How to Use a Mind Map for Task and Project Management
A mind map for task and project management turns a flat list of work into a picture: you draw the pieces, connect them, and see at a glance how tasks and projects relate. In Planfix that picture is the Planfix Whiteboard, a planner view where blocks, tasks, projects, contacts and automated scripts share one canvas; the Help Center article on the Whiteboard lists every control it has. This 90-second video shows what a mind map in Planfix looks like and how everything on it stays connected to real work.
What you’ll learn: mapping tasks, projects and dependencies in the Planner
- Open a Whiteboard as one of the list views of your Planner, beside the lists, boards and calendars you already use.
- Add blocks for the stages of a project and pull in tasks that already exist.
- Connect the blocks to show the order of the work and how tasks and projects relate.
- Place projects, contacts, employees, Planners, scripts and buttons on the same canvas.
- Export the map as Mermaid code and import a diagram back into Planfix.
How to build a mind map in the Planfix Planner, step by step
Step 1. Open the Whiteboard view in your Planner
A Whiteboard is a list view of the Planfix Planner, so a mind map is not a separate section: it is one more way to look at a planner list, next to lists, boards, cards and calendars. Switch the view to Whiteboard and an empty canvas opens, ready for the first block.
Step 2. Add blocks and existing tasks
Click the new block icon to put a block on the board, then press F2 or double-click it to change the title. To bring in work that is already in Planfix, click the existing tasks icon and select the task you need from the list. The block on the canvas is the task itself, not a picture of it.
Step 3. Connect the blocks
Draw connections between blocks to make the structure of the project explicit: what comes first, what follows, which branch belongs to which stage. To remove a connection, click the arrow between two blocks to select it and press Delete. Connections live only inside the whiteboard where you drew them, so the same tasks can be dragged onto several whiteboards and connected differently on each one.
Step 4. Add projects, contacts, scripts and Planners
A mind map in Planfix holds more than tasks. On one canvas you can place tasks, contacts, employees, projects, Planners, scripts and buttons, which turns the diagram into a map of the whole process: the stage is drawn, the work behind it is linked, and the planner or script that runs it is one click away.
Step 5. Export the map as Mermaid code
Open the Whiteboard menu and select Export as file: Planfix writes the diagram out as Mermaid code, a text description you can paste into a wiki, a knowledge base, a README or a notes app, where it is rendered as a diagram again. Since Mermaid is plain text, you can also hand the exported map to an AI tool to analyze its structure and links. Import Mermaid works the other way round: the diagram from the file is added to the current Whiteboard as a separate block, and the blocks and links already there stay unchanged.
Dependencies on a mind map and in the task card
One distinction is worth keeping clear. The arrows on a mind map are a visual model of the plan: they show how work relates, and they move no dates. Scheduling links are a different mechanism — they live in the Dependencies panel of a task and affect its planned start and end dates. Use the map to agree on the shape of the project, and set up sequential tasks and task links for the chains where one task really must wait for another to finish.
Who it’s for
- Project and product managers: sketch the stages of a launch as a map, then turn the blocks into tasks without redrawing the plan elsewhere.
- Team leads: show the team how their tasks connect and keep one board as the entry point to the work.
- Process owners: draw the process once and attach the buttons and scripts that run each step.
- Analysts and consultants: brainstorm as a mind map, then export it as Mermaid code for the documentation.
FAQ
Does Planfix have a mind map tool?
Yes. The Whiteboard is the mind map view of a planner list: you add blocks, tasks and other Planfix objects to a board and connect them. It is available in the B and X plans.
Do connections on a mind map change task dates?
No. The arrows on a whiteboard are visual: they describe the plan but shift no dates. Dates are moved by links between tasks in the Dependencies panel of a task.
Can the same task appear on several mind maps?
Yes. Connections belong to the whiteboard they were drawn on, so you can drag the same tasks onto several boards and connect them differently on each one.
Map your next project before you schedule it
Pick a project that is hard to explain in a list, open its planner list as a Whiteboard and draw it: blocks for the stages, arrows for the order, tasks for the work that is already real. For another look at the same view, see how to visualize projects on a whiteboard. New to Planfix? Sign up to try it.
