Pimp Your Work

I love mind maps. They’re straightforward, practical, and easy to understand.  I love mindmapping tools as well, which is why I thought I’d take a look at MindMeister, an online mindmapping service.

With the use of this online mind mapping tool, collaborators need not be on the same room anymore. My favorite feature is that collaborators see each other’s modifications in real time.

Creating a new mind map is a point-and-click affair. The interface is user-friendly and clutter-free.  For collaborative work, each member must have a MindMeister account and must be invited by the one who initiated the mind map. Once everyone is viewing the same mind map, collaboration can begin. Each person has a designated color, which makes it easy to distinguish who made which changes.

If you need to continue working on a mind map even without an internet connection, Mindmeister offers an offline version. If mind mapping is your cup of coffee and you need to do it online, be sure to check out Mindmeister.

Registration is free for the first month, and during the trial period, all premium member features (except for the SSL) is activated.

MindMeister is compatible with most web browsers.

Screencapture by Celine Roque from Blue Rabbit Media

PimpYourWork.com

I declared my undying love for Mindjet MindManager before, and for those of you who are new to the program or just as in love with it as I am, you might find some pre-made templates useful.

First off, you should check out the offical MindManager template gallery. Here are some of the more notable templates:

• Project Management Jetpack Very intense and detailed, ideal for crazy organized project managers
• Meeting Management Map For taking meeting minutes via mindmapping
• Statement of Work Great for outlining your scope of work when communicating with clients. I think I’ll use this for my freelancing gigs.
• Business Plan Template One of my favorites, shown above. If you’re having a hard time typing a formal business plan or you don’t know how to start, you can use this template.
• Personal and Professional Planning If you implement The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you’ll find this useful.

Biggerplate also has several user-made MindManager templates, but you need to register to download them. Membership is free, don’t worry. (But if you’re an email control freak like me, uncheck the box that asks you if you want to receive their email newsletter.)

• Personal Organizer Template A little too detailed for my taste, but it has some great features that are useful, such as goal and project listing, and a personal information manager.
• Customer Service Training and Development If you’re including customer service training in your business, this template is a neat way of outlining the process.
• A GTD Map For the GTD fans out there.

From random places on the web:

• GTD Incompletion Trigger Lists
• Creative Brief for Designers from DesignToSell. I think I’m gonna use this.

Know of other MindManager templates I left out? Did you make your own MindManager template? Chime in and share the link.
Photo Credit: Screencapture by Celine Roque from Blue Rabbit Media

Dear Mindjet MindManager 7,

Yes, your name is a bit long, but I take pleasure in typing it, saying it, enjoying the sound of each syllable. The alliterative M’s echo what I say in my mind when I think of you, which is, of course, “mmm!”.

First, I have to be honest with you - you are not the first mind mapping program I tried. I was flirting with all sorts of freeware. After I’ve used most of the free alternatives around, I was frustrated. They were too difficult, took forever to load, or were web based. I didn’t need something web based - I needed something I could come home to, a face I’d expect to see when I turn on my work station. I couldn’t find that with my former flings.

Then I thought, “Mind mapping just isn’t for me”. I should’ve known that I was lying to myself.

Of course, that’s when my love story with you started.

Former Pimp Your Work blogger Tris Hussey kept talking about you. I forced myself to give you a try, since I knew that deep down, mind mapping represented my thought processes. I’ve always been a visual person. That’s the quickest way for me to learn and express.

So I said “Hello”, pressed that “Free Trial” button, and before I knew it, I completely bought into your charms. Literally. Roughly $99 worth of charms.

But it was completely worth it. (We did use company funds, but that’s not the point.)

Yes, I’ve had mind mapping tools before, but not one quite like you. What was it about you that captured me so?

Simplicity. One of my frustrations with my previous tools was that they made mind mapping complicated, when it’s supposed to be the simplest thing. A bunch of shapes with arrows and lines. You made mind mapping simple for one who was frustrated, for one who thought it wasn’t for her. For one who almost gave up.

User-friendly. It was very easy to figure you out. It seemed almost intuitive. I never had any doubts in my mind as to where the needed function was - everything you can do can be accessed wherever it needs to be accessed. It was like we’d made an instant connection and you immediately understood my thoughts.

