App of the week: Mindly

Welcome back to our weekly spotlight on helpful apps. We focus on a variety of products that are useful for work, personal use, or both, providing our own thoughts on the apps and what you can do with them. This week we find out how to map ideas with Mindly.

An intro to Mindly
One of Mindly’s slogans is “Organise your inner universe.” It’s an app that’s especially handy for anyone who works on big projects. You start with a core idea or goal, then create a series of concepts and sub-concepts that relate to the big picture. In the end, your diagram looks a bit like a basic drawing of the solar system, with your main topic acting as the sun and the surrounding concepts representing the planets and their moons.

The Mindly website puts it better. “Like an expanding universe, our thoughts evolve fast. One concept leads to another and soon we have a universe of thoughts in our minds.” The app essentially lets you get these thoughts into writing in a natural, hierarchical structure that makes complete sense.

Our review
I started using Mindly to map out a structure for a panel discussion I’m chairing at the upcoming PA Expo in Liverpool. Because it’s available on the iPhone and Mac (as well as Android), I was able to add an idea to my map whenever it came to me.

The app itself is really easy to use and comes pre-loaded with a tutorial map that shows you how to use it – something I’m a big fan of, in case you hadn’t noticed from my previous reviews. I didn’t have to spend a lot of time playing around with the app to figure it out, which is a major bonus for time-strapped PAs.

The verdict
If you’re working on a big project – whether for work or in your personal life – Mindly offers a pretty handy tool for jotting down ideas. The difference between this app and simply taking notes is you can keep all your thoughts organised in a very simple way. Rather than adding a line to the bottom of a list that might not make sense when you go back to it later, you can pick a specific idea that the thought pertains to so it doesn’t get lost in the muddle.

It’s definitely worth the free download if you’re a visual person in need of an effective way to organise your thoughts.

Do you have a favourite new app you’d like to review for us? Send it to Deputy Editor Molly Dyson at molly.dyson@palife.co.uk.