You don’t know the concept? “Mind maps are tools for the brain that capture the thoughts that are going on in your head, and they help you think, collect knowledge, remember and create ideas,” said Cynthia Halow, founder of Personality Max, one on in-depth personality tests and reports. Mind maps can help you be more productive and structured, so they’re worth a try if you’re stuck with writer’s block or a problem that you can’t seem to fully resolve.

At their core, mind maps help to generate new ideas from a key concept. “It is usually very helpful to analyze a topic thoroughly by putting various other connections in it, and it usually makes you a better thinker,” said Nereida Gonzalez-Berrios, MD, a nationally recognized psychiatrist.

With their help, you can instantly gather more information, remember, and come up with new ideas. The first step is to find a topic. “From this central theme, associations radiate to form new ideas and thoughts, and our brain works with imagination and associations, linking one main concept with many other small ones,” says Dr. Gonzalez Berrios.

Why use mind maps?

“We often find that we cannot organize our thoughts and take action based on them,” says Halow. A mind map can serve as a guide for you to improve your organizational skills, to solve problems better, and to structure a means of achieving your goals.

Mind mapping links key concepts on the topic through various images, lines, bubbles and links. “The human mind has a tendency to remember things that it thinks are fun and interesting,” says Halow. So, you can maximize results by choosing and designing mind maps that incorporate the use of colors, images, and keywords, all of which can help improve thinking, analysis, and memory performance.

Do Mind Maps Really Work?

“From my personal experience and my experience with people, I’ve worked, yes, if you wish,” says Halow. As with anything, you need to make an effort to get results.

Dr. Gonzalez-Barrios agrees. “Mind map ideas and templates help to summarize and visually organize information to show the relationship of the sub-parts to the core topic and the other various sub-parts, and help develop new ideas and generate more knowledge on the central topic,” he says. “This method stimulates our brain to memorize complex information by recording the most important points and basic concepts on a core topic.”

However, it is not done in enumerated or list format, which is the key. “It is a visual thinking tool that promotes structuring concept formation and helps to analyze, understand and develop new ideas,” says Dr. Gonzalez Berrios.

And if it works, you know because you will see changes in your daily life and productivity at work. “It’s like seeing all the things that you naturally missed because your thoughts weren’t properly organized,” Halow adds.

Who are mind maps best for?

People who are very visually minded may prefer mind maps because they can see all of the information and their thoughts come together as all of the pieces of the map are visually connected. As a result, you can collect and understand information just by looking at your mind map, which is different from making lists because the shape of a mind map is free flowing and less rigid. “It’s better than traditional note-taking because there is much greater learning and engagement here, as it is both artistic and analytical,” explains Dr. Gonzalez Berrios.

Mind maps are also great for people who like to get creative and design, as they can use different colors and shapes when organizing ideas for each part of the map.

The only disadvantage? “It can be tedious, time-consuming, messy and dirty to look at on paper, but not very often,” says Dr. Gonzalez Berrios. Also, mind mapping can take longer than the usual jot down, at least at first as you become familiar with the concept.

How do you draw a mind map on paper?

Drawing a mind map is super easy if you want to do it by hand. Take a blank page and start in the middle by drawing in a bubble an idea that you want to think about. Then develop the subtopics related to the main topic and connect each one with a line to the main topic. Repeat a similar process to add new ideas to the subtopics and add child subtopics that are relevant to the topic.

“When you draw lines, you can use different colors and make them attractive because the subject is to reinforce the visual cues so the user can easily go through the details,” says Dr. Gonzalez Berrios.

Include as many visual cues as possible in these mind map ideas to highlight the important points. “This makes the mind map appealing and the brain can process the information quickly,” adds Dr. Gonzalez-Berrios added.

Mind map ideas and online examples

You can simplify the process and improve mind mapping by using an online tool that will automatically adjust and scale your mind map so you don’t have to worry about manually leaving enough space on a sheet of paper or in a Word Document or spreadsheet on the computer to insert any ideas that come up.

MindMeister is an excellent tool – you can make three cards for free and then you need to check the prices – plans start at $ 4.99 and go up. You can also use it with your colleagues or team members if you want to work together on a project using mind mapping. So everyone is on the same page every step of the way – from brainstorming, analysis, planning and strategy to completion. They even offer some great examples of mind map ideas online on their blog to help users get used to the process.

Another option is Vennage, which has over 40 mind map templates online, some of which are free while others require a monthly subscription. Its templates are geared towards knowledge management, project management, and note taking, and other mind map ideas include health-focused templates and bubble templates.

Whichever medium you choose, all effective mind maps should have a good use of colors, shapes, varying sizes, word and font blocks, and other fun designs or topics that will appeal to your brain and keep you on the job and flow of thoughts.

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