- Hey, I'm Dan.
It's the first day of the new year
and I'm here at the beautiful Bronte Beach in Sydney.
Check this out, the weather is not ideal
but it's still pretty nice.
I've been thinking about what I should do
for my first video of 2021.
And one thing I always struggle with is writing a script
and starting from a blank page.
So in this video, I wanna show you an app called MindNode
that I use to structure my videos
and organize my ideas even before I start writing.
So let's jump in.
Welcome back to my channel, where I wanna help people
with a creative side hustle find motivation
and the right tools to simplify their creative process,
and get things done.
So if you're interested in that,
I would love for you to subscribe,
but either way I encourage you to keep going,
keep creating even if you're doing it at a slower pace.
As I said at the beginning of the video, I wanna show you
an app called MindNode which is a mind-mapping app
that can help you brainstorm your creative projects.
Who's it for?
Well, I specifically use it
for structuring and brainstorming my YouTube videos
before I write the script, but it's really
for everyone who wants to organize their ideas
and get a bird's eye view
before getting into the nitty gritty of each project.
So it could be for content schedules or marketing plans
or even the packing list for your next holiday.
What I love for my use case is
that once I start writing the script, I'm not starting
from a blank page because I already have the basic outline
of my talking points.
For some people that might even be enough
and they can record right away
but I'm not that confident, yet.
Now for the purpose of this demonstration I'm gonna use one
of my recent videos to show you how I structured
it in MindNode
I'm also going to use the desktop version
but I can really recommend the iPad app
because it's really fun to use especially with
the scribble feature of the iPad.
Let's jump into MindNode.
Okay, so let's do a quick run through in MindNode.
So this is the basic interface
and full disclosure, I've only ever used
the free version of MindNode.
So, I won't be explaining all features that are available
in the app.
And most of them, as you can see up here
are grayed out for me.
And also in the side panel here
where you can choose your styles,
your themes, or can add notes or tags.
These are all part of the Plus subscription.
Now the Plus version is $2.49 monthly
or $19.99 if billed annually.
If you are using it a lot for planning or presentations,
or you need maximum capability
for customization for your mind maps,
I'd say it's probably worth getting the Plus version.
But for me specifically,
I only use it for the first brainstorming
and initial structure for my videos.
So I'm more than happy to just work
within what's available in the free version.
Okay, so let's start here
in the workspace where we have our first main node
which is sort of the starting point.
As I said earlier,
I'm gonna use an old video as an example.
And that was about Adobe Spark, which is an app
that helps you create social graphics very easily.
So I'm just gonna call it Adobe Spark.
And then I can create sub nodes from here,
or what MindNode calls the children.
So this is basically a parent
and then you can create a child,
and you can create a sibling.
Okay, so for this video, I want a video intro
and I want to do a Spark introduction.
I wanna talk about the interface of the app.
Interface.
And I also want to give an example
and I wanna have an outro.
Okay, so if you have something
in mind where you don't know yet
where that might fit in within your mind map
then you can create another main node just by doing
a right click on the workspace.
And for example, I wanna talk
about the menu bar of the software.
So I have another main node here
which I then can attach to any of those nodes later,
but I'm gonna show you that in a second.
All right.
So, then you can simply move
and rearrange your mind map, however you would like.
So for example, I would like to have everything on one side.
so I just click and drag it over here.
And I want it in the right order.
So obviously we have a video intro first
and then, I want the Spark introduction, the interface.
And then I want the example and then the outro.
Okay.
So this is my basic order of my talking points
but then I want to add sub points
to each of these categories.
And then I can just create another child.
And for example, I wanna say
that you can create social graphics fast,
and that it's easier than Photoshop.
And I wanna roll my Lazy Creator intro.
And you can then go on and add more children
or more sub nodes in here.
So it's super simple.
And you can continue doing that
for each of your talking point.
And if you then, for example, realize
where you wanna attach this other separate node
then you can also just click it
and drag it on to where you wanna have it.
So, for example, in this case I want to put this under
the interface section.
All right.
So if you have a very big MindNode or mind map
then you can use one tool which is available
in the free editor.
For example, I click here on the video intro
and then this becomes available
which is the folding feature.
So I can just fold all these nodes away
so that they're not visible
if in case you wanna have like a very simple overview
of your mind map, and then you can unfold them here again.
And what you also can do is attaching a sub-node
or child to a different parent.
So for example, if I wanna say,
in the Spark introduction, that it's easier than Photoshop,
then I can just click and drag it to a different parent
and then it will be attached here.
So it's super simple and very intuitive to use.
And that's why I never really went into each
of the different features cause it's just so intuitive
and I just start working in it.
And that is really all I'm using it for,
for my initial video brainstorming.
From here, I would usually go on and write a full script.
Or as I said, if an outline is enough for you,
you can just use this and start recording, right.
But this is really everything I wanted to show you
in this little introduction.
So let me know in the comments below
if you have any specific questions or
if there's anything you specifically want me to cover
in MindNode, and I can make a follow up video.
Thanks so much for watching.
That's it for this video.
I hope you found it helpful.
If you're gonna use MindNode let me know in
the comments below for what purpose,
I'm really keen to know.
And if you enjoyed the video, please give it a like
and a thumbs up down below, it will really help me out.
And I'll see you in the next one.
Take care.