My name is Summer, I'm a figurative artist and Senior Textile Designer for a fashion company in Los Angeles, CA. I create in a lot of mediums and produce content all over the internet. Primarily on Twitch and soon to be on Skillshare. Overall, I'm an artist and a thinker.

I discovered mind mapping years ago, but it was all by hand then. I LOVE the studies of productivity, time and organization. I've read most of the books out there covering everything from memory palaces to GTD to Atomic Habits. I delved heavy into a many of the alternative techniques for mental organization like brain dumps and productivity habits like the pomodoro technique – if there's an organization acronym or catch phrase, I probably know it. I have a lot of ideas all the time, and they get overwhelming – and I've tried so many different things – I make lists and just never look at them again, or have a million interests and project plans with goal sheets of things I want to do that don't connect to each other, and don't take into account everything else I'm doing (or the actual time I have to do them in).

Mind mapping takes alllll of that and lets me get as detailed as I want while retaining the big picture. It helps me see the feasibility of projects or scheduling and it helps me stay on track. My brain is wonderful because it connects disparate ideas and combines them into new ones, but it does that all the time – so having a literal web of ideas that I can jump around in lets my mind feel calm – not only is everything written down like a brain dump, but I can riff on any part, expanding it out, and not loose sight of everything it's attached to. I couldn't get into mind mapping by hand because it felt I'd need an infinite amount of paper and it was so messy! I'm such a visual person, and the chaos on the page of a handwritten mind map did not do for me what MindNode does. It allows me to think creatively, in an organized fashion. It lets me bring order to the chaos after expressing all the gargantuan ideas pressing to get out. I can also re-organize and align things later, and it becomes a working document. I've been a part of the MindNode community for years – but started really diving in more the last year or so since getting an iPad. The new features are amazing too. I've turned a few friends on to it, and one especially has said it changed how she approaches everything now – it's given her a new way to think. I love that.

I start mind maps whenever I start to feel overwhelmed or if there's a big project without a straight line of action in sight. I tend to get that deer-in-the-headlights paralysis if I can't clearly see my next steps, and if things aren't broken down small enough to be actionable. So I take them into a mind map and break them down. And then break them down even further if I need to. They're also great for showing me what seems difficult to understand - I did one of my schedule to show myself I shouldn't be upset I don't draw as much as I want – because I could visually see I didn't have the time during the week, if I wanted to also sleep and workout, etc. I use them personally a lot, just to see what I'm prioritizing and what's getting left undone, and where my interests are leading me or what projects I want to tackle next. They are my brain dump and my list maker.

I use them for professional projects as well. I'm using a large one right now for the first Skillshare class I'm creating. I was given a few outline forms to help with laying out the class, but I'd have to have 4 pages laid out in front of me at all times just to see the big picture.

Preparing a class for Skillshare with MindNode

It felt very overwhelming and I kept going back trying to reorganize the class because I couldn't wrap my head around it the way it was being laid out. With a mind map, specifically with MindNode – I can see what isn't fleshed out, what needs more outlining, what doesn't have enough b-roll or what slides haven't been made - in one, easily navigable document. Once I had everything laid out, I then started to move each item into parent/child line for each video I'm making to see how they would play out. Where I discuss what, with what tools. It's been the only thing to get me moving forward on this massive project.

I've laid out writing projects, blog and video ideas, business ideas – the format is insanely fun to use and seems to spur more ideas than typical brainstorming. It also helps me see what not to pursue. If I have an idea for a podcast, I can see how many ideas or topics I can pull out of it, or if the content would dry up fast. I've laid out content calendars that, once visualized, are completely unrealistic. It's great, because seeing that, visualizing the imminent failure of such a plan due to the sheer volume of work on top of my full time job, keeps me from trying to do it and burning out. And I don't blame myself! It was a plan that was doomed to fail, and all the time and effort and disappointment of not accomplishing it – I didn't have to go through any of it. I can SEE before I DO. Like I said to a friend, it's like that red yarn on a wall that ties everything together, without the conspiracy theories. It excites and prepares me for new projects, helps me avoid bad ones, and lets me organize this giant ball of ideas that is my brain.

Do you have any favorite MindNode features?

I LOVE the Tags and tag-highlighting. It’s great to go through and mark what I need to do in each section and then have it auto-populate into a very do-able list. It’s a life saver. And tasks?! VERY satisfying to check off as they're done. I like the little pictures and stuff you can add, but I try not to get caught up in making lists prettier as a form of procrastination, lol.

Learn how Summer connects it all together with MindNode in this User Story.

How Summer Connects it all Together with MindNode

My name is Christopher Grant and I am a professional artist working in the medium of oil on large format canvas to create traditional Abstract Expressionist works.

How has MindNode been a part of your workflow?

While I mainly use MindNode in my professional work, one of the more interesting uses I’ve found is creating cartographic style concept maps for a game I play with friends, Dungeons & Dragons.

Originally it was just a part of my workflow, utilizing other applications along side it. Now, however, MindNode is the workflow. Almost everything I do for our games begins and ends with MindNode. From brainstorming and creating adventures to expanding our cartographic maps. It is the constant brainstorming that is the workspace rather than a jumping-off point.

