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I heard about Mind Maps in 1999 when I was listening to a cassette on Speed reading. Mind Mapping was given as a tool to memorize. A very basic introduction on Mind Mapping was provided which was not very helpful to me at that point in time.
After trying for a couple of weeks, I set that aside, because it was not as easy as it was explained in the audio training. Later when I got to a book store, and happened to see a book by Tony Buzan – it triggered the thoughts of what I had heard in the training program.
Reading the book was a different experience altogether. The learning was more fruitful because it clearly articulated the LAWS- based on which the Mind Mapping experience is built on. It is not just a combination of just using colours and links- but a lot more to it- which is not apparent till you read it. LAWS therefore set a context for me to maximize the returns that I could get from Mind Mapping. Based on a lot of research & feedback from thousands of people, the Laws set the basic model in place, and the rest can be improved by you as you become more and more fluent with the model. My results became a lot more positive since then.
The key laws are as follows:
Techniques
1. Use Emphasis
2. Use Association
3. Be Clear
4. Develop a personal Style
Layout
1. Use hierarchy
2. Use Numerical order
More about each of these in the coming blogs.
Till then remember, while you learn and start using Mind Maps, always, remember the basic laws on which you build your Mind Maps.. It is important to always follow the Laws to maximize the returns.
Enjoy.
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Gone are the days of leaders & followers. In today’s world, more is expected from fewer people, and to wait for a leader to give directions is futile. Every one of us should take the onus on ourselves to elevate ourselves as leaders & do things that a true leader will do. By being a leader in every aspect of what you do, we set ourselves to think and behave like a motivational leader that in turn will help the ecosystem that you work in – the company, your manager, your co-workers- and most of all yourself.
Use the Mindmapping skills & the ability to use both sides of your brain to become even more effective as a motivational leader.
This is a great article by Brian Tracy- which captures the essence of what a Motivational leader should do!
Becoming a Motivational Leader
By: Brian Tracy
Create a Big Vision
To become a motivational leader, you start with motivating yourself. You motivate yourself with a big vision, and as you move progressively toward its realization, you motivate and enthuse others to work with you to fulfill that vision.
Set High Standards
You exhibit absolute honesty and integrity with everyone in everything you do. You are the kind of person others admire and respect and want to be like. You set a standard that others aspire to. You live in truth with yourself and others so that they feel confident giving you their support and their commitment.
Face Your Fears
You demonstrate courage in everything you do by facing doubts and uncertainties and moving forward regardless. You put up a good front even when you feel anxious about the outcome. You don’t burden others with your fears and misgivings. You keep them to yourself. You constantly push yourself out of your comfort zone and in the direction of your goals. And no matter how bleak the situation might appear, you keep on keeping on with a smile.
Be Realistic About Your Situation
You are intensely realistic. You refuse to engage in mental games or self-delusion. You encourage others to be realistic and objective about their situations as well. You encourage them to realize and appreciate that there is a price to pay for everything they want. They have weaknesses that they will have to overcome, and they have standards that they will have to meet, if they want to survive and thrive in a competitive market.
Accept Responsibility
You accept complete responsibility for results. You refuse to make excuses or blame others or hold grudges against people who you feel may have wronged you. You say, "If it’s to be, it’s up to me." You repeat over and over the words, "I am responsible. I am responsible. I am responsible."
Take Vigorous Action
Finally, you take action. You know that all mental preparation and character building is merely a prelude to action. It’s not what you say but what you do that counts. The mark of the true leader is that he or she leads the action. He or she is willing to go first. He or she sets the example and acts as the role model. He or she does what he or she expects others to do.
Strive For Excellence
You become a motivational leader by motivating yourself. And you motivate yourself by striving toward excellence, by committing yourself to becoming everything you are capable of becoming. You motivate yourself by throwing your whole heart into doing your job in an excellent fashion. You motivate yourself and others by continually looking for ways to help others to improve their lives and achieve their goals. You become a motivational leader by becoming the kind of person others want to get behind and support in every way.
Your main job is to take complete control of your personal evolution and become a leader in every area of your life. You could ask for nothing more, and you should settle for nothing less.
Action Exercises
1) Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, see yourself as an outstanding person, parent, coworker and leader in everything you do. Pattern your behavior after the very best people you know. Set high standards and refuse to compromise them.
2)Second, be clear about your goals and priorities and then take action continually forward. Develop a sense of urgency. Keep moving forward and you’ll automatically keep yourself and others motivated.
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Traditional ways of taking notes which are linear is considered to be the standard way of taking notes. The traditional way of note taking has three key elements to it –
- 1. Linear Pattern – the notes are usually written in straight lines. Grammar, Chronology & sequences are typically used.
