How to brainstorm and use a mind map template.
So, you’ve heard about brainstorming and will definitely have used it at some point in your life, but you aren’t sure exactly when or how brainstorming might be useful for you?
When you feel overwhelmed, overloaded, and utterly confused about what the next step is, it’s a perfect moment to use brainstorming.
Brainstorming so useful to clear your brain and reduce the buzz in your mind. It’s a method to help reduce sensory overload and eradicate that desperate feeling you get when you are drowning in decisions or tasks. When our brains are full of clutter or ideas it means you struggle to focus and spend lots of time feeling busy and stressed but not being very productive.
overwhelmed woman
By using a mind map template to collate your brainstorm i.e. all of the things in your head, you can see what you believe needs to be done. Mind maps can be used for lots of things such as revision or project planning, idea collation to name but a few.
In this instance we are using mind maps to give visibility to what is cluttering your head, then allowing you the opportunity to group similar tasks together, to see what could be delegated or even ignored.
Step one – Emptying your head.
I want you to grab a piece of paper and write ‘my brain’ in the centre. You can, of course, write anything you prefer, there isn’t a rule about this! Or you can use a mind mapping template here.
Brainstorm and mind map
Set a timer for 10 minutes and write everything down that’s in your head. Don’t make the mistake of just writing home things or work things as we rarely just think in a single direction, we don’t live like that, tasks, and feelings from one part of our life impact all the others so don’t limit yourself. The concept is to let the ideas flow, empty your head of the noise and clutter so you can see the woods for the trees. To help you keep the flow going and minimise the chance of distractions there are a few extra rules to follow:
Don’t judge what you are writing, empty your head, it doesn’t matter if what you are writing seems small and insignificant, it is taking up space in your head, so it needs to be written down. As you are writing your mind map will be a mix of tasks, feelings, emotions, vague dreams, worries etc keep going and don’t stop to second guess yourself.
Don’t stop to edit, don’t worry about spellings or if it makes sense, if you understand it then it’s ok. This is your document, no one will ever see it if you don’t want them to so write for you.
When your timer has finished set it again for a further minute and really focus on writing at least another two things down, I often find with clients it is these things that are the most important and only come to light because they have cleared all of the other thoughts cluttering up their heads.
When you’ve finished have a look at your mind map, are you surprised by the results? Do they represent the things you’ve been thinking about or are there one or two things you didn’t even know you had in your head?
Step Two - Sorting time!
How you sort is up to you. You can look for similar tasks, quick wins or by subject area. If you can see any patterns that you think might be beneficial to group together such as work themes, personal ambitions, relationship worries etc then go ahead and do that. The simplest way to do that without re-writing is to colour code but use whatever technique that feels most relevant to you.
However, most people who are feeling overwhelmed by their to do list or what’s in their head are worried because they know there is work in there that is urgent but are overwhelmed and blinded by the sheer volume of other ideas buzzing around in their head.
So, to be able to see the urgent work, we need to prioritise. My preferred method is to use something like an Eisenhower matrix which helps us to identify the urgent tasks but also guides us through understanding which tasks are necessary but could be done later and more challengingly what could be delegated or dare I say it deleted! Use whatever tool you prefer and are comfortable with. Grab a piece of paper and draw the grid below onto it, labelling each quadrant as shown.
The idea is to transfer all the tasks or items you’ve written on your brainstorm onto this priority matrix. You are aiming to have nothing left!
Do – All the items in this section are urgent. I believe finding your urgent tasks is the easiest, so look for tasks/ideas that have a set deadline already, create a list in the section (I like to include completion dates too). Be careful to keep checking the list, not everything can be urgent. If you are starting to look like you have a very long urgent list, try giving yourself an urgent boundary of things that need dealing with in the next 48 hours etc.
Decide – In this section should be tasks that are important, need to be scheduled but don’t need doing immediately. Before you start on the decide tasks, look through your urgent tasks and move what you can. Be honest with yourself, if something needs doing in the next week or so, could someone else help with it or does it even need doing. By repeating this process repeatedly, challenging yourself to make some hard decisions we will create clarity and focus.
Delegate – this section is often tough, sometimes because of our own feelings. As you are recording all of the tasks that can be delegated have a think about why you find delegating hard, is it because you prefer to do jobs yourself, is it about quality (if so could you train others? Is it because you struggle to uphold boundaries, or saying no, have a think. Create a list of tasks that other people could do that move you one step towards where you want to be. For example if a task on your urgent list is to write a report then could you ask someone to collate data for the report etc.
Delete - I think this hardest section. You must be strict with yourself, what can you get rid of? This could be a task that you’d like to do but if you are honest doesn’t really add any value. Or maybe it’s a goal you want to achieve that is no longer relevant and could be let go of.
If this feels too much to start with then try writing your deletes on another list, one you can refer to if necessary. This creates a risk-free situation, like the trick of putting your old clothes in a bin bag for 3 months to see if you miss them. Make a deal with yourself if you don’t refer to this list in X days then you can chuck the list away!
Step Three – Getting it done.
There are lots of different methods, pick what suits you on the day. Work on your most urgent tasks. You might need to spend a few minutes deciding how best to tackle your urgent list. Below are some methods and ideas you might want to explore.
These include things like:
1. Grouping similar tasks together.
2. Picking off easy and quick tasks.
3. Tackling what you feel is the worst task.
4. Or prioritise by date due in a list format.
Don’t forget about the other tasks in decide and delegating sections. Make sure if you are delegating, allocate these tasks to the right people with the right support. Grab the list of tasks from ‘decide’ that need doing but not urgently and make sure you plan them into whatever task management system you use. The idea is to spend time on them prior to them just hitting your urgent list!
Brainstorming is such a useful tool that can be used at any time in any scenario, don’t be afraid to use it multiple times a week and maybe trial using it for different elements of your life.
What are you going to brainstorm today?