Sometimes, when I sit down to begin work on a project, it feels like there is a tornado whirling through my brain.  So many ideas begin to pour in that I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to remember them all!  I would have to say that ever since I became a mother a little over three years ago, this condition has definitely become more severe.

In the past, I have used the method of brain dumping to just get it all down on paper.  However, I found that when I wanted to bring all of the ideas together in some kind of logical order, it was difficult to do using a static list.  I can remember actually grabbing a pair of scissors and cutting each little line of thought from my notebook into a strip of paper and then spreading them out all over my office floor to create a flow for a user manual.

That lead me to my next endeavor – index cards.  I believe I was big into David Allen’s Getting Things Done philosophy at the time.  This was definitely better than small, hard to pick up slips of paper.  Still, I felt like I was left with a monumental stack of cards that just didn’t want to get into any kind of order for me.  And the environmentalist in me could not stand all of that waste of trees.

Enter the spreadsheet.  I would type each idea into a line in a spreadsheet and then cut / paste / click / drag my way into some kind of flow.  Again, a little too cumbersome for me.

A little buzz word was ringing in my ear periodically.  It would flit in and out saying “mind map… mind map… mind map…”.  I had seen mind maps here and there.  I actually attempted one on the whiteboard in my training room trying to mimic the way our Network Administrator would just let things flow through his marker.  Instead my whiteboard became a mass of erased and rewritten words.  By the time I was done with it, I felt like I had lost half of my ideas.  Plus, I then had to copy the whole thing to a piece of paper before my next class.

It’s truly amazing to see the works of art that others have put together.

You see, I’m not a very creative person.  It’s true; I admit it.  I am very mathematical and linear.  I always start my Basic Circulation classes with that fact when I hand out my test patron cards to the librarians to use during the training.  There are no funny, themed names like Sally Latefee (which in itself is no good, but I TOLD you, I’m NOT creative).  No, instead students will meet Test One, Test Two, all the way to the very exciting Test Fortyfive.  I always tell them that’s why THEY are the ones doing creative programming at their libraries and I’M the one teaching them how to use the computer!

Then, a glimmer of hope arose on the horizon this past week.  The name of this shiny gem…Mindmeister.  I actually looked at this a few years ago, but did not bother playing with it because remember, I’m not a creative-type.  I figured my brain just would not mesh with what I called in my head Mindmonster.  See where negative self-talk will get you?  I missed out on a few years of actually using this!

What was so painful to do on a whiteboard actually feels comfortable using this online interface.  It’s very easy to use.  The best part is that I can manipulate the information in any way I like.  I can add colors, change text size, bold items, even add icons to let my thoughts actually take shape.  Here’s their quick and simple tutorial:

A Tour of MindMeister from MindMeister on Vimeo.

Just for practice and to get familiar with how to use the software, I took my Circulation Manual and put it into mind map form. The red signifies the topics taught in Advanced Circ. Remember, I’m very new to this…

I’ve set up a new map where I’m brain dumping some ideas for a PC Troubleshooting class I’m developing. Each time I have a thought, I add it to the map. I’m currently sitting in on calls with our technicians to help me assess what needs to be covered in this class.

Then there’s this huge monster I’m creating for a Training Needs Assessment I’m working on. It’s just a place to gather all of the resources I’m pulling from as I work on my methodology for the assessment. It may look insane, but it is actually bringing me so much comfort to have all of the tornado down in software form. It makes sense to me and that’s all that really matters…

I’m hoping I get better at this over time. You can see a whole list of mind mapping software on Wikipedia. The Wild Apricot Blog also has a great post describing mind mapping and giving some how to instructions.

Here are some of my favorites that I’ve bookmarked over the years:

Non Profit Social Media ROI Mindmap

Robin Good’s Collaborative Map

Overdrive Interactive’s Social Media Map for Social Media Marketing

Overdrive Interactive’s Search Marketing Map

John Haydon’s The Shelf Life Of A Facebook Like Map

So what do YOU do to get ideas out of your head?  What process do you use?  If you use mind maps, would you be willing to share some with a newbie?

Stephanie Zimmerman

Stephanie Zimmerman is the Training Coordinator for the Library System of Lancaster County (Pennsylvania), a federated system with 14 member libraries, three branches and a bookmobile, which serves 490,562 residents. She designs and implements technology and development training and consulting to the member libraries. This includes training on Innovative’s Millennium Integrated Library System, Microsoft Office Applications, emerging technologies (i.e. social media) and various other areas. Her goal is to remove the fear of technology and help others to realize the amazing possibilities it provides. Teaching others to do things for themselves and see their excitement when they break through their barriers is her greatest reward. Stephanie has been a software trainer for 15 years. Her past employment involved training on federal and county government applications. She also worked for a private industry marketing company where she traveled across the country showing manufacturers and retailers in the consumer packaged goods industry how to use geodemographic targeting software. Always wanting to help others, Stephanie graduated from Millersville University (in Pennsylvania) cum laude with a BA in Social Work. She was also a student in the Computer Information Systems program at Harrisburg Area Community College. She is a member of ASTD (American Society of Training and Development). She is also a regular contributor to the T is for Training podcast which focuses on training in libraries. She was a trainer for WebJunction’s Spanish Language Outreach project and has done training for Commonwealth Libraries. She is grateful to have landed in the world of libraries. When she began her current job in January of 2004, there were no other library trainers in her immediate area. She turned to the social web to begin networking with other library trainers across the world and immediately realized her passion for social networking and social media. All of her continuing education has been done through these networks and she can’t help but push others to discover the immense opportunities available through online collaboration. Stephanie lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with her family which includes husband, Bill (a self-employed stay-at-home-dad) and two children (ages 2 and 4 months). When she’s not being Mommy, or working, you’ll most likely find her singing. Stephanie can be reached at szimmerman[at]lancasterlibraries.org.