Mind mapping guide
Capturing quickly, structuring afterwards, and when to switch to a concept map.
A mind map is a capture tool first and a presentation artefact second. Optimising for the second usually ruins the first.
Capture without judging
The keyboard matters more than the layout. Tab for a child, Enter for a sibling, Shift+Tab to promote — if you are reaching for the mouse mid-thought, the tool is getting in the way.
Structure afterwards
Once the ideas are down, promote what turned out to be important and collapse what did not. A branch that stayed thin usually was not a branch.
When to switch
If you keep wanting to draw a line between two branches, you have outgrown the tree. That is a concept map, and the cross-links you were trying to draw are the valuable part.