Great Minds Think Alike

Do you know what mind mapping is?

It turns out that our brains don't store whole paragraphs of information.

Why is that?

We're human, and our expectations can be misguided or unrealistic because we can presume that we are looking into the mirror when speaking to someone.

But we're not.

Instead, we all individually store images, key ideas, and the connections between what we're learning and what we have already learned.

That's where mind mapping comes in.

Mind mapping reflects how our brains store information better than traditional note-taking because you only write keywords or short phrases.

Those keywords and phrases trigger the main idea, so you pay attention to what you're reading or hearing.

And because you're only writing what is most important to you concerning the big idea, you can quickly think about the topic more easily later on.

It's a very productive way to take notes useful for school, business, or problem-solving.

So when I recently went through this exercise with a professional, I first thought of sharing this wonderfully impactful practice with you so that you, too, can apply this framework to your typical practices.

So for the uninitiated, here's how you can create your mind map:

STEP ONE: Take a piece of paper and write the topic in the center horizontally.

- The topic could be the title of a book you must write a report about.

- It could be the name of the person that you're listening to.

- It could be the question that you're brainstorming the answer to.

STEP TWO: write your keywords and phrases linearly from the center and the connections between them and the main topic.

- The best part about this is that mind mapping is entirely personable for you.

- It helps you learn and understand much more efficiently because you're not simply transcribing what the book or speaker is saying.

STEP THREE: connect main branches to the central topic or images.

- You learn by actively thinking about the relationships between the keywords and the main topic.

So, keep this practice in mind the next time you have to take notes.