I use FreeMind for mind-mapping. It's VERY easy to outline with it, after you pick up the basics on how to add, remove, edit and move "nodes." I generally start my outlines on paper, just scribbling notes, and then put all the details in when I mind-map it.

MindNote Pro for Macbook Pro. But mostly i use it for brainstorming. For outline i use Excel and *gasps* Stickies/Desk ;)

I've mentioned freemind here on a number of occasions, and it's one of my few indispensable applications. I use it in the opposite way to Michael: in my day job, I've found it to be a very effective way to write down notes during a meeting, capturing *everything* so I don't miss a detail, and then rearrange everything afterwards so I have a coherent set of notes (and far more effective than my old way of just writing stuff down on a pad of paper) I use the same methodology the same with my screenwriting. A couple of points: First, I made a few templates for myself that outline the basic structure of a screenplay (3 acts + incident points for a feature, 5/6 acts for a tv script, 2 acts + teaser & tag for a sitcom, etc...) plus characters, loglines, notes, etc... (If you wanted to, you could just go full Syd Field, just block out 40 cards and work that way.) When I start a new project, I'll generally use one of these templates, and work to that. For tv in particular, it's a great way to ensure you hit all your beats and modulate/pace the tension in your script. Secondly, in my case I have a level of nodes that define my major scenes, and I'll color/annotate them or add a child node to determine which characters are in the scene or the scene is about. The only thing Freemind is missing is a timeline tool, but it's easy to export a freemind file to excel.

I've also started playing with Dragon Dictate, a speech recognition/dictation system.

I use Scrivener and I'm never looking back. Weird thing is - It seems custom made for Scott's approach to writing. It's fully compatible with Final Draft. In fact whenever I finish a session I export to final draft as a backup. The formatting is perfect. My favorite feature is called "composition mode" and what it does is hide everything but your script with the touch of a button so you're writing against a black background. This software is truly remarkable and will free any creative persons mind that a jumble of ideas. You really have to check it out. The iPad version is in the works too. Plus - 47 bucks is all it costs! http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php

For general note taking, I've become a big fan of Evernote. They have apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad, so I have access to notes and photos anywhere I go. For writing, I use Scrivener a lot. Great program. Very flexible. StoryMill is very similar to Scrivener and I think I'd give StoryMill the nod if you just want to write a novel. If you're taking part in Nanowrimo, StoryMill includes a word count bar so each day you can see how much progress you've made. You can set the bar to whatever word count you want to meet. I've long been a user of MacJournal for just general journaling. I find it useful to just sit and pour thoughts out of my head each day, to help clear it. If you write alone, it can function a little like a meeting with another person. I've been using MacJournal for something close to ten years. Another great program for writers. StoryMill, Scrivener, and MacJournal all have full screen modes. Users of Lion can get full screen mode in a wider range of programs, but if you haven't made the jump, full screen mode really helps you focus. In fact, full screen mode reminds me of the very first word processor I ever used, WordPerfect 5.1. That was the best program ever. You opened up to an empty screen, like a blank sheet of paper. No menus. No distractions. Almost Zen-like.

I'm with Michael on his Scrivener recommendation. I'm an Architect by day, working on my first novel. I discovered Literature & Latte's software last November during National Novel Writing Month. Some year I may try it screenwriting mode!

I use The Pomodoro Technique and it is really good for me, since I work from home. It is a great technique for people like me that can be distracted easily ;)

Another vote for Scrivener here. I use it to keep my online research, outlines, rough drafts and bible for a project in one place. I'll write out scenes and sequences in rough using Scrivener's screenwriting function, then collate them into a (very rough) first draft and export them into Final Draft, to work on the screenplay proper. I've also adapted Mike Jones' "Series Development Bible" for CeltX, for use in Scrivener. You can download it from my public Dropbox folder with this link: http://db.tt/Q8RIk7gb

I'm pretty much a low-tech, pen-and-paper, person. I do use the iPhone app A Novel Idea to collate ideas when I'm on the move. Other than that, I use the excellent Scrivener (see above) and the Index Cards app (http://www.denvog.com/iphone/IndexCard/) on my iPad, for outlining when I don't have my corkboard with me as it's compatible with Scrivener's index card function. I've found CeltX to be an excellent piece of software. It combines a pre-production suite, storyboarding, blocking design, and screenwriting package for free.