Manage the Process of Living With a Roommate Using Visual Mind Mapping
Often times, economic or other circumstances necessitate sharing one’s living space with a roommate. This living arrangement can be stressful for many individuals; it is not always easy to maneuver the intricacies of such things as sharing toilet paper or dividing up groceries. Yet, those finding themselves in this situation must, nonetheless, manage the arrangement in such a way that works for everyone involved. Being clear about each party’s responsibilities and privileges is a good place to start when managing roommate situations, and Visual Mind Mapping is a great tool for doing so. With a Visual Mind Map, roommates can “map out” everything they feel will make the process of cohabiting easier, from the financial obligations and cleaning duties, to the times during which one’s visitors will be tolerated. Moreover, roommates can use graphics and colors to make the map easier for everyone to conceptualize and follow. Thus, Visual Mind Mapping offers a way for those living with a roommate to make the process more tolerable, and perhaps, even enjoyable.
What are Visual Mind Maps and How Are They Created?
A Visual Mind Map is “a means of organizing information that allows individuals to create diagrams, pictures, and other graphic visuals in order to show the relationship between ideas or other types of information”.1 With a Visual Mind Map, the creator makes use of colors and symbols to construct the map and represent his or her ideas in a non-linear format. When creating a Visual Mind Map, the individual usually begins by showing the key concept or main idea of the information as a graphic image, located in the center of the map. Any themes surrounding the main idea are shown on “branches” that are attached to the central image. Subsequent themes of less importance are then attached to these branches using “child branches”, and so on. The resulting diagram is a “map” of the ideas and information presented that includes the images, visual graphics, and colors the individual associates with each of the themes and ideas.
Managing a Roommate Living Situation Using a Visual Mind Map
Imagine two people who have decided to share an apartment in order to cut down on living expenses during the financial downturn. Neither has lived with a roommate before, and both are unsure how the process will work out. They decide that the fairest course of action to making the process run smoothly is to set clear expectations and boundaries using a Visual Mind Map. The roommates begin constructing their map by placing a visual image representing their apartment in the map’s center. They then divide the map into different sections, representing the different aspects of living together, via “branches” they attach to the central image. On “child branches”, the roommates list any expectations or proposed rules both must follow. After listing the rules and expectations, they review the Visual Mind Map and come to an agreement about which ones to keep in their map. When they have finished, the roommates have clearly outlined their plan for managing their living arrangement in a diagram very similar to the attached Visual Mind Map.
The Process of Day-to-Day Roommate Living Made Simple
In the months following their moving into the apartment, the roommates find the process of co-habiting much easier than they first thought. Because they used a Visual Mind Map to clearly list the rules and expectations of the household, conflicts normal to roommates have been kept to a minimum. Moreover, the map’s visually associative and spatial layout makes consulting the map simple, allowing each to be clear about such things as times for allowing visitors and foods in the refrigerator one can eat. Thus, both roommates have been able to enjoy the benefit of being pleasantly, rather than regrettably, surprised at the outcome of their arrangement.
- Farrand, Paul; Hussain, Fearzana and Hennessy, Enid (May 2002). “The efficacy of the ‘mind map’ study technique”. Medical Education 36 (5): 426–431.
