Activity: Mind Mapping
As you wrap up your year, take a few minutes to think about everything you’ve achieved. Reflecting on your accomplishments can be hard – we often pack those successes away and forget them. But without even noticing it, you’ve done more and learned more this year than you even realized.
A great way to brainstorm, gather and reflect on your year is by creating a mind map. Mind mapping is a visual way to organize and understand information. It’s a great tool to help you make sense of your experiences.
To get started, use the template and our step-by-step guide.
- Every mind map starts with a central theme like “My accomplishments” or “Academic year”.
- Next, map out some key words (headings) in relation to the theme – it could include things like “School”, “Work”, “Personal.”
- Extend from these key words and fill in the bubbles with what comes to mind when you think about that central theme. Did you create a budget and stick to it? Learn how to manage a group? Volunteer? Whatever you can think of, add it to a bubble connected to a corresponding key word.
Example:
Once you’re done brainstorming, take a close look at your mind map. Did you find you had more accomplishments than you thought? Find some areas of opportunity still left to explore? You can repeat this exercise as many times as you want with different themes.
Your mind map
Create your own mind map with one of the downloadable MSWord templates[1]:
- More free Mind Mapping templates can be found on the Template Lab website. ↵