Our brain is full of ideas. I have always said that Ideas are Everywhere and the only thing you need is to find them! But the finding is not everything! You have to organize your ideas. Without proper organization, ideas will simply fade away from your memory. Let us see How to Organize Ideas and Save Time.
How to Organize Ideas and Save Time
Here are 2 techniques you can use to Organize Ideas and Save Time.
Mind Maps
A lot has been written about Mind Maps and many top bloggers recommend them. Mind maps are a graphical representation of thoughts and ideas. Take a look at the mind map I made before writing this post:
As you can see, mind maps help in organizing ideas and forming a clear picture of what the post should have.
Now, a bit about types of mind maps:
For Lists Posts: For list posts, mind maps are generally circular. The central idea/title is in the middle and points surround it. Here’s an example of such a map I made for my Guest Post 5 Basic Blogging Lessons You Must Remember:
For Regular Posts: For regular posts, a flowing map can be used. It will basically contain the main points of the posts. Then you can frame paragraphs and add information around these.
More Complex – Best Of Both Worlds: Always writing lists and essay-style posts is not possible! You have to take a break and write a mixed one that is a combination of the two.
This article is an example of such posts. I have added bullets in between an essay and the map.
Will I Benefit?
I knew you would ask this.
Yes, you will benefit a lot.
Mind Maps will make it easy to remember post ideas. You can make a map quickly and write a post later when you have time.
Since I started using maps, the time I put into my posts has decreased(only time, not quality!).
I am able to finish posts more quickly because I know what the post will answer/teach and also have the required points/ideas on the map.
How to Make Mind Maps?
You can either choose online solutions or an offline ones.
Mindmeister is a good tool if you want to keep your maps online. The basic (free) option lets you create 6 mindmaps and you can not import/export them. However, you can subscribe to Premium/Business plans for unlimited maps.
Now about offline solutions. You will not need any other software than FreeMind. FreeMind is easy to learn and use for creating basic maps. It also has a lot of export/import options which will be useful if you want to show your maps.
Idea Books
“Idea Book” is just a name I gave my small notebook where I (used to) write ideas/plans about blogging. You can name it whatever you want.
The main reason I recommend a notebook is that you can easily carry it with you. Something not possible for desktop owners out there!
In this notebook, you can make mindmaps, write thoughts, potential ideas, and much more.
This will help in archiving and record keeping. Another big advantage of writing in a notebook is that it is not connected to the Internet, so you can not a) Surf while Writing b) Get notified of new mails c) Open Other Tabs for small tasks(Tweeting, Stumbling, etc.) that take up many minutes later!
I used to write posts first in the notebook. This really helps in keeping distractions away and concentrating on the right thing, article! If you want to save trees(like me!), consider disconnecting from the internet and using a good offline editor.
