What is mind mapping?

You might remember mind mapping from your grade-school days. Schools seem to call it spider charts, brainstorm webs, or bubble webs.  It’s all the same concept.

A mind map is a diagram. It usually starts with a main topic in the center of the page. The main topic branches out into sub-topics which present other ideas or details relating to the main topic. This  can be really fun, and could go on for days, literally.

Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, organize, structure, and classify your ideas.

mindmaps help your mind

Know the Roots

• the earliest examples of mind maps were developed by Porphyry of Tyros
• more recently, Tony Buzan has developed mindmapping techniques and written endless literature about the phenomenal technique.
• Mindmapping is a good exercise for using “whole brain” thinking, instead of using one side of the brain more dominantly. The left brain thinks in words as the right brain thinks in images.
  

My Recent Insight

Okay, this is really simple.. yet really powerful.Any time you’re with a person or group of people, and you would like to get more clear on a project, plan out a trip, develop a list, etc.. this technique can come in handy. All you do is start a mindmap with the main topic according to what you’d like to focus on, pass the mindmap around the circle letting everybody add a new bubble to the mindmap. By the time the mindmap goes around the circle 3 times, numerous new ideas are displayed that you may have never thought of. This timeless exercise creates a true flow of synergy.

• Download a MindMapping Software
  There are tons of mindmap programs out here on the internet.
  Here are a few I’ve used and recommend:
  • NovaMind
  • Mindomo
  • FreeMind