Mind Map - The Magic of Visual Thinking !

Have you ever found yourself short of 

• being innovative and generating new ideas ?
• finding creative solutions to things ?
• managing time effectively ?
• setting and achieving goals ?
• maintaining work-life balance ? 
• planning (effectively)for something extremely important ?
• remembering and recalling important information (timely)
• gaining clarity on the relationship between the big picture and the small elements that make that picture

If your answer is "yes" to any of the above, then it's time to ponder over these 2 questions

• what effect/ impact it could have on me if i leave any of the above task/ activity unaddressed ? 
• is something amiss with my approach and how could i improve it ? 

Lets try and connect the dots to get a clear picture - thoughts are integral to us (we get plenty of them each day, to the tune of about 50,000 per day) and each of the above mentioned item has an

associated thought (thoughts) residing in our brain. Somehow, the brain is unable to effectively process it and provide better results to us. 

Wouldn't you feel elated, if i share with you about a simple yet powerful tool/ technique that could help us constructively deal with the barrage of thoughts and convert it into outcomes that are more clear, concrete and actionable. This then leads to a life which is in better control and well balanced.

Before i talk about the tool, let me share the two steps that help us move from a cluttered state to a clear state.

1. Shifting the thoughts clogging our brain to an outside storage.

2. Creating/ Making sense of the dumped thoughts (here the "dumped" connotes those that have been copied/ moved out from our brain to an external storage)

The first step we addressed through the Brain Dump technique taken up by me in my previous post  (Related Post : Brain Dump - Declogging A Cluttered Mind )

The second step is where this tool, that i am going to talk about, makes a huge difference. This tool holds the capability to connect the dots, identify and organise related thoughts and then put them together to create sense and meaning. In a nutshell, the tools enables the brain to function more effectively because it presents the brain with all the information in the way the brain prefers. The tool is MIND MAP.  Let's delve deep into the tool

Here's sharing with you, in this post, about a tool that not only organises the information into a more appealing visual form but also ensures that the brain functions most effectively. The tool is quite popular and known as MIND MAP.  The need to share about this tool because of our inability to organise the thoughts properly into an appealing form for the brain. Let's delve deep into the tool

Definition and Background

I will mention few simple ones for sake of building clarity about the tool.

Mind Map is a 

• visual tool that maps out our thoughts in an organised and structured manner
• graphic tool/ technique to visually organise and structure information to make it easy for us to comprehend, remember and recall the information.  
• visual thinking tool that helps structuring information for easy analysis and recall
• graphical/ visual way to represent ideas, concepts and tasks  

Mind Map was invented by Tony Buzan, a British psychologist, Writer, "Memory" guru (if i can call him so !) and Mental Literacy Specialist . Mind Maps were formally introduced in the year 1974 with the publication of the book "Use Your Head". The Mind Map technique was borne out of the need for a more effective way, based on the principles of Brain, to enable better learning and thinking.

Why Mind Map ?

Mind Map helps in learning, organising and storing information. 

The most important reason for using Mind Map is to effectively utilise our brain by way of 

• activating our "whole brain"
• decluttering our brain
• building focus/ better focus 
• presenting the "big picture"
• establishing connection between discrete pieces of information
• making us more creative
• rendering us more productive
• improving our remembering and recall of information
• and plenty more 

What makes Mind Map effective ?

The key reason Mind Map is effective because it works like the human brain while organising/ structuring information. The Mind Map is based on the concept of Radiant Thinking, an instinctive way of developing and defining ideas in the mind. According to Tony Buzan, the neurons in the brain work on the principles of connection/ association, and that's exactly what gets manifested in Mind Maps. Each neuron has a vast number of dendrites reaching out and establishing association with
other neurons. The possible number of associations is unlimited. Likewise, Each bit of information that enters our brain becomes a central point from which emerge (radiate) millions of associations that further may establish infinite links and connections. 

In case of Mind Map too, the main themes span out as branches from the central image (of the subject/ topic). These branches represent the key themes associated with the main topic(central image). These theme branches further extend to create more associations and this goes on this way.

This is how Mind Maps use the concept of Radiant Thinking.

Essential Characteristics of Mind Map (Sourced from The Mind Map Book - Tony Buzan)

• The main subject/ topic is displayed through a central image
• The key themes of the subject/ topic emerge (radiate) from the central image as branches
• Branches comprise of key image or key word mentioned on the association line
• Branches form a connected nodal structure

Key Elements of a Mind Map 

Always, remember that brain has a natural aptitude for visual recognition and Mind Map is all about memory and learning, therefore the elements should accelerate the process.

 

The four key elements are 

• Images (Central Image and other Branch Images)
• Lines (Curved and different sized lines for emphasis)
• Words (Single Key words)
• Colors (to make the map visually appealing)

Drawing/ Making a Mind Map

Material Needed - Just 2 things are required 1. Plain Paper of  min. A4 size (the bigger the paper size, the better the mind map) and 2. Color pencil/ color/ multicolor pen/ highlighter/ anything that can provide color to the mind map  

Steps : 

• Start at the Center 
• Draw/ Use an Image or Picture
• Draw the Main Branches
• Make the Branches big and curved
• Use single key word per association line (branch line, sub branch line, and so on..)
• Use colors throughout wherever possible (maybe to write, draw, highlight, underline, etc.)
• Keep it free flow because that's what the structure and intent of the Mind Map is

Precautions during drawing the Mind Map

• Always have one subject/ topic for the Mind Map. We can't have 2 topics in a single mind map
• Always start from the center to keep it aligned with the concept of Radiant Thinking
• Use a big plain paper (the bigger, the better) for drawing the Mind Map
• Initially, when new to Mind Map, limit the number of branches to 5 or 6
• Ensure each branch has a single Key Word
• Have only 3 to 4 sub-branch levels
• Place as many images as possible on the branches of the Mind Map and the Mind Map, per se.

Application of the Mind Map

Mind Maps is useful in almost all areas of our Personal and Professional Sphere. Few examples are

• Personal goal-setting
• Life Planning
• Business Planning
• Preparing a Lesson Plan
• Preparing and Delivering Presentations
• Storytelling
• Decision-Making
• Problem Solving
• Self-Analysis
• Brainstorming (individual and group)
• Study Notes
• and so many more

In case, you prefer an digital version of Mind Map, there are plenty of options available, for both online and downloadable. There are free versions as well as paid versions available. I worked a lot on Freemind when i started Mind Mapping, maybe because the tool was free (in fact an open source tool). You may check the list of some of the softwares at Mind Mapping Softwares.

In case, you do not want to draw your own mind map, then there are plenty of free Mind Map templates available on internet for downloading. Even the mind map softwares also have a repository of templates for use.

In case you would be keen to have a look to few of the wonderful books on the subject then click on the following links : Mind Map and Mind Map Mastery

Before i end this post, here's sharing one of the mind maps that i created for this blog post :) - (still learning the nuances)

So guys, let your creative juices flow and it's time to go Mind Mapping :) 

N.B. - The images used in this post/ article have been sourced from the internet. 

The post also contains some affiliate links and i may earn some commission for my endorsement, testimonial, and/ or link to any product or service from this post  

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