USE CASE
INDIVIDUAL - MIND MAPPING
Mind mapping originates far back in the 3rd century BC when a philosopher named Porphyry of Tyros was thought to be the first to use mind mapping to form his ideas and help make learning easier for others. Another well-known practitioner was Leonardo da Vinci, who was using mind maps to take notes while coming up with his great inventions and conducting research.
Mind mapping as a form of visual presentation of ideas and information is proven to be beneficial not only to the education and business sector but to every person.
No matter if you are a newbie or an experienced mind mapper, this creative technique can assist you in exploring opportunities for making your everyday activities more organized, improving your memory skills, and more.
Being defined as a very intuitive way to organize your thoughts and ideas in an imaginative and non-linear way, mind maps are a practical tool that can serve as a handbook for personal growth and development.
Achieve ideal work-life balance
The ideal work-life balance is something that we all strive to achieve, especially now when dealing with more dynamic and stress-related surroundings and constant information overflow. One way to achieve work-life balance is by prioritization. Organizing your work and life activities with a mind map can help you easily decide what things are a priority and what is unnecessary and can be left out or postponed.
Learning how to prioritize is the key to reaching your perfect work-life balance. And you can achieve this with the use of the mind mapping technique where you will put the focus on ‘you’ and the responsibilities that ‘you’ are accountable for in your work and home setting.
In a mind map, you will be able to visually present ‘personal’ and ‘work’ tasks by prioritization. Since mind maps are very intuitive, adaptable and flexible tool, they are the ideal solution for facilitating a process of prioritization of tasks. They can be used according to the user’s needs, as task-prioritization and self-organization is unique for every individual.
Plan career path
A mind map can serve as a guide through the process of professional development. You can build your skills portfolio and key competencies and have a clearer picture of your past working experiences.
Similarly, mind mapping provides you the possibility to improve your presentation skills when it comes to getting the job of your dreams. With a mind map, you can practice how to present yourself and your skills better to a potential employer and take notes of how your interviews went when pursuing a new job position.
Improve memory skills
Mind mapping is a method that many use for improving memory skills. Particularly it can be a great alternative to expensive professional training for improving memorization. Individuals can train their memory abilities by the use of use mind maps at home instead of wasting time on professional training courses.
Since every one of us most of the time is accustomed to visually present ideas and thoughts, mind maps can stimulate improvement of the memory. This is the way because the presentation of ideas in a mind map is supported by the incorporation of associations – images, colors, and words. The more of the associations are used the better gets the user’s memory.
In a mind map, the individual gets the opportunity for its memory development and betterment when it comes to remembering to execute particular activities as well.
Organize daily activities
The longer the list of daily tasks the bigger the possibility to forget something.
So, in practice, the majority of people tend to use post-it notes because they find them practical and easy to use.
However, most of the time the simple note-taking can become rather tedious, especially since post-it notes are small and limited in space and usually end up lost or forgotten about.
This is where mind mapping technique can come in hand. It allows individuals to confront their daily clutter of thoughts and tasks, and to start arranging them in an organized and structured way.
To-Do List mind map template. Download a copy here.
Plan holidays/parties/games and more
It is a known fact that you are six times more likely to remember information when you present it by combining words and pictures.
Sports, travel, leisure, entertainment and – you name it. Each of these activities can be organized in a mind map, and the most interesting part is that you can organize them by incorporating not just words and numbers but also images and colors that will be a logical representation of your ideas and wishes.
Using mind maps for organizing your friend’s bachelorette, your family vacation or your kid’s birthday party can be a memorable and fun task.
Party planner mind map template. Free Download.
Explore your creativity and imagination
Mind mapping can boost your creativity and imagination. If you want to dive more deeply in your creative and imaginative abilities, you can inspire yourself to generate innovative ideas with the support of a mind map. In a mind map, you can explore a more diverse way of thinking.
The use of mind maps can help you explore and increase your creativity and imagination in many creative directions. No matter if you need to think of a design, write an essay or make a summary of a book, by visually presenting the flow of your ideas, you can train your skills and capacities for developing creative concepts.
Create a nutrition and exercise plan
If you are among those who find it hard to find motivation, start a quality exercise program, and follow a healthy nutrition plan, you should try mind mapping.
It is a technique, which can inspire you to start a completely new chapter in your life. Of course, if you are strongly interested in achieving your health goals.
For example, after deciding if you are going to dedicate yourself to practicing a particular yoga style or to a working out in a gym, you can begin preparing your mind map. In it, you can branch out different types of exercises according to your needs.
Make a shopping list
Everyone needs to make a shopping list occasionally. Especially when it comes to shopping for a new apartment, for example, the list could seem quite long and one could not fit all the necessary essentials on a post-it note.
The mind mapping technique can turn out to be an ideal tool for crafting a long list of items that need to be purchased for your new home. In the center of the map, you can place a picture of your desired home design and you then you can start branching it out by separate spaces. Under each branch you can include items that you want or plan to buy. After you are finished with the map, you can start visiting the stores.
Start a personal journal
Keeping a personal journal is something that everyone does once in a while. The manner and format in which one keeps it, however, can vary based on personal preferences.
Keeping a private journal used to mean writing in a notebook with a lock on it, or that you kept in a locked box. So, in today’s digital world, it is more practical and convenient to have a digital journal on your computer which only you can access it.
Personal Journal Mind Map Template. Download from here.
Today a mind map can help you in keeping a personal journal privately. It offers many advantages – you can branch it in an unlimited number of different branches that cover numerous chapters of your life, modify it according to your needs, and even printed if you want to enjoy in the old-school journaling.
You can add different sections for your everyday life, personal and professional goals, current plans and wishes for the future. Moreover, you can make mind mapping more vivid by creating a journal of your favorite memories using images and colors.