Web-friendly. You are friendly with the web, but not too friendly. I could insert hyperlinks, notes, spreadsheets - and you were also interacting with my Microsoft Office friends.

Beautiful. Your interface is sleek, and soothing to my eyes. Your mind map templates are creative. You know which one is my favorite? The blue and orange one with your faint watermark in the background going “Mindjet Mindjet Mindjet”. Apart from the fact that blue and orange are our corporate colors, reading your name in the background reminds me of a lover’s name etched in a tree.

I do not know if you share these feelings, or if you already know that I think so fondly of you. But what I know is this - my love for you is so strong that I would share you with the world so that they will stand in your light in the way that I already have.

Faithfully yours (or at least until version 8 comes along),

Celine

In a previous post, we talked about the different ways for you to measure success. Now, we’ll try to measure success as accurately as we can. Here’s how:

1. Grab any writing tool you like, whether it’s pen and paper, Notepad, or a mind mapping tool. For this example, I’m using Mindomo.

2. Write your name in the center of your writing space.

3. Around your name, write down your main ideas of what success is.
They don’t have to be detailed, we can add detail later. It’ll look something like this:

Read more

You think that mind mapping is just for brainstorming?  Maybe a little document outlining?  Ah how wrong you are.  I think one of the best uses of mind mapping is taking meeting notes.  Gaelen links to Lifehacker’s post on mind mapping meetings and points us all to the MindManager map gallery:

The Mindjet Map Gallery also offers templates for managing meetings. Check out a sample meeting management map located here now. Source: The Mindjet Blog » Lifehacker’s “Beginner’s Guide to Mind Mapping Meetings”

Lifehacker’s examples are pretty basic, and with the crayon colours, enough to make any business person cringe. So let’s look at what Mindjet and MindManager have to offer, shall we?

Okay the default template, which I’ve used for many meetings, is simple, clean and effective.  Nothing fancy, but it has all the basics that make for a good map.

Now, Gaelen, being the awesome person she is, sent me all of the new MindManager 7 Productivity Packs and let’s look at the fancier version of the template you get with that:

Not bad, huh?  There are also a bunch of goodies in the pack like this map that helps you make the most of mind mapping a meeting.

I really like to map the agenda, send it around (as a PDF or something) and then I take notes right there on that map… so when I sent it out people are already familiar with it.  And if you organize it all nicely, export the map to Word and bam you have meeting notes for everyone in a couple minutes.  Getting the action items and notes out to everyone who was at the meeting (and people who couldn’t make it) helps you take advantage of the momentum you created in the meeting.

 Since MindManager comes with a 21 day free trial, well you don’t have any excuse not to try it. Oh, and yes, there will be a contest soon so you can win a copy of MM7Pro.

MindManager 7 Pro brought the Office 2007 look and feel to MM users, but the Ribbon Bar might get annoying for some people.  Brain Friedlander has a quick movie on saving space:

Many of us are really enjoying the new Fluid Ribbon Interface in MindManager 7, which has made the program much more accessible. However, there are times when we might want to hide the ribbon once we start working on the mind map. Here is a tip on how to hide the ribbon in MindManager 7. I hope that you enjoy this tip!Hiding the Ribbon in Mindmanager 7
Brian S. Friedlander, Ph.D
Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:44:26 GMT

I did that simple little thing…and wow I feel like I have a ton more room to map in!

Okay that’s awesome but what about those maps?  Have you even looked at the templates and styles included in MM 7 Pro?  I didn’t think so.

I was working up a map last night and I thought I’d try a new look … so looking through the styles I found this great corkboard - sticky note look (click for large version):

There are basic styles and ones that are more interesting.  Have a “look” you like?  Make your own custom style!  It’s easy to always have the kind of map you want.  Just get your map tweaks, go up to the button…and choose Save As… you can make it a Style (just the look and feel) or a template (look and feel, plus the stuff you already have in the map as a starting point).

Speaking of templates, check out these two cool templates for a weekly planner and a to-do list:

Not bad eh?  See getting more out of an application, even if it is just to have a little fun with it, is just a matter of exploring around.  You can submit your own templates and styles here … I’ll even host them for you if needed!

