Seeing the Shape of Information: Mind Maps

Mind Tools Showcase #2 - 13th March 2007 This newsletter is published by Mind Tools Ltd of 2nd Floor, 145-157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PY, UK. You have received it because you have subscribed to our double opt-in newsletter. To subscribe or unsubscribe, just click the links at the bottom of this email.

Contents: The Information You Choose… Mind Mapping A Final Note

In this second issue of our tools showcase newsletter, we're bringing you one of my personal, all-time favorite tools, Mind Mapping.

I've been using Mind Maps for many years. Whether I'm looking to brainstorm new solutions, organize my ideas, or think problems through in detail, Mind Mapping is a tool that I use time and again. As such, it's a technique that is firmly part of my day-to-day way of working. If you already use Mind Maps, you'll know why I like them so much. If you don't use them, it's time to find out why you should!

Our Mind Mapping article is preceded by an illuminating "Thought for the Day" from Dianna Podmoroff in the Career Excellence Club. Information overload is something that plagues many people. Do you choose the information you use… or does it choose you?

Our showcase newsletter is all set to be a regular feature from Mind Tools. Let us know which tools help you most, and which you’d most like us to feature. We’ll do our very best to cover them!

Enjoy this tools showcase, and have an excellent week!

  

James & Rachel

James Manktelow and Rachel Thompson
MindTools.com
Mind Tools – Essential skills for an excellent career!

Thought for the Day:
Do you choose the information you need … or does it choose you?

Based on the “Thought for the Day” series by Dianna Podmoroff. Thought for the Day is a regular feature at the Mind Tools  Career Excellence Club.

The world is awash with information: The worldwide web, 24 hour news, multi-media presentations, mega-channel TV, broadcasts, narrowcasts, podcasts, 100-a-day email, 500-page reports… not to mention good old radio, books and magazines.

With all this information to choose from (and much of it seeming to choose you, whether you want it or not) your working day can become overloaded with way too much information. Do you find yourself considering every single piece of information? Do you worry that you’ll miss something important?

Finding it, sorting it, organizing it, discarding it. Evaluating it, reformatting it, not knowing what to do with it. And what time is left for the real work?

Tip: Be choosy about the information you use. Be ruthless about discarding information that chooses you, where its value is unclear. Seek out what you really need to know to do the work in hand. Find confidence in your information skills, and with it you’ll find the time to choose and use information wisely and well.

To find out about new tools on the Mind Tools site the moment they’re uploaded, click here to subscribe to the Mind Tools RSS feed (you'll need an RSS newsreader installed), or here to find out more about RSS.

Showcase Article:

Mind Maps

A Powerful Approach to Note Taking
"Mind Map" is a trade mark of the Buzan Organization

How to use tool:

Mind Mapping is an important technique that improves the way you record information, and supports and enhances your creative problem solving. By using Mind Maps, you can quickly identify and understand the structure of a subject. You can see the way that pieces of information fit together, as well as recording the raw facts contained in normal notes. More than this, Mind Maps encourage creative problem solving, as they hold information in a format that your mind finds easy to remember and quick to review.

Popularized by Tony Buzan, Mind Maps abandon the list format of conventional note taking. They do this in favor of a two-dimensional structure. A good Mind Map shows the 'shape' of the subject, the relative importance of individual points, and the way in which facts relate to one another.

Mind Maps are more compact than conventional notes, often taking up one side of paper. This helps you to make associations easily. If you find out more information after you have drawn the main Mind Map, then you can easily integrate it with little disruption.

Mind Maps are also useful for:

• Summarizing information;
  
• Consolidating information from different research sources;
• Thinking through complex problems; and
• Presenting information in a format that shows the overall structure of your subject

They are very quick to review, as you can often refresh information in your mind just by glancing at one. And in the same way, they can be effective mnemonics: Remembering the shape and structure of a Mind Map can give you the cues you need to remember the information within it. As such, they engage much more of your brain in the process of assimilating and connecting facts, compared with conventional notes.

