Free your head: what is a mind map for and how to draw it correctly

A mind map is a tool for taking notes from lectures, books, and speeches, as well as for planning any action and structuring all thoughts. Working with a map saves time, organizes data and allows you to look at your own thoughts from the outside. We tell you how to correctly compose a MindMap.

A lot of information – one thought map

Mind maps, memory maps, mind maps, mental maps – all these are different names for one tool – Mindmap (from the English words mind – mind and map – map).

A mind map is an easy way to process a lot of information. It is a versatile tool for business, education, or creating your own information product. And this is not a complete list of areas where Mindmap can be applied.

Mind Map :

A place where the chaos of creativity meets the order of planning

"What are these cards for?"

Outline a speech or lecture, plan certain actions, create a video plan. What else? Mind maps are used to work on understanding complex ideas, to plan a project.
Use the Mindmap as a creative tool. For example, in order to come up with some kind of story or fairy tale with children. Or to structure the storyline of a novel, if you're a writer. There are exactly as many options for using a thought map as you have thoughts.

How to become a professional cartographer of your own thoughts

Not many people know about Mindmap, and even fewer know how to use it correctly. Therefore, we decided to tell you in detail how to use this tool.

How do mind maps outperform the classic outline?

Take a look at the usual classic abstract:

What are its benefits? Writing a summary is easy. While writing, we use our visual, auditory, and also muscle memory.

“What are the main shortcomings of the abstract?"

It is believed that monotony and unnecessary information deprive the abstract of functionality.

• It is written quickly, remembered for a long time. Yes, writing a summary is not difficult. But it is much more difficult to turn to him later, to quickly recall the information. Why is this happening? Because you are "laying sheets" from the text.
  Despite the fact that when writing you use several systems of perception at once, you can't always pick out the main thing “on the go”. Yes, we can use big headings, subheadings, use text selection. But when we write the abstract itself, it is not always easy to understand where the heading begins and where a certain new part of the lecture begins and to “react in writing” to the transition from one part to another.
  Because of this, the structure of the abstract turns out to be “monotonous”, it is inconvenient to read and work with it. This is also called "text sheet".
• Another drawback is the presence of a large number of unnecessary details. In the course of taking notes, it is not always clear when to omit certain points.
• Handwritten text cannot be synced across devices.
  For example, you are reviewing a book. Later, you refer to what was written, but if the book was large, it will be difficult to look for a certain type of information. In addition, there are other features of handwriting. If you write carefully, then there will be no problems reading the notes. But if your handwriting is not neat, you will most likely have to deal with deciphering the characters.

Thought map – features of the structure of records

Mind maps look different, but all records follow the same principle – from the main to the secondary.

In smart cards, writing occurs radially. All entries are created according to the principle of a tree – from the trunk (the main central idea, task or thought) the particulars of what was conceived branch out.

Thoughts are all at a glance

The biggest advantage of the map is that you can always take a look at it and immediately understand what it is about. If you've created an outline of a large book in MindMap, finding the information you need is faster than if you were flipping through a handwritten outline.

Mind maps are indefinite

If you use maps to work with large books or create lecture notes, you can easily refer to them even after several years.

Note: Create an archive of your maps. If you need information after a long time, you can open the map, drill down on the desired fragment and find information. It is one of the fastest search methods and one of the most convenient tools for storing personal data.

Make the complex simple

Mind map: the process of creating an accurate map

Everything is simple. If there is an idea or a project that seems complex and confusing, then you can “unravel” it by decomposing the available data in the form of a mind map. How to do it?

In the center, place the final definite result – your goal. Start thinking, ask yourself the question – "What is needed in order for this result to materialize?"

Step by step, from thought to thought, the hierarchical tree grows. The larger its crown, the better it is possible to discern the ways to achieve the main goal.

How to use mind maps

Initially, memory cards were built exclusively on paper. The author of this technique, Tony Buzan, a British writer, recommended creating maps on sheets of A3 paper. He suggested taking as many sheets of this format as possible, focusing on the main idea, and starting to paint this idea. Moreover, paint with your hands, try to make sure that there is one word on one branch, do not circle these words in circles, rectangles or other shapes, but try to build neat branches.

At the same time, use different colors for different branches. And use many different icons and symbols. Move from the general to the specific.

Fortune telling by MindMap:

Find out how well you understand your tasks, ideas and plans

If the final result turned out to be clumsy, unsightly, crumpled, with a preponderance of branches in one direction, this means that the idea has not yet been worked out and is raw. Do not despair. Collect more information, try to make a new map.

If the map fits well on the sheet, then you are well versed in your topic. Building a paper map is also useful because by creating it with your hands you make physical contact with the project. It also allows you to look at the task in a different plane – without limiting yourself to the monitor screen and keyboard control.

Not always an ugly map means a crude idea. Sometimes it's just a lack of MindMap skills.