Have you ever had so many thoughts swirling through your head that it actually felt crowded? Me too! Today I’m going to tell you about a tool that will help you organize your thoughts and ideas, regulate your mood and provide clarity? What is this magic tool? MIND MAPS!!
What are Mind Maps?
Mind Maps are a visual way to organize concepts and ideas so that you can see a complete overview of all your information. It uses spatial organization, color, and images to break down topics.
You may have also heard the terms “concept maps” or “spider diagrams”, the primary difference between mind maps and these two terms is rigidity. Mind Maps have specific rules on how they need to be structured. However, they are essentially the same thing.
3 key characteristics of a Mind Map
- There is one key concept which can be a word, key phrase, or image.
- From the key concept/image radiate out branches each of which contains another key concept (a subcategory of the main concept). These are called Basic Organization Ideas (BOIs).
- Attached to these main branches are other branches which represent less important ideas (subcategories/additional details for the BOIs)
Why Should You Use Mind Maps?
Think quickly and visually
Spider diagrams and mind maps are quick and simple to make. They are easy for our brains to understand because they closely mirror how our brains are structured.
Increase Focus and Comprehension
A mind map forces you to focus on the predominant topic and review existing knowledge as you organize it. If you struggle with certain topics, then you know what you still need to learn or study.
Spark Creativity:
While making a mind map you are using both sides of your brain and you are actively sorting through information. This allows you to make new connections and ideas and it also increases your understanding.
Remember more
These diagrams are memorable thanks to their colors, pictures, simple keywords, and spatial structure. Plus, the act of building a spider diagram helps you more easily recall the information.
Integrate thoughts and feelings
Remember the video and blog post I made about using bilateral stimulation to regulate emotions and calm down? Well, because mind mapping uses both sides of your brain, it actually helps regulate your emotions and integrate thoughts and feelings.
How to Make a Mind Map
Step 1 – Determine your main idea.
Step 2 – Create the basic structure for organizing your ideas:
The main branches and are known as the Basic Organizing Ideas (BOIs) and are represented by branches radiating outwards from the main concept.
Step 3 – Put down keywords associated with the BOIs, which should sit on smaller branches connected to the main branch.
Step 4 – Revisit your mind map, putting things in order, and numbering the branches. If necessary, revise it on another piece of paper.
Tips and Techniques
- Hierarchy and association – Your main branches are connected to the main idea with thick lines, subcategories have thinner lines.
- Images and color – they will stimulate your brain’s visual and creative capacity and help you have fun along the way!
- Keywords– Keywords are easier to remember than phrases.
- Symbols and codes– symbols and codes are often quicker to draw than keywords. As a result, ideas will flow more freely.
- Annotate your mind map – write references to other sources in a different color pen.
- Use arrows to denote links between ideas.
- Draw quickly and uncritically on a sheet of large paper.
- Review and revise your mind map after you have completed your first attempt, not immediately, but once your thoughts have had time to “settle”.
- Make it your own– adopt a personal style and to have fun creating your mind maps, and deliberately attempt to make them as beautiful as possible.
What can Mind Maps be used for?
Writing: Create an overview of your subject matter and sort through your best ideas while also facilitating the discovery of new ones.
You can also use it to organize your final ideas to streamline the writing process.
Studying: Mind maps help you to understand and stay accountable for what you already know. The areas where the web diagram is hard to fill out indicate where you need to study harder. The act of creating a spider diagram will help you recall the information later on.
Brainstorming: Get your creative juices flowing by throwing out any and all ideas and organizing them in a spider diagram.
Note taking: Make sense of the information you read or hear by putting your notes in a spider diagram, making it more digestible and memorable.
It is similar as a technique to concept mapping and spider diagrams, the difference being that true mind mapping involves constructing a hierarchy of ideas instead of pure random association.
Mind maps, concept maps and spider diagrams can be used for just about anything. The next time your mind is swirling this ideas or thoughts, try a mind map. It will provide a lot of clarity.
