XMind is back again with another X’Talk! We had a little Q&A session with Rahul, an active user of XMind who started using XMind in 2020, about his mind mapping journey.

In this X'Talk, Rahul talked about how he incorporates mind mapping at work and how he mind maps for daily life scenarios, along with some tips he'd like to provide to the fellow XMindists (aka XMind users) out there. Come check out today X'Talk to find out more!

A bit about today's XMindist...

Rahul is presently involved in Industrial Automation, UI, API, and Mobile App Automation Testing projects at ifm engineering pvt. ltd. Adept at Automation Solutions, i.e., Selenium, Appium, WinAppDriver using C#, and Python.

It wasn't until the year 2020, Rahul was introduced to XMind by his mentor during one of his brainstorming sessions. The Outliner feature was something that caught Rahul's attention. Started as an XMind 8 user, Rahul switched to XMind 2020 after its first release and stuck to it till today. Below is a series of questions asked by us and answered by Rahul.

How does he use XMind in work

Anne: As a software engineer, how does mind mapping helps with your workflow?

Rahul: In my work as an engineer, Mind mapping provides a great deal of help. This includes the following fields:

I created this mind map to summarize a conference talk at Testflix by Ajay Balamurugadas.

Many ideas were exchanged in less than 8 minutes in this very atomic talk. To represent so many tips involving branching and grouping, a mind map was the perfect tool. I frequently share it with colleagues.

I love the pitch mode. Since the XMind 2021 launched, I rarely have to spend time making presentations. Pitch Mode helps me with the apt animation and node-by-node flow.

Several people have inquired about how to learn to test in 20 days. On a google meet call, Ajay Balamurugadas and I brainstormed ideas captured in this mind map below.

The entire process of creation is on YouTube too! We also created a detailed blog post based on this mind map, the blog post can be found on my personal blog as well.

Anne: What’s your routine when mind mapping?

Rahul: Here, check this out. I actually have a SOP for it.

How does he use it in his daily life

Anne: Do you do any mind mapping outside of workplace?

Rahul: Mind maps/XMind is an excellent tool for problem-solving and thinking, and I don’t limit their use to just the professional world. I often use mind maps for a lot of personal things, too, like:

• Planning out my holidays/trips/expenses.
• Creating Birthday Cards
• Creating Thank You Notes :)
• Creating Personal Task Tracker
• Summarizing Courses

I also use XMind for writing articles. Before writing an article, I make a detailed, free-flowing mind map of the concept. I then convert the mind map to a word document (*.docx) and extend every node where necessary. It has helped me with my writing.

Below is one of the current mind maps I created to demonstrate my love for testing.

This mind map depicts my entire journey with software testing, with gratitude to my mentors. The amazing icons & design features that XMind offers helped me provide a nice structure & design to this mind map.

Anne: How would you describe your mind mapping journey?

Rahul: The following is my stage-wise journey with XMind / Mind mapping:

Computer Science & Engineering requires excellent visualizing and communication skills as a mind-intensive field. By letting you reflect/project your ideas in a visual & straightforward way, mind mapping reduces the communication gap to a great extent. When you mind map things, you can put them down in a format that aligns with the way our brain works.

In my opinion, it is a powerful tool for thinking and visualizing things directly. I usually take notes through a mind map because it's easier for me to write them down in the way I'm thinking them. The free flow-node structure helps me a lot here.

We all learn by drawing and sketching things on paper when we are children. Some of us have also colored them to make them more meaningful. Mind mapping allows me to relive that child forever.

Tips and tricks

Anne: Any tips or thoughts you'd like to share with other fellow XMindists out there?

Rahul: Below are some tips from my experience that I have found helpful for myself and others who were new to mind mapping.

The only tip to master this art is by Practice! Practice! Practice! Happy mind mapping!