You can just tell when the speaker has a beginning, middle, and an end, and those fit best as outlines. Another place I often use outlines is when attending what feels, to me at least, like a structured lecture. I’ll do the same thing outlining contracts or planning structured long-form blog posts. On the flip side, when I create a chronology for a client matter, a project that is, by nature, linear, I start with an outline. In that case, I start up a new mind map and add to it slowly. Other good examples of mind map tasks, for me, are where I’m learning something new or when I have to get my head wrapped around my own thoughts on a topic. Using the mind map also helped me determine to group courses by platform rather than topic.

By using a mind map, I saw there were multiple organizational paths for that course. I didn’t have a clear path when I started that project, and I needed to just get ideas on the screen so I could start organizing. Specifically, where outlines are best for taking generally organized information and making it more organized, mind maps are all about taming chaos.įor instance, when I was making the initial attempt at organizing the Photos Field Guide, I used a MindNode-based mind map. For me, the distinction is all about chaos and order. Both tools are good at taking a bunch of inputs and letting you organize them later. I can see why those lines could be confused. I sometimes get asked about where I use outlining tools versus mind mapping tools.

Mindnode app