map to the right (or left).
This way you have a good overview of your information, with colors and perhaps a powerful image, and your co-workers will like it a lot.
How Your Mindmaps Increase Productivity
Mindmaps alone never increase productivity. It is always up to you to make a difference. So here is what the not-so-smart people do.
They read the article and find it good enough for them. They understand what it can do for them but don’t take action.
Then there is you together with fellow successful people who grow to become more productive.
You take action. You start to create notes in mindmaps. You run a meeting and take notes with mindmaps. You organize your thoughts and your projects in maps and see a big difference.
You see, it is just as simple as that. You apply what you read.
Now… Take Action!
Now it is up to you. I want to hear from you how this helped you, what you will do with this information, or what I can learn from you. Let me know how your mindmaps increase productivity by leaving a comment below.
