Mind Mapping – Tool to productivity
- Mind Mapping
Have you ever felt the problem in organising your thoughts, plans, schedules or even identifying the problem or a solution in your personal or professional issues? Most people do fail in identifying, focusing and tracking main aspects of life at one or the other point of time. If you feel clueless about your strategies for life, this write up can serve as a pointer. Try Mind Mapping.
Actually it does not make a difference if you are an academic student, a business personal, a writer or a chef or a sports person. Mind mapping is a strategic tool. Which means that whatever be your field of interest, you can apply this technique to increase your productivity. Purpose of mind map is to give a structure to your ideas, simplify your thoughts, arrange data, brainstorm concepts and even use as a key note reminder. Scientific studies reveal amazing insights about human mind’s ability to grasp, memorise, store and retrieve information for long term. But practically speaking, most of us cannot pay minute attention to details and data, let alone recover an entire articles/book content after having a first reading or even after re-reading. Ideas that flashes to mind of creative people, including technocrats, does not stay intact unless it is scribbled out and put into words and symbols.
Few benefits of mind mapping as explained by the experts in the field are that it enables the user to have a bigger picture of complex information helping to prevent mental clutters caused due to information overload. It helps to increase concentration and reduce the time consumption while handling an already researched topic. It improves memory and clarifies goals and plans for your future. Mind maps helps in life management like managing time, events, goals, personal planning etc. It helps in academic success by problem solving and handling vast data in handy formats. It can bring out work productivity if used for planning, organising, networking and research. So, whichever field you belong, you can apply the mind map technique to your convenience.
Guidelines to your first mind map, if you are new to this concept:
1. Take a sheet of paper and few coloured pens.
2. Sketch out a reasonably identifiable central image which would carry your mind map title key word. Eg: Goal
3. Draw atleast 4 organic branches from this central image and write down the aspects that are related to your topic. Eg: Goal – personal, professional, religious and social. Use different colours to differentiate them.
4. Draw additional branches to expand the concept and always answer the following questions to create a mind map: Why, What, How, When?
5. Keep expanding until you feel that all your requirements for a reminder are contained in it and that it will serve as a sign post.
The best mind maps I could find through internet are from Adam Sicinski of IQ Matrix and Paul Foreman of Mind Map Inspiration. Browse through these webpages if you feel interested in mind mapping or if you need to learn more on mind maps. By the way, be willing to experiment and learn new things in life each day. Try not to approach anything with a preconceived notion. If you feel that all you know is enough and more then it means that there is a stunted growth. If you are willing to learn new things, more doors of knowledge and opportunities will open each day which can make your life more easy and effective. That is nature’s Law. Mindmapping is a very cool technique you can adopt using a pen and paper or Mind-map software or even a posture that you can take save or print from online sources. Where there is a will, there is a way. If you want to have a mind map, then it can be a reminder, a guide or a source for your plans in life. Choice is always yours!!
Have a productive day!!
Image Courtesy: http://iqmatrix.com/
Tags: Mind Mapping