2. Symbols- more often than not, words, letters and numbers are used.
3. Analysis – Various analysis was used but its quality is ffected by the linear patterns.
However, to be effective and using the Whole Brain – the left as well as the right cortex, it should also include the following –
- Visual Rhythm
- Visual Pattern
- Colour
- Image
- Visualization
- Dimension
- Spatial Awareness
- Association
All these are important from a perspective of “Complete Learning” – which is where Mind mapping comes in.
Use Mindmap’s as a way of using your Whole Brain- which in turn is a way of you living to your full potential.
I will write more on these areas in the coming days.
Adieu for now.
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iMindmap is the “official” Mindmapping software in the market. Having used the earlier version of iMindmap, I was not sure if I wanted to try it again & after much thought (and the fact that the price was attractive), I decided to go for it.
The new iMindmap is stunning! (I wonder why the “i” in the front- as seems to be all new technology related products nowadays  ) The features are exceptional, and this has fast become my favourite tool to mindmap, and take notes on.
With a host of features designed to make the entire experience of creating a mindmap intuitive & exciting, I completely am bowled over by this product.
Some of the key differentials of this products are –
1. Voice recordings – it allows the recording of Voice in the mindmap – making it invaluable as a tool for taking notes.
2. Linking to Microsoft Office – This is a super cool feature to allow mindmaps to be transposed to Word, Excel or Powerpoint.
3. Linking it to Microsoft Project – this is a killer link- and for those who use Project extensively, this is a great tool to link the activities & thoughts to a Project template thereby making the entire process more in tune with the mindmapping exercise (read- using both sides of the brain).
Here is an example of the 7 things that I find interesting about Windows 7. Great product, even better shown on a iMindmap.
Fig 1: 7 things about Windows 7- created by iMindmap 4.1 (Oct 2009)
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In general, one of the key areas that one looks at more efficient tools is in the area of Note-taking. During a cursory look for some tools for my OneNote (this is a MS tool that is your notebook on the computer-but more of that later), I came across this tool called the Cornell Note taking methodology. I spent some trying to read up on the same, and was impressed with the simplicity of the whole thought. That led me to think of how I could incorporate a “mini-mindmap” into the methodology to make it even more relevant.
In my mind, the route to Note taking using ONLY mindmaps should be step 2- and start with the note-taking methods you are comfortable with but use Mindmaps for building your memory. Once you comfortable with the concept, then move on to creating notes using mindmaps. I realize how difficult it is at times to try to take notes only in Mindmaps when the School teacher or lecturer is making you take down notes!
The way to take the Cornell Notes is as follows:
This format provides the perfect opportunity for following through with the 5 R’s of note-taking:
- Record – During the lecture, record in the main column as many meaningful facts and ideas as you can. Write legibly.
- Reduce – As soon after as possible, summarize these facts and ideas concisely in the Cue Column. Summarizing clarifies meanings and relationships, reinforces continuity, and strengthens memory.
- Recite – Cover the Note Taking Area, using only your jottings in the Cue Column, say over the facts and ideas of the lecture as fully as you can, not mechanically, but in your own words. Then, verify what you have said.
- Reflect – Draw out opinions from your notes and use them as a starting point for your own reflections on the course and how it relates to your other courses. Reflection will help prevent ideas from being inert and soon forgotten.
- Review – Spend 10 minutes every week in quick review of your notes, and you will retain most of what you have learned.
So where does Mind mapping come in?
The Cue Columns are your key words that we use in creating mindmaps (Could be both 4 and 5 in the R’s).
Think of creating your own “mini-mindmap” here which will help you create your own unique tool to memorize the contents of the page.
Create a more detailed mindmap of the full chapter once the chapter is over- and you can review every element of the chapter easily.
Try it out.
Checkout more about this methodology here –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_Notes
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http://madmindmapper.blogspot.com/2009/09/teaching-kids-to-study-for-exams-using.html#comment-form
I saw this rather creative Mindmap while looking around the Net. The purists may argue against this following the rules of mindmapping – but to me Mindmapping is about letting your creative energies go all the way- and do it in a way that your brain finds it creative and helps you remember! From that angle, I find this brilliant. Way to go, buddy.
To me, it important to make each mindmap –
- Creative
- Colourful
- Innovative
- Memorable
- Follow the main rules- plain paper, start @ the middle etc.
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This is a wonderful article I saw earlier today in the “Life Optimizer” site – and by Amber Hensley. Great summary of what to do to ensure you study better! I want to add a couple of things (with all credit to Ms. Hensley).. After following the 8 tips, it is ideal to focus on how best to remember what you have read- and have a system of tracking and remembering what you have studied! Mindmaps are the tools that help in these cases.
