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Projects Software

Make PersonalBrain Prettier

I started a small project to improve the looks of PersonalBrain. I love the software and use it all the time, but was tired of it not fitting in with the the rest of the Mac software I use. I’ve created a small project that make some minor visual enhancements–right now just a few new icons and a new background. The project is available on GitHub–I’d definitely welcome any contributions and suggestions, my changes are just the beginning of what could potentially be done. Instructions for installing it are on the GitHub project as well.

This is the before:

Before
Before

And after:

PersonalBrain - Prettier
PersonalBrain - Prettier
Categories
Lifehacks Productivity Software Technology

PersonalBrain vs. Mindmapping

When I started using PersonalBrain sometimes I was unclear about when to use PersonalBrain or when to use a more traditional mindmapping tool like Freemind or MindJet. Now I think I can break it down pretty simply to this:

PersonalBrain is for research, learning and long-term planning. Mindmapping is for brainstorming.

The two tools overlap and can be used for either purpose, but I find that generalizing helps make the decision of which software to use quick and more intuitive.

An example where I prefer Mindmapping: If I’m starting a project such as building a website I use Freemind to quickly lay out the potential navigation, what content will go where and even the contact information for the involved parties. The information I need is limited in context and fairly isolated. It’s useful in the time that I’m building the website but it’s likely that I won’t need to revisit it in the future. It also helps to be able to see it all at a glance–Mindmaps are great for this.

Examples of where I prefer PersonalBrain: Pretty much everything else :). If I’m reading a book and taking notes, I use Personal Brain. If I’m taking notes on an article or planning out my future I use PersonalBrain. Philosophical or political information goes into PersonalBrain. All of this is information I’m likely to want to go back to and that is likely to connect to other bits of information and help with me be more creative, recognize patterns, and recall what I’ve learned.

That’s how I differentiate between what goes where. If you’ve got another way of doing it, I’m curious to learn about it!