Mind Map Your Way to Clearer Thoughts

Have you ever had those times when your thoughts are racing from A to B to 765 with no rhyme or reason? When you are having trouble focusing on or even picking a priority? Lots of things seem important. But your juggling skills are not up to all that needs to be done. At times like this, I rely on doing a mind map to help sort everything out.

A mind map, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is “a diagram with lines and circles for organizing information so that it is easier to use or remember.” Since I am a visual person, I love the mapping and for me it makes it much easier to see relationships between items.

Start with a brain dump

I start my mind map by doing a brain dump, just getting all the information swirling around out on paper. Don’t try to organize it yet, just dump it all out. I also don’t try to censor things. Call the plumber and a friend’s marriage problems can all go down.

I then take the jumbled list and see what things go together. I try to make broad categories like household, friends, finances, etc. All of the items go onto the new list as an organized brain dump.

Make your mind map

Once I have things down on paper, I start my mind map. I usually like to tape 4 pieces of paper together, because I like a BIG map. But you can use whatever size of paper makes sense to you (or based on how cluttered your mind is at the time).

I start my mind map with a circle in the middle labeled “me”. The next layer out are my big categories. Each of my big categories will have a direct line to me. I then start with my list and put all the details into the mind map. With lines for each connection. For instance, the household category will have a smaller circle called repairs. Off this circle will be a line for “call the plumber”.

Continue filling out your mind map until you have mapped all the details from your brain dump. Don’t be surprised if mapping stuff out will remind you of related items. Go ahead and put them in too. Your mind map should start to resemble a spider’s web, but with less symmetry!

Analyze your mind map

This step is the one that will get you some clarity, as opposed to giving you some neat looking abstract art. Look at each item on your map and ask, “Can I do something about this?” If the answer is yes, decide what action is needed and put it into your planner. If it is a longer term project, decide on the next step and put that in your planner.

Sometimes you will see that you cannot take direct action on a concern. Some of these items you can add to your prayer list, since fixing the problem is out of your control. Some items will be under your control, but after looking at your whole life (as depicted by the mind map) you decide that these items are a low/no priority right now.

I like to use lots of color to help me organize my mind map. Right now, I have orange for items that need attention, green for things that are going well and I can let ride, pink for prayer, and gray for items that I am not planning to deal with right now.

Reflect

Even the decision to not deal with something gives me clearer thinking because I have analyzed it and made a decision. For instance, right now, I have in my learning/fun category: writing, photography, Spanish, and reading. Writing contains my blog, a writing conference, a writing course, and a blogging course. Photography has five courses, two partially finished.

This is just too much to have going all at once! So, looking at it, I will continue the Spanish, since that is an audio program I do in the car, through the end of April. then I will “read” some audiobooks. The time I save from reading I will work on my photography courses, one at a time. The writing conference is not until summer, so I will focus on my blogging and blogging course until then.

I can also look over the mind map and see that some areas, like Faith, are on track, while others, like my health, need more attention. This can inform how I block off my time in future weeks.

The last step of my reflect stage is to post the mind map on the wall where I can see it regularly. It reminds me of where my life is right now, and where I want it to go.

I have found brain dumps and mind maps to be incredibly helpful to sort out my life. I hope these steps will help you as well next time your life gets a bit too crazy and you need some clarity.