Drawing Basic Mind Maps

The Mind Tools site was originally planned and researched using Mind Maps. They are too large to publish here, however part of one is shown below. This shows research into time management skills:

Figure 1: An Example Mind Map

To make notes on a subject using a Mind Map, draw it in the following way:

 

1. Write the title of the subject you're exploring in the center of the page, and draw a circle around it. This is shown by the circle marked 1 in Figure 1, above.
   
   
2. As you come across major subdivisions or subheadings of the topic (or important facts that relate to the subject) draw lines out from this circle. Label these lines with these subdivisions or subheadings. These are shown by the lines marked 2 in Figure 1.
   
   
3. As you "burrow" into the subject and uncover another level of information (further subheadings, or individual facts) belonging to the subheadings above, draw these as lines linked to the subheading lines. These are shown by the lines marked 3 in Figure 1.
   
   
4. Finally, for individual facts or ideas, draw lines out from the appropriate heading line and label them. These are shown by the lines marked 4 in Figure 1

As you come across new information, link it in to the Mind Map appropriately.

A complete Mind Map may have main topic lines radiating in all directions from the center. Sub-topics and facts will branch off these, like branches and twigs from the trunk of a tree. You do not need to worry about the structure produced, as this will evolve of its own accord.

Note that the idea of numbered 'levels' in Figure 1 is only used to help show how the Mind Map was created. All we are showing is that major headings radiate from the center, with lower level headings and facts branching off from the higher level headings.

While drawing Mind Maps by hand is appropriate in many cases, software tools like MindGenius improve the process by helping to you to produce high quality Concept Maps, which can easily be edited and redrafted.

Improving your Mind Maps

Your Mind Maps are your own property: once you understand how to make notes in the Mind Map format, you can develop your own conventions to take them further. The following suggestions may help to increase their effectiveness:

• Use single words or simple phrases for information: Most words in normal writing are padding, as they ensure that facts are conveyed in the correct context, and in a format that is pleasant to read. In your own Mind Maps, single strong words and meaningful phrases can convey the same meaning more potently. Excess words just clutter the Mind Map.
  
  
• Print words: Joined up or indistinct writing can be more difficult to read.
  
  
• Use color to separate different ideas:
  This will help you to separate ideas where necessary. It also helps you to visualize of the Mind Map for recall. Color also helps to show the organization of the subject.
  
  
• Use symbols and images:
  Where a symbol or picture means something to you, use it. Pictures can help you to remember information more effectively than words.
  
  
• Using cross-linkages:
  Information in one part of the Mind Map may relate to another part. Here you can draw in lines to show the cross-linkages. This helps you to see how one part of the subject affects another.

Key points:

Mind Mapping is an extremely effective method of taking notes. Mind Maps show not only facts, but also the overall structure of a subject and the relative importance of individual parts of it. They help you to associate ideas and make connections that might not otherwise make.

If you do any form of research or note taking, try experimenting with Mind Maps. You will find them surprisingly effective!

The Mind Tools Store:

• The Career Excellence Club (The Mind Tools members area): Make career development and every-day part of your life with member-only discussion forums, the Mind Tools Extended Toolk it, downloadable MP3-based Book Insights and Interviews, regular coaching, training, and much, much more. More >>
  
• Make Time for Success: If you feel overloaded and out of control, you'll love Make Time for Success! Learn the 39 essential personal effectiveness techniques that help you bring your workload under control and maximize your productivity, so that you can make the most of the opportunities open to you. More >>
  
  
• How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You: Learn the 48 simple but essential skills you need to create an inspiring vision of the future, get the very best from your team, and become a top leader in your industry. More >>

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A Final Note From James

If you haven't used Mind Maps before, I really do encourage you to try them out: They're incredibly useful as a way of building up a really strong, integrated "picture" of a subject, and of the way that facts fit together. As an example of this, why not draw a Mind Map to explore a topic you're researching, think about a report you're analyzing, or record a training session you're attending? You'll wonder how you did without them!

And of course, we’ll be back next week with our regular newsletter, featuring a new-to-mindtools technique that helps you make sure you're asking the right questions, and a popular "big picture" strategy tool that helps you think in an international context. More about these in seven days time!

Have an excellent week!

James

James Manktelow

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Essential Skills for an Excellent Career!

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