Tell us more about how you use mind mapping for creating an adventure.

During our gameplay, players will adventure through fictional places I’ve created for them as the Dungeon Master. A Dungeon Master is like a storyteller and the Players are like the main protagonists of the story. Rather than using traditionally drawn maps, I create concept maps where each node represents a specific place such as a town or dungeon.

Are there any features in MindNode that help in particular?

When players explore new areas I’ve not yet created, something that happens a lot in our games, I can quickly create new nodes describing them. It’s this ability to not get bogged down with the multiple keystrokes that makes it so desirable. It’s fast to create maps! This drastically reduces preparation time and perhaps more importantly helps keeps our fictional world where it should be, in our imaginations.

Another important feature of MindNode is one most people may not even consider a feature, it’s esthetics. Because these mind maps that are created for our games are often shared, it’s important they look good. MindNode’s mind maps are quite esthetic and thus I’m not forced to spend large amounts of time making changes in order to make our maps pretty. As such, the app feels lighter, faster and more fluid than other mind mapping applications.

"Almost everything I do for our games begins and ends with MindNode." – Christopher Grant

How Christopher Creates Adventures with Mind Maps – Being a Dungeon Master

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

My name is David and I am working as a freelance React Native developer and bootcamp instructor specializing in cross-platform application development. I work remotely and I love building things for happy users.
My other mission is helping people to earn time by sharing all my automation and life hacks!

I am using MindNode for a lot of things, but basically it's for dumping my brain.

As a developer — and especially in the JavaScript world — it's really complicated to stay up-to-date with all the different technologies. When I am reading a great article, instead of just bookmarking it, I make a manual curation for my own work. I found this technique really effective for the memory, because when I am working with clients or during a bootcamp I remember the location of the bookmark on my giant mind map.

As a React developer I am always thinking in terms of a tree of component (It's more or less the same as a giant HTML page with plenty of nodes). When I jump on a new project, I used to draw the application component tree on a whiteboard. Now I am using MindNode, it helps me to visualise the interactions and state.
As an automation Nerd I am using a lot of tools like Zapier to connect API's together. It's really powerful for creating automated flows like the classic onboarding. It's ok when you have simple interactions, but when it become more complex I always create a mind map to reflect all the different scenarios.

Your first release to the store for your mobile application

Going to vacations can be a stressful experience. As humans being we like to complete tasks. That's a great opportunity to use the feature "add task to node" and export them to notes to complete my packing list from my phone!

What features in particular have been important for you?

When you are working 8 hours on a tool, every seconds matters. I am a power user of Alfred, a productivity app which boosts your efficiency with hotkeys.

One of my main problem is time. If I want to edit a mind map here is the classic workflow:

It's very slow, I don't have time for this. This is why I am using Alfred to automate the workflow.

This allows me to quickly copy/paste urls if I want to bookmark them.

According to me, the most important feature with MindNode is sharing files in different formats (.pdf,.png or .markdown) I am using it all the time!

When I need to write a blogpost I can quickly export my MindNode document (with option +  command + e) to a markdown file and illustrate my thoughts with a nice image.

Feel free to contact me on Twitter if you want some automation advice with MindNode 😉

"When I am working with clients or during a bootcamp I remember the location of the bookmark on my giant mind map." - David Leuliette

How David Develops with Mind Maps – Automating and Planning

My name is Thomas Dori and I'm a digital strategist who combines his 3 passions - contemplation, communication, and coding - into one business.

Is there one situation or project in which mind mapping helped you the most?

Digital Marketing (Strategies) is a very broad concept. Especially, when you are not working in this field every day, it can quickly feel overwhelming. To help my clients and me see the bigger picture including all the opportunities and necessities I start every project by presenting a mind map that gives a clear overview of what needs to be considered before and while doing digital marketing. We then use a copy of that mind map as a checklist to keep track of what we already thought about and what still needs to be considered. The final result is a clear vision of what the client’s company currently stands for, where it wants to go, and what needs to be done to get there.

How did you get your thoughts out of your head and into a mind map?

My current mind map for digital marketing is probably the millionth version of what it used to be several years ago. It started with the wish to have an overview of types of media (owned vs. shared vs. earned vs. paid). I continued to work on mind maps about branding, personas, social media marketing, and content marketing - and thought "Why not merging them into one huge mind map?" After moving everything around for hours and making it as MECE (mutually exclusive & collectively exhaustive) as possible, I tweaked the wording to get some nice acronyms (BRACES + 4C). The final but also essential step was the styling. I used the brand colors of my agency „Anwert" and the gorgeous stickers that MindNode has built in. Although I love the Auto Layout feature, I used the manual layout in my mind map because I wanted to give some nodes a bit more spacing than others.

How did it feel to finally see all your thoughts in a mind map?

Relieved. This mind map is like my external memory, and every time I look at it, I'm delighted that I have spent so much time to build it. It's like a cheat sheet that helps me to remember everything.

Once you were done with the mind map, what did you do next?

