Visual mapping can be brilliant in these instances, and this is where Inspiration comes into its own. It allows the freedom of creativity to capture thoughts visually, quickly and easily, with the ability to then transfer these thoughts and ideas into a more linear format when you need it, or equally for when your boss wants it. Inspiration has three views/environments to use. Our most structured option, the Outline View, provides those that require it a more formal, linear, and structured look at your work.

The other two ‘views’ available within Inspiration are the Diagram View and the Map View, both of which allow more freedom and creativity for users, but can be easily and quickly transferred into the Outline View at a later point.

So, how does it help at work?

Imagine you’re at work and you have a lengthy or daunting written project. Sometimes it can feel like too much, or getting started seems impossible. If you benefit from seeing things visually, open a blank diagram or map in Inspiration, and start typing out all your notes or thoughts that you need to capture and work with. Start with a central point and then anchor all the other related information via separate branches, where you can also add drop-down notes and include hyperlinks. The synchronised Outline View can be used to instantly see your work in a linear page of notes. You can also Transfer the map and all those linear notes into a Word document with ease. Equally, this process can work in reverse, providing versatility for users to work in a way that suits them best.

And, keep your eyes peeled for our new Inspiration Maps Generator tool (coming this Autumn), which will allow you to simply convert the information in a Word or PowerPoint into an Inspiration document. Suddenly your ‘visual’ brain can compartmentalise the different aspects of the Word document more easily and break it all down into more manageable and comprehensible chunks of information.

Ultimately, allowing creativity to flourish is hugely important and beneficial to a lot of people in the workplace, but this just doesn't happen for some people especially when they feel constrained by formalities and linear thinking. Mapping allows more freedom, flexibility, and creativity.