My Brain - Mapped

I recently found an app for my Droid phone that does mind mapping.  I downloaded it because it sounded really cool, it looked really cool, and it was FREE.

So with Thinking Space installed on my phone and loaded up I was prepared to collect my thoughts. Several quiet moments later I still had a blank screen.  It turned out that I had nothing in my mind that needing mapping.  What do you do with this software anyway?  Most of the examples I had seen were geared towards opening a business or taking notes in a class.  Neither of those apply to me.  I didn't want to give up on mapping my brain because I wanted to use this really cool app.

Then it hit me.  The blog!  I'm constantly jotting down notes for blog ideas and planning future posts.  I made my first mind map. After organizing my thoughts I exported my mind map as a photo and sent it as an email.

I present to you, a picture of my brain:
 

You can see how I broke up my thoughts.  Some of the headings have already been written, some are in the process, and some may never get written.

Putting this together was FUN.  This was not the same experience as typing ideas into a text file.  This was creative.  This was a new way to organize my thoughts.  Sometimes two branches needed to relate to each other.  When that happened it was easy to draw arrows from one to other.  In Thinking Space, the lines connecting two places can easily be customized adding to the artistic feel of these maps.  The small circles at the end of each text shows that there is more beyond that branch.  Each branch can be collapsed or expanded by clicking on it, limiting clutter.  You can continue each line as far as you want or start new ones.  I couldn't believe how pretty my brain looks.

So what other reasons are there to have such a program?  How are you going to use it?  After doing some more reading on mind maps I have discovered many other uses for them.  Some people put together thoughts on Christmas presents for family and friends.  Others make a map of projects to get done around the house with branches for deadlines or needed materials.  How about making a mind map with ideas of how you can use a mind map?  Once I started learning and reading I realized there are so many ways this can be used.  No longer is the screen blank when I load up a map.

Now I just need an app to motivate me to do the things I mapped out.  Thanks Thinking Space!