The challenge

I have worked for many years in the world of technology in a consolidated  international bank but I am from a town located in the south of my country  that is 430 km away where my family lives.

That is why I decided to organize the different parts related to the request  that I was going to make to my superiors: I wanted to work remotely to be  close to my family and from where I would have all the possibilities to carry  out my work, I would fulfill my responsibilities and with the objectives set.

Although I worked remotely one day a week, the objective or challenge was:  how could I consider all aspects in a simple way, in which we can see in a  global way all the expected benefits, the relationship between tasks, the  projects carried out in this way form and the way of working that can be  beneficial for me?

Mind Mapping as the tool of choice

So in order to have an answer to that challenge, I have chosen to apply the  Mind Mapping tool. A mind map can be used to represent a subject or an  idea, structuring the information in a map-like view.

Mind mapping is one of the efficient methods that organize all these in a  formation and in a visually brain-friendly method. Our brain starts with one  center action, color, taste or image and builds branches of thoughts that are  used as a base for other multiplied ideas.     So for my challenge I decided to consider several branches or topics:

• To start with a single idea that is represented with text, color or

image. Each idea should be presented with one single word and use  visual elements to categorize it such as, upper an lower words, colors,  codes and images.

In my case, the mail topic was remote working!

• More subsidiary ideas are added around the main idea and connect

with it by lines. All the branches should have connection lines that  link it with the center idea.    In my case, several branches were: projects I already progressed  remotely, technical tools that make possible the remote working,  increase of productivity because I am more happy, optimization in  time because I reduce the waste of time, connectivity, questions,  definition of objectives during the year to see the performance  remotely and other items.

For example:

Application and insights  So after learning about the Mind Mapping tool, I made my own diagram and  I had a conversation with my boss who approves my remote working and  also took a picture of my diagram!

My insight was that the tasks or assignments we execute are usually really  repetition of something already done in the past. However, although they’re  known, they are also too big or too complex for us to rely only on our  memories. Here’s where the mind mapping helps a lot.

The two below are some examples where I’m applying the mind mapping:

• Starting a new project: using a mind map to organize the dozens of

things that a project manager has to coordinate has greatly facilitated  my work. Every project basically contains the same items: scope  (what’s in, what’s out), timeline (dates, milestones), costs, resources  (people, equipments), risks and assumptions.

• Learning a new subject: to me, the hardest part of learning a new

subject, is visualizing how big it is and how its concepts and details  are interconnected. Creating a mind map had a vast positive impact  on my study because I can, as I read through the pages, create the  visual map representation of the subject.

Final considerations

I definitely plan to continue using the tool. I have identified some pitfalls,  though. Something I learned in these few weeks is that the map itself can  oversimplify an idea, only scratching its surface and therefore not including  important details. You have to learn to find the right granularity for the  information you’re mapping.

Mind mapping is one of the efficient method to organize ideas and analyze  complex situations through breaking things down into smaller parts. It can  be used along or with in collaboration with other design thinking methods.  Mind mapping can be applied in different sectors including business and  education to achieve goals related to better thinking and collaboration  between employees.

Additional References

Mind mapping for study and work. In this article I’ll tell my personal… | by Sagar Sanchez | Medium

How to Use Mind Mapping for Better Thinking (designorate.com)