I think this must be one of the key questions facing workers right now.  Silly you think?  Okay, you go into a meeting, you know that information is going to be shared that you need to remember or you are going to be given a task (or three), so how do you record said information and tasks?  Pen and paper?  OneNote or Evernote?  MindManager? Basic text file?  Not easy is it?  Pen and paper is dead simple and you’ve been doing it since elementary school, but paper is easily lost and can’t be searched quickly.

OneNote and Evernote are cool, I’ve used them both for taking notes with success, but … sometimes they aren’t easy to share an find later.

MindManager is my favourite app for long meetings, especially meetings like start planning, etc.  Because it includes task information you can record that information in one place.  Downside, sharing again.  Yes the view is awesome and the PDF or Word export helps, but the map form is the most powerful way to view it, IMHO.

What do I do?  I use all three, because as you can gather they aren’t mutually exclusive.  Sometimes I just need to jot something down, so I whip out my small Moleskine notebook.  Lots of different stuff goes in there, but I can flip through it quickly.

Evernote is great for stashing web content for later.  Quick notes to myself, sometimes.  It is supremely searchable, something that is much appreciated.  It is free so sharing is less of a barrier.

Obviously you can tell where I use MindManager.  It’s also great for building the agenda for a meeting, then taking notes on that map.  If your agenda is organized, then your notes will be too.

My philosophy for all these tips is to provide you with options.  Sure there are tips that will make you smack yourself on the head because they save you time or money, but really I’m just a guy who likes to play with all kinds of tech toys and figure out if they fit into my life.  And if there is one overall tip, don’t let the inertia of “I’ve been using that application for so long…” to keep you from trying something new.  I switched from Google Reader to FeedDemon recently, and given GR’s problems of late, I’m happy I did.  Beyond that, I’ve found that with some self training, I’m gaining efficiencies in pouring through feeds and feel okay about adding more into my information stream.

Of course there are cases where you can’t or won’t switch.  I don’t think I’ll give up Outlook again.  For all it’s flaws, it does what I need it to do without fuss.  I still keep an open mind, though.

I got an e-mail from the folks at MindJet today letting me know that MM7 was now available. Disclosure: Because of my participation in the beta and other MM7 events I received a free license to MM7 Pro.

MindManager 7 helps users and workgroups “mind map” — lay out concepts and manage information visually. The technique can be helpful for both individuals and groups of users to brainstorm and collaborate. It can help you create project plans, set up workflows and processes, and manage meetings. Source: PC World - MindManager 7 Visualization Software Ships

There has been some work on MM7 since the last beta I downloaded.  The UI has been cleaned up and such.  I’m particularly interested in seeing if schools pick up on MM7 Lite and offer it to students.

Since I’ve only had MM7 Pro (final) installed for a bit this isn’t a “review” it’s an announcement.  I’ll be working with it and giving a more detailed review on the final version soon.

Gotta love the folks at MindJet. As the count-down continues (4 more days!) until MM7 is released, here is a great map idea–use a drafting table metaphor.

You can, and I would suggest, taking it to the next level. Dart board? Cork board? I think with the right background image you can make a map not only useful, but fun too.

Why not, it’s only work ;).

Tags: free downloads, GTD, software tips, MindJet, MindManager, mind mapping

Man I’ve been dying to blog about this for over a month.  I’ve been in the private beta test of the new MindManager 7 Pro.  If you’re a MM fan, this is a good upgrade.  Must upgrade?  If you use Office 2007, I’d say yeah.

The new MM 7 Pro is officially coming out May 30.  I had the chance to listen to a MindJet overview of the new product yesterday (and for disclosure as an invited guest and attendee I get a free license for the new version).   What impressed me about this new version are the nice UI improvements.  No huge changes.  Some nice improvements to styles (topic-level styles are now possible) and data connections, but really it’s what I’d call steady evolution, not revolution.

The Mac version has been updated and there is an new MM Lite aimed for occasional users and the education market.

Personally, I think MS should bundle MM Lite with Office, but that’s just me.  Heck if I could, I’d give it away to students on a flash drive.

From a UI perspective MM now uses the Office 2007 UI.  I like it … I know some don’t like it, but well …

I haven’t been in proposal or project planning mode for a while, so I haven’t had to use Office integration for a bit … but with improved connectors, like link from a Word doc to a particular topic, I think I’ll be building some pretty cool things soon.

When I get the final version (I’m still using the beta) at the end of the month, I’ll let you know how the final product looks.