What are you waiting for?

This post is addressed to those of you who have been reading this blog, but haven’t purchased or downloaded any mind mapping software. What are you waiting for?

Using traditional, linear approaches to work with ideas, knowledge and information is the functional equivalent of creating documents with a typewriter – a relic of the 20th century. There’s a new paradigm for managing information, and it’s visually oriented. 2010 is the year to tackle information overload and take your productivity and creativity to a whole new level with mind mapping software!

Here are some thoughts on why now is an excellent time to invest in this important technology:

Awesome commercial mapping tools: There is an impressive variety of very good commercial mind mapping tools available today that can take on just about any business challenge. Among them are MindManager, NovaMind, OpenMind, Visual Mind, ConceptDraw MINDMAP and iMindMap.

Awesome free/low cost mapping tools: If you’re not convinced to invest in a commerical software program, there are open-source alternatives available (I recommend XMind) as well as some truly excellent web-based tools that you can subscribe to use for a very low monthly fee. The leaders in web-based mind map apps are MindMeister, Mindomo and Comapping.

Awesome resources: A wealth of excellent books, blog posts and other resources are now available to help you to understand the basics of visual thinking and how to get the most out of mind mapping software. Click here to read my new post about the best books on these topics.

So I ask you once again: What are you waiting for?