What if your mind mapping software was taken away from you?
Aug 6th, 2009 | By Chuck Frey | Category: Discussion
It’s been a while since I have asked a question on this blog. So here’s one that’s a bit out there. It’s purely a theoretical question, so don’t worry:
What if your mind mapping software was taken away from you?
What effect would this have on your productivity, your ability to manage projects, solve problems and do other things with it? What would your emotional, gut-level reaction be?
Please share your thoughts in the comments section of this post. Why am I asking you such a provocative question? It gets to the core of the value that mind mapping software provides.
I look forward to your thoughts!
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I’d be totally lost without mindmapping software (in my case Novamind on my computer and iBlueSky on my iPhone), as I just don’t get on with creating mindmaps on paper – it just doesn’t keep up with the flow of ideas, I can’t restructure maps as easily or quickly, I can’t link directly to electronic resources, I can’t search paper maps. Mindmapping software really lowers the barrier to getting things out of my head and without it the ideas and productivity would simply dry up.
Mindmapping is such a core piece of my day-to-day workflow. Novamind stays open, often with several projects loaded, all day, everyday. In short, taking away mindmapping software would leave me with the feeling I was trying to work with both hands tied behind my back.
Not a very difficult question, is it? Nothing wrong with good old pencil and paper.
Not only pencil and paper, but whiteboards and markers. I still use both online mapping software and whiteboards and markers. It depends on what I’m doing and how many people are involved in the brainstorming.
The software makes the process more efficient, especially with mindmapping products that allow you to export the content easily into applications, like Word and PowerPoint. But, if you have no other recourse, you can always use the manual process and still get results.
Bottom line: the tool is great, but content will always be king.
Not having mind mapping software at work would force me back to more linear thinking.
I also really enjoy getting my whole team involved in maps with almost no explanation.
I’m a firm believer in more pictures and fewer words and not having the mapping software would force my to take more time to write…
Oh, what a terrible thought. You scared the daylights out of me with the question. However, after I thought about it, I’ve done mind mapping since I was 14 — long before computers. I know I could go back to doing them by hand and be richer for learning what the new possibilities are from using the computer.
I wouldn’t cry too much; I bought a Livescribe pen last week. I can draw mind maps to my heart’s content on the special paper, dock the pen, and the mind maps are instantly uploaded to my computer.
Previously (because I tend to mind map all the time) if I was away from my computer or iPhone, I mind mapped on index cards, then snapped them with the iSight camera (or iPhone) into Evernote.
Mind mapping on your computer is great, but I’ll always be mind mapping on index cards so I can stick them onto corkboards — I have several in my office.
This is a great post Chuck, and the question resonates with me.
I am equally (50/50) linear and non linear as far as information management goes, so either or Either is suitable for me.
I’ve never been a traditional Buzan mapper so hand drawn maps according to the Buzan rules would be an issue for me. The reality of such an awful scenario of having my mind mapping software disabled or removed from me would indeed change my approach to creating, managing and exchanging information.
This has got me thinking: maybe we should be advocating a harmonized or balanced approach to information management; one that enables the potential mapper to harvest the tools, methods and mindset of both hand drawn Buzan maps and software approaches too. After all it’s about whole brain thinking these days; isn’t it?
Would anyone be able to create a format in another mainstream office product that would substitute the tools and methods of our visual mapping software products?