My mind map for digital marketing will never be final. It is the core of what I'm doing in my business every day. And like my business adjusts to new knowledge, trends and customer needs, so will this mind map. But even though it's a living document I use it all the time for myself as well as to support my clients in their (digital) marketing efforts. Most of the time people are stunned by how graspable such a complex topic becomes in a mind map - and how beautiful MindNode makes it look.

Where can people find out more about you and your work?

"Most of the time people are stunned by how graspable such a complex topic becomes in a mind map." - Thomas Dori

How Thomas Shows Clients the Bigger Picture – Creating a Marketing Strategy

My name is Teddy Svoronos and I’m a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. 

MindNode is the app that I use to begin the process of developing new classes. When staring down the barrel of a new class session, there is a seemingly infinite number of paths I could go down - huge numbers of topics, examples, and in-class exercises that could conceivably be incorporated into the class. MindNode helps me turn this complexity into a plan. I can group ideas into categories, which then link to one another in ways that gradually emerge as a class plan.

I start by creating as many Main Nodes as possible - using ⇧-Enter to dump all the ideas that pop into my head into a messy group of unstructured ideas. As I do this, I often start seeing connections immediately, so I’ll drag them on top of one another, or creating connection lines between them. If there are images, examples, or tables that I want to reference, I’ll drag them onto the map as well.

The best part is the transition from feeling overwhelmed and without structure to seeing a concrete set of steps to move forward. The mind map ends up being the starting point for further content - handouts and slides and such - but the map is always visible and always guiding how I conceptualize the class.

You can find out more about me on www.teddysvoronos.com or on my Twitter profile.

Teddy's Public Policy Class Mind Map
References: Kleinberg, J., Lakkaraju, H., Leskovec, J., Ludwig, J., & Mullainathan, S. (2017). Human Decisions and Machine Predictions. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 133(1), 237-293.

How Teddy Turns Complexity Into a Plan – Preparing a University Course

My name is Eric Bowers and I'm a Mortgage Loan Originator, business owner, writer/blogger.

That would be working on writing my first novel, the forthcoming The Mayor of Blackout County. My issue with the project was that I had the basic outline in my head, but needed to create more of a timeline so that I didn't get lost within the milestones of the story. I ended up creating a horizontal timeline using Vertical layout with angular branches, which was a great help in creating visual indications of my progress along the story line. 

I began, as I often do, with the Quick Entry feature. I input the main goal of what I was trying to accomplish, which was, "Write novel". Quick Entry seems to be at the core of what MindNode represents to me; a literal canvas upon which I can just let my mind wander. I entered a few major milestones into the outline entry area in Quick Entry, and then clicked "Create Mind Map". As the weeks and months went on I was able to add to the mind map using my iPhone and iPad or of course, my MacBook. It's important that MindNode is installed everywhere so that when inspiration strikes I have captured my thoughts.

See here for the map for the novel. It's not overly useful because I have folded up the details as it has the entire story contained there in milestones and major events. One thing to note: I created a separate theme for this particular mind map, to coincide with the overall feel of the story...that's a hint, but it always puts me in the right mindset.

In a word: relieved. I thought,"There. Now you have no excuse not to write this novel, because the elements are in place."...and what was funny was I just began writing, checking off tasks that I had assigned to various pieces of the story. Getting the main points out propelled me forward as a writer.

Because it obviously contains spoilers, I only showed the mind map to my wife who exclaimed,"Wow that looks great! What app is that?" (I'm not joking, either. She hadn't used MindNode for a while and was impressed with the layout capabilities).

How MindNode Propels Eric Forward – Writing a Novel

My name is Rosemary Orchard and I'm a developer by day, and a blogger and podcaster by night!

It's hard to pick just one, any complicated idea starts out as a mind map for me to let me get to grips with all facets of it. I'm currently working on a course to help people learn JavaScript to use with apps like Drafts and MindNode has been extremely helpful letting me keep track of and organise all my ideas.


I usually start in quick entry mode on iOS. My iPhone is usually the device in my hand so I start listing things there, then I jump into the mind map as the ideas slow down, and add to what I have and rearrange things.

Depending on the mind map I can feel anything from awed to overwhelmed! In this case I feel rather daunted by the tasks ahead, creating a whole course, but also calmed because I can see where everything is and what I've already completed is marked off.

I shared my mind map with a few friends for feedback before tweaking it. Then I printed it out on A3 paper so I could stick it on my wall! It's colourful and a great reminder of my goal right now.

"Creating a whole course, but also calmed because I can see where everything is and what I've already completed is marked off." - Rosemary Orchard

How Rosemary Teaches JavaScript – From Awed to Overwhelmed

Blog

How Summer Connects it all Together with MindNode

How Christopher Creates Adventures with Mind Maps – Being a Dungeon Master

How David Develops with Mind Maps – Automating and Planning

How Thomas Shows Clients the Bigger Picture – Creating a Marketing Strategy

How Teddy Turns Complexity Into a Plan – Preparing a University Course

How MindNode Propels Eric Forward – Writing a Novel

How Rosemary Teaches JavaScript – From Awed to Overwhelmed

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