Using Mind Mapping Software to Plan Your Work

Running a private practice can involve managing a variety of tasks in your workday. This might include client work, marketing your practice, exploring potential new income streams, and developing your professional skills.

If you run your practice with a specific focus on client work and business admin then you can manage your time with a planner type system. However, as you add other income streams to your business structure and increase the services you provide, you might find a planner system is limited.

Mind mapping is an alternative idea to the planner system with some additional features included. Mind mapping is primarily a system of planning and organization along with the ability to explore divergent paths. These divergent paths all lead back to the core component which is your private practice.

You can use any kind of process to record your mind mapping whether it be handwritten on paper or recorded in specific mind mapping software. You can develop mind maps as complex or simplified as you want, as long as it helps explore the ideas that you want to, with the ultimate goal to take action.

Mind maps are great for art therapists as they provide a visual snapshot of capturing the ideas in your mind. Mind maps help facilitate a flow of creative thinking as you explore different options and goals. Once your mind map is created, you can then identify specific tasks to ensure your mind map comes to fruition.

Mind maps allow you the space to explore different branches, sub-topics, and alternative themes that all stem from the same idea. In this context, mind maps help support big picture thinking as you are not limited by a linear system.

Given the wider scope that mind maps can provide to explore alternative paths, it’s important to always maintain an overall focus that ensures your mind maps provide clarity to the ideas that you are exploring. There is a risk that as you develop a mind map, you can become too distracted by the many paths that you can take, and before you realize it, your mind map has become a tangled mess of ideas that have no common goal.

If you’re still not sure about how mind maps work, think about the flow charts you may have seen and how they begin with a central idea and then branch out into different subtopics that are related to that central idea.

The primary benefit of mind maps is the ability to explore unlimited ideas. Mind mapping encourages associative thinking and provides the space to elicit new ideas that stem from your main idea. Everything is possible when you begin to develop your mind map.

You don’t need mind mapping software to create your mind map, however, using mind mapping software does provide additional benefits. Software can provide the framework to develop your mind map without worrying about how to create a structure.

With mind mapping software, you also have the additional benefits of storage, sharing, editing, copying, reporting, and printing. You are also not limited to the size of a single piece of paper. Mind mapping software also allows you to easily edit your ideas and move concepts and topics around easily.

Most mind mapping software will provide templates that will help you jump start your mind maps.

The basic outline of creating a mind map is as follows:

• Identify your main idea/topic. Private Practice income, Art Therapy programs etc
• Identify all of the potential ideas that stem from that main idea. Eg income earning services
• When all potential branches are listed, edit your mind map for your final vision
• From the mind map, develop a detailed plan with deadlines and actionable steps

Below is an idea that illustrates the simple process of a mind map using the Mind Mup online software (FREE)

CORE IDEA: Private Practice income

Below are some suggested mind mapping programs that you may like to explore to create your mind maps. The below programs are either completely free or have a free version available:

• Mindmup free available
• Miro free available
• Creately free available
• MindMeister free available
• Coggle free available

Below is a list of previous blog posts we’ve created. These blog posts cover topics that would be developed further using mind maps:

• 10 Steps to Set Up Your Art Therapy Practice
• 30 Day Launch to Your First Online Course
• 30 Days to Create Your Therapy Ebook
• A Day in the Life of a New Art Therapy Practice
• A Day in the Life of a Growing Art Therapy Practice
• A Day in the Life of an Established Art Therapy Practice
• A One Page Business Plan for Your Therapy Practice
• Six-Week Start-Up: A step-by-step program for starting your business
• Create a Revenue Strategy for a Therapy Practice
• Create A Sales Funnel for an Art Therapist
• How Do I Create an Ecourse for my Therapy Practice
• How to Create an Annual Social Media Plan in 60 mins
• How to Create Physical Products for your Art Therapy Practice
• How to Set Up Your Art Therapy Room
• How to Write a Curriculum for an Art Therapy Group
• How to Write Educational Content for Your Therapy Practice
• Preparing Guidelines for an Art Therapy Workshop

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