My favorite medium for mind mapping is paper and pen. I feel that the software programs available (Wikipedia has a great list) inhibit my creativity. I love the feel of playing that fiber pens, crayons and colored or plain pencils give me. I advocate each of us having a creativity basket. The basket helps if you have little room for developing your creativity.

As well as being fun, another reason that I love handmade mind maps is that they help me to clarify my thinking. I have a strong left-brain approach to order that sometimes I allow to dominate and inhibit my creativity. Conversely, I allow my right-brain creativity to dominate when I am procrastinating. So my whole brain is learning to grow in harmony and peace.

Mind map tools can be web-based, use of a mind map software program, or a set of paper and pens. The purpose of this post is to organize the many samples available.

The simplest and often the best tools for mind maps are paper and pens. The pens may be colored pencils, felt tip markers, crayons, or one pen and/or pencil.

Some of the sites and tools I enjoy for broadening my creativity are:

(1)  One of the best fun places I’ve found to spark creativity is the “If I Had a Desert” mind map from Mind Map Inspiration. To prove that you can use mind maps for anything, check out their “How could you modernize a door?“.

(2) Wikipedia has included free mind mapping software on the above list. The software included is compendium, free mind, pimki, wikka wiki, vue, and xmind.

(3) Pens, guides, brainteasers, how to mind map workbooks are available at the Buzan store.