Anyone use Mindmaps?

[Susie]

I love the idea of mind-mapping, but whenever I've done it, it doesn't seem particularly helpful or useful. I'm like, "okay, I'm writing things down, putting circles around them and drawing branches...so?" I just don't get it!

Maybe I need to go read up on it again and give it another shot?

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Susie

I love the idea of mind-mapping, but whenever I've done it, it doesn't seem particularly helpful or useful. I'm like, "okay, I'm writing things down, putting circles around them and drawing branches...so?" I just don't get it!

Maybe I need to go read up on it again and give it another shot?

I've found that as a very visual person, mindmaps are a greater help for me than normal note-taking methods, it seems to simulate the way the brain naturally works than an outlining format.

I've found mindmaps excellent for note-taking, clarifying concepts, brainstorming, getting my thoughts into order.

Maybe you could give it a shot, I find that mindmaps are much easier to pick up learning from someone who already does it well, compared to learning it from a book. You know anyone...?

At the same time, I'd say if it doesn't work for you, don't sweat it. No method is the be-all and end-all, you might find another way that suits you even better.

[Ellesse]

A year ago, when I first started to read about Tony Buzan's mind mapping concept in his books, I wasn't as impressed. But after going through a few practical sessions with the trainer in a mind mapping workshop, I started to appreciate its benefits. I realise the more I practice, bearing the rules of mind mapping, the more useful I find it to be..., not only in brainstorming, but good for goal setting and time management too.

My to-do list(s) are now replaced by a single piece of mindmap

[dor]

I am reading up on them now...some of the claims (right brain left brain) seem a bit outdated but I like the general idea of just being freed from the concept notes must be linear - and if they're not you're not organized and if you're not organized...well you get the picture...

I think i will go through the excercises and probably develop my own style rather than just directly follow it ... but for now I will listen to the master...

[MGJ]

I did a brief write up on them today in my blog. There's also a link in my article to another blog that has some more info. I use the process, but I will say, it took me a while to get the hang of it and develop my own personal style with them.

[dor]

Originally Posted by MGJ

I did a brief write up on them today in my blog. There's also a link in my article to another blog that has some more info. I use the process, but I will say, it took me a while to get the hang of it and develop my own personal style with them.

thanks i glanced over it and will read it in full later....nice blog too i have put it on my list of ones i look at every day....
upcomging articles is a good idea. as is the video section...

[and]

Mindmanager has worked for me before and I use it several times a year to really map out whatever it is I'm working at. Software is the way to go, or else get a really big poster board (which you still can't edit).

[RT Wolf]

I just got this tip from a friend: a cheap dry erase board can be made by using something called "melomeen" (sp?). The stuff is ridiculously cheap, and usually used for bathroom walls and waterproof. I'm gonna get some and cover my whole wall. Grab some dry erase markers, just use a 50-50 diluted bleach (or clorex) solution to clean it off. Have fun!

[Razo]

I love mind mapping, as some have said there are times that the whole things gets messy or tricky, but in the end its usually pretty useful. If you want a great free mind mapping app that you can use anytime, i highly recommend you try

www.bubbl.us

It's as easy as it is useful, give it a try!

[dor]

I saw this 60 minutes on the savant guy
Brain Man, One Man's Gift May Be The Key To Better Understanding The Brain - CBS News
who could recite pi to 10,000 places or something....one interesting thing is that he said he didn't memorize numbers but 'saw' them as colored landscapes - I think this lends some legitimacy to mind map theories. ...the brain thinks in pictures..

[Gene]

Originally Posted by dor

I saw this 60 minutes on the savant guy
Brain Man, One Man's Gift May Be The Key To Better Understanding The Brain - CBS News
who could recite pi to 10,000 places or something....one interesting thing is that he said he didn't memorize numbers but 'saw' them as colored landscapes - I think this lends some legitimacy to mind map theories. ...the brain thinks in pictures..

I saw the show you mentioned on CBS and purchased the book about him, "Born On A Blue Day" which is well worth reading.

[dor]

Originally Posted by Gene

I saw the show you mentioned on CBS and purchased the book about him, "Born On A Blue Day" which is well worth reading.

here is a passage from the book
ABC News: Excerpt: "Born on a Blue Day," by Daniel Tammet

it makes me wonder about two things:
"Scientists call my visual, emotional experience of numbers synesthesia, a rare neurological mixing of the senses"
is it a 'mixing' or just being able to sense the same universal truth - are numbers, colors, music, ect a reflection of some universal perfection? - also he says that he sees some numbers as big , some as small, some as pretty some as ugly - would/is this universal - would i see the same numbers that way? and going back to mind maps - are mindmaps highly personal - so that, say mine wouldn't help someone else?

[searstower]

Here's another option for mind mapping without having to worry much about space. I bought a $20 2'x4' whiteboard at Target with thin-tipped multi-colored markers.

When I mind map, I'm free to color code and spread out as much as I like. When I'm done, I snap a picture of the map on my camera or Palm and sync it to my computer.

I haven't found the software to work very well for me, partly because I use a small screened laptop (so there is the space issue) and partly because when I get stumped, I need to get away from my computer to get unstuck.

What can I say, I'm a kinestetic learner!

Oh, I do my Photoreading MM for books on one or two sheets of paper though, so that I can keep the notes folded up inside the cover of the book.

Rebecca

[Marc Greve]

A couple of months ago I intended to find a book that would change my mind and my life. The next day I went into a bookstore here in New Zealand and spent an hour and a half reading a book by Tony Buzan on mindmapping, creative and verbal intelligence. I felt a very strong connection with the book and the entire scene (completely forgot I was in a bookstore, I'd just sat down on the floor and read).

What was interesting however was the results of my mindmapping. I began thinking MUCH faster. Before I was sub-vocalizing every thought to myself, but reviewing my mindmaps regularly made me see visual "pathways" and branches of the interconnection of subjects I was thinking about.
I will then literally, in my mind's eye, race through the branches at incredible speeds and come up with new great ideas.

Also - a useful thing for the kinesthetic people;
When reviewing mindmaps trace your hand under the branches as you're looking at them and really get into it. Start rubbing the pages. Does wonders for your focus and recall.

Some people who've participated in this thread do not seem all too clear on what mindmaps are, or perhaps they've been shown some horrible example in elementary school of it (ie. boxes with keywords connected by straight lines), so here's a link to some good samples:

Buzan Centre Australia : Mind Map Gallery

[dadeon]

mindmapping is a great tool for helping you think. Since we think in terms of images it only makes sense to visualize your thoughts. It's a great way to develop ideas, stay organized and generally be more productive. Highly recommended