There are two phases to do a mind map. The first phase is coming up with the ideas and topics you want to cover. This is also known as divergent thinking – it’s when you are free flowing and you are not thinking about what is good, bad or semantically correct. There are no relationships or connections between your thoughts. They are just there – you are simply dumping your thoughts without any judgement. It’s when you are thinking outside the box and you are not confined to a set of rules or framework. Think of it as being a little kid that doesn’t understand how the world works – it will just do whatever it is thinking without any limits and that is exactly how you want to think.
The second phase of effective brainstorming is when you are convergent thinking – you have set of rules and you are trying to find the best solution(s) with what you have. Unlike divergent thinking, where you are thinking outside the box, convergent thinking is like thinking inside the box – you work with what you have. This is the phase where you start to organize your thoughts, structure them and you work on finding a solution with the tangibles that you have. To finish the kid analogy, this phase is where you have grown up to become an adult, you have learned the rules and you now start to play with what you have within a set of rules and regulations.
Make your own mind maps with Mindomo.
No comments:
Post a Comment