Jimazing Hacks

If you aren’t familiar with the concept of mind mapping, Freemind may not be the best place to start. In my own words, a mind map is a way to take notes that is free form and is freeing to the mind. Taking notes using a mind map format frees me to jump from one topic to another within the main topic. If I’m down in the details of one thing and a thought jumps into my head that is part of another branch of the main topic, I can go jot it down somewhere else. If it has a place, I can put it there, if not, I can make a place on the fly.

Freemind allows me to draw bubbles to connect concepts. It is sort of like a mind map in that you can put items all around. It’s not in the fact that it is a software solution and not a piece of paper and colored pencils. The advantages of a software solution are similar to the advantages of a word processor over a notebook and pen. You can edit/delete/copy/paste/drag/drop… You can create large branches and collapse them at a click. This can make a very complex mindmap not so overwhelming at first glance.

I have a mindmap of my life here. I update it every once in a while. Which is yet another advantage… at any time, I can pickup my mind map right where I left off. Lastly, I can publish it on the web.

http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page