New Discovery: Mind-mapping
I recently made the discovery of mind-mapping thanks to some coworkers and don’t get how I could have functioned all these years without this very valuable technique. I’ve always been a doodler and often prefer to jot thoughts down by hand before transcribing them, but I never really had a method for doing it and for structuring my thoughts. So, it may be old news to you, but its a revelation to me. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I finally have a way to thoroughly spit out every thought that goes through my head centered around a specific topic and then once I’ve got everything off my chest, I can now structure it so that it can make sense. I can even take the inapplicable stuff and categorize it as “not the point” or “maybe another day”. Once complete, the mind map becomes the outline to anything you can imagine: a written essay, a drawing, a business plan, a problem, a brainstorming session, etc.
The Technique
So apparently, mind mapping has existed for centuries and is quite a well-known technique. So one question: why am I only finding out about this now? Better late than never I suppose. So what is mind mapping? The basic idea is that you put the main topic/word in the middle and then you add branches as new related thoughts pop into your head.
A drawn mind map can end up looking like this (courtesy of http://www.aranyadesigns.co.uk):
Mind mapping is a technique that allows you to think creatively in a non-linear manner and without censoring. For example, we often have a hard time to begin writing because we spend too much time re-reading ourselves, correcting ourselves, making sure everything is “perfect”, only to end up with something that isn’t quite as clear as we would have wished. With mind-mapping, you don’t have to worry about that. You can write anything you want even if it is the most pointless unrelated thing. You worry about editing later if you need to edit. Some mind maps are not meant to be edited. It depends what your purpose is.
The Tools
You don’t need more than your brain, a pen and a sheet of paper to draw a mind map, but there are many online mind mapping tools available. The advantage of these online tools is that they permit you to easily re-structure and move around thoughts (without having to re-draw) as well as easily collaborate on a mind map concurrently. I haven’t tried many but have been recommended to use MindMeister and so far have been very satisfied (it is not free but there is a free trial with a 6 map maximum).
Conclusion
I have just started mind mapping and have yet to develop this skill. Like all things, practice is key. The more you mind map the better you get at it. I strongly suggest it to everyone. It can be applied to virtually anything. To get started, I recommend reading Tony Buzan. Buzan claims to be the inventor of Mind Maps. I don’t know about that but will give credit to this site which has lots of examples: http://www.buzanworld.com/Mind_Maps.htm
Happy Mind Mapping!!