Another skill that can be used to build your ability as a super student is to get into Speed Reading – but that is a different topic & I will get to it soon!
Read on- great article.
http://www.lifeoptimizer.org/2009/09/11/how-to-study-better/
By Donald Latumahina (follow me on Twitter) , September 11, 2009
Note: This is a guest post by Amber Hensley of Online College
While you might already be ahead of the game if you are studying at all, you might as well make the most of the time you spend preparing for class and ensure that all those hours you put into reviewing notes and reading chapters actually pay off. Here are some tips that can help you learn to study better and get more out of what you’re studying so you can spend less time pouring over books and more time enjoying life at school.
1. Find some peace and quiet. Studies have shown that just 20 minutes of highly focused, quiet time can help you learn and remember more than hours of working with distractions and while multi-tasking. So, to get the most out of your study time retreat to a place where you won’t be bothered by loud music or talking and can just focus in on your work.
2. Get organized. If your papers and materials are all over, you’ll spend just as much time looking for what you need as actually reading through and absorbing material which doesn’t make for a very productive use of your time. Keep one notebook just for notes for a class and ensure that all your papers are in a place you can actually locate them. It might take more planning up front but it will pay off in the long run.
3. Take breaks. Studying intensely can really take a toll on your brain and eventually make it hard for you to think clearly at all. That isn’t much of a help when you’re trying to understand difficult concepts or learn new things. Take short breaks during your study time so you can rest your eyes and mind and come back refreshed and ready to learn.
4. Have a schedule. The problem with the way that many students study is that they wait until the last minute and begin cramming the day before a big test. This really isn’t the most effective way to learn or remember new information. While it might not be fun, spending time in the weeks leading up to a test reviewing the material will be much more beneficial and might actually help you remember the material after the test as well.
5. Consider the subject. Each subject has a particular way in which it will be easiest to learn and remember. Subjects that require memorization may be more easy to learn with flashcards and timelines while subjects like math that require problem solving might be better served with doing the practice problems in your book. Spend some time figuring out just how you learn each subject best and then use that knowledge to maximize what you get out of your study sessions.
6. Study more frequently. It isn’t the duration of your study sessions that really makes a difference, it’s the frequency. You’ll learn a lot more through repetition, so break up your study time into shorter sessions every day rather than trying to cram it all in at the last minute.
7. Write it down. For most people, writing things down helps big time when it comes time to recall things on a test or even just during study time. Take notes in class and use methods that require you to do something to actively participate in learning the material– not just reading it over and over.
8. Be realistic. You’re not going to be able to memorize an entire month’s worth of material in only one night of intense studying. You likely won’t remember a good chunk of it. Be realistic in how you break up your study sessions and tackle only the amount of material that you’ll actually be able to benefit from studying– not the whole book at once.
This post was contributed by Amber Hensley, who writes about the accredited online college. She welcomes your feedback at AmberHensley1980@ yahoo.com.
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This is an excellent book if you want to follow something simple to boost your brain power. As the author says – How do you keep your brain healthy?
1. By exercising your brain regularly
2. Eat healthily
3. Sleep well.
How do you exercise your brain? This book is a collection of simple sums & other exercises (all of which are easy), that can be used to train your brain.
Dr Kawashima, who has done some intensive studies of the brain in various stages of “use”. |
He took pictures of the brain during various activities. The colors on the brain scans shows an increase in regional cerebral blood flow to areas where the brain activity is the most.
The interesting thing was the maximum effect on the brain was created when doing really simple calculation problems quickly!
Dr. Kawashima claims this improves the performance of the Brain & has experimented with a number of people on this.
I am currently working on this – and looking forward to seeing my brain improve its performance! (Something to prove my old teachers wrong!)
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Recently when talking to a friend of mine, they asked me – “What do you use Mindmapping for”?
I thought about that- and I wanted to list some of the areas that we can use Mindmaps in –
- Taking Notes- obviously.
- Brainstorming
- Learning
- Memorizing
- Presenting
- Solving Problems
- Thinking
- Meeting Notes
- Negotiating
- SWOT Analysis
- Brainstorming
- Meeting Planners
- Time Planners/ Daily Planners
- Preparing for Interviews
- Training
- etc etc.
The List goes on and on! There is nothing that you cannot use these for.
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My Goal for this Blog is – Educate you, the user, on how to Mindmap your way to success!
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Look out for more information around this- which will help you in more ways.
Any good communication needs to be 2 ways- so I appreciate any feedback you have- good or bad (especially the bad)- so that I can make my corrections accordingly.
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I am officially moving the blog from the Blogger site to my own domain. First step before I make this a more active blog.
Miles to go before I sleep… miles to go before I sleep
Thank you for your patience.
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