Have you ever started a new project and felt like you were dropped into a dense fog, unable to see more than a step ahead?
That’s how most journeys into the unknown begin, whether you’re learning a new skill, tackling a complex problem at work, or exploring a fresh domain. At first, everything is blurry and uncertain. But as you move forward, the fog lifts, revealing the landscape piece by piece.
This is how I think about building expertise: not as a sudden leap, but as a gradual act of mapping out unfamiliar territory. I call these “mental maps.”
Unlike mind maps, which are creative tools for brainstorming, mental maps are your internal compass, a living, evolving sense of where you’ve already been, what you understand, and what’s still hidden in the mist.
In this piece, I’ll share how I build my mental maps, why they matter, and how they’ve helped me transform confusion into clarity, one step at a time.
What is a mental map?
Many years ago, I was playing the game StarCraft. Each match began with the entire map shrouded in darkness and in the fog. You had no clue where the enemies lurked, where resources were hidden, or what dangers awaited. Every move your units made revealed a little more of the terrain, but also exposed you to new threats. The thrill of discovery was matched by the constant risk of the unknown.
That’s exactly what building expertise feels like to me. With every question asked and every problem solved, a bit more of the fog lifts, the map of your understanding becomes clearer and that inner compass you have about the project starts working.
Whenever I work on something, I operate like a unit moving through the map. Initially, everything is blurry and the map is foggy, I might understand the overall domain of the project, but I would hardly be able to answer questions about it. I may be able to take educated guesses based on my experience and previous knowledge, but if this is a new domain, everything will be foggy.
Whenever I encounter a problem, I dive in and start clearing away the fog. Whether I’m solving a technical challenge or trying to understand how a system works, each exploration reveals a new piece of the map.
Over time, my knowledge becomes more refined, and I start to visualize the map in my mind.
Note: I'm not good at "actual visualization" in my mind, but while I can't visualize something, I am somehow able to keep all this complexity in my mind, ready and easy to navigate as if I'm trying to remember how to get from point A to point B in my hometown.
Once I have enough awareness of the project elements, I can make quicker decisions and spot potential problems or roadblocks if we go one route versus another.
Why forming a mental map is important
Why is forming a mental map so important?
- It allows you to make faster, more confident decisions.
- You can spot potential problems or opportunities before they arise.
- It helps you communicate more clearly with your team.
I believe that the ability to visualize a project as a map, to have an internal awareness of what the project entails, is crucial for tackling complex problems.
For example, if I’m working on developing a new feature for an app, this skill gives me an intuitive understanding, within its limits, of the consequences and impacts of decisions, as well as new ways to proceed.
This intuition is instinctual, so once the map is formed, I don’t need to think about it too much. If the map wasn’t formed, I would need to explore to discover first, to have an actual understanding of what a choice would imply.
For instance, if someone asks me, “Can we have a feature that programmatically adds tasks to our board?” and I haven’t formed an opinion in my mental map, I wouldn’t be able to answer right away.
But if I already have a mental map with enough information, the answer comes instantly.
Obviously, there’s a downside: we’re not perfect, and I may be wrong (also, this kind of intuitive thinking might be reminded of System 1 thinking, from Thinking Fast and Slow, and you would be correct.).
The main advantage is having an internal overview of the project’s status and making quicker decisions.
This is why I think mental maps are extremely important for everyone. I don’t know if everyone thinks this way, but I believe it’s a valuable skill in the toolset. There will be times when you’re asked to understand where you are in your work. It might be easy to say what you’re doing now, but having a good understanding of all the things and ramifications of a project might not that quick.
In fact, sometimes you discover the gaps in your analysis only afterward because you didn’t explore or form the map properly.
Building a useful map
One approach I take to build a meaningful map is to avoid focusing on the same work repeatedly, therefore expanding my scope.
For example, if our goal, as I mentioned, was to find ways of programmatically adding tasks to the board (let’s assume we’re doing a task manager), I would move across different codebases or project areas to understand the project’s limits, boundaries, and potential issues.
Only after “navigating” the scenario, not just by skimming topics but by going into it, would I then start forming the brain connections needed to have “the map”.
Similarly, you might want to do some discovery on what approaches you could take to the scheduling of the tasks. That, again, will form a piece of the map, letting you know beforehand some of its limits or the challenges you’ll face.
Take a moment to think about your current project or role.
Where is your own mental map crystal clear, and where is it still foggy?
What’s one unexplored area you could investigate this week to expand your understanding?
Two more things
Getting the full map might not be worth your time.
We only have a limited amount of time; therefore it’s important to stay focused and prioritize properly. Whenever I try to form the map, I will focus my attention on my goal while also trying to find ways to expand my knowledge of the project, prioritizing work I’m not familiar with but that I can accomplish within the time I have.
I do this naturally because I’m curious, not because I was planning to proceed this way.
But while I was looking back at this approach I realised it was one of the principles behind how I form my mental maps.
The map is not the territory
This concept of mental maps might give you the idea that you know everything because the intuition feels instantaneous, but that doesn’t mean you’re right.
You might have not navigated all the problems, you might lack skills in some areas, or there may still be small areas of the map that are foggy.
The problem with foggy areas is that you sometimes don’t know they’re there. That’s why, when overseeing a project, it’s important to push yourself into different areas of the work. This way, you can identify possible foggy areas and recognize that there’s something you don’t know about topic X, Y, or Z, which you need to explore.
The next time you feel lost in a new project, remember: you’re not lost, you’re just mapping. The fog will clear, one step at a time.
Keep exploring.
