This is not about a Discovery Channel series (through there are some cool ones running now). This is about software. Specifically, this is about software for organizing ideas and brainstorming. Over the past several years, I’ve kept a trick in my kit bag when it comes to launching new projects and authoring papers. I use PersonalBrain as my brains storming and “fragment” organizer.

PersonalBrain lets me quickly capture all sorts of random thoughts, save questions, track contacts etc. I know some use this concept for nearly everything they do but for me, it’s a bit of work so I reserve it for the big nebulous assignments where there are far more things that are unknown and few things that are known.

Without going into the details of the software, what I do is start with a title and then start adding keywords, ideas, and questions. I then go back and add a few top level “anchors” such as Questions, Contacts, Technology, etc. I then go and take everything I have entered thus far and start to draw links between various objects and the top level categories. Over time, as I answer questions, I add verbose content and more links. And, when ideas overlap, I add more links.

Questions are linked to contacts and when I speak to one of the contacts, I can follow the links to the questions, capture the answers, and they are already linked back to the source of the idea or issue.

For me, PersonalBrain lets me expose unexpected relationships (as I follow links) and identify where the big issues are.

If I’m authoring a paper, I finally create an outline as another of those top level objects and I add links to the various questions, answers, and content. When I’m done, I have the brainstorming content, the developed material, and an organized output.

Related tangests ...   Q: desktop software or web applications ? A: both !

Posted in Brainstorming, Writing |

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