The best way to capture your thoughts without losing their active nature is to create a mind map. Mind maps were developed in the early 1970s by British Tony Buzan, famous for his mind research, as an alternative to linear thinking as a technique of using the whole brain. Mind maps make it possible to reach the enormous potential of your brain by representing your thoughts with keywords. This is a brainstorming method that aims to find out what you know by writing about a main topic and then describing your thoughts and associations, such as a grapevine spreading in all directions from a central point (Michalko, 2008: 78-79).
Mind mapping allows you to generate more ideas in less time; You will notice that thinking, working and problem solving becomes more fun. All blueprints look the same; but each mind map is different from the other. Perhaps the biggest advantage of making a mind map is that it guides you to discover your own originality by improving your unique, personal self-expression (Gelb, 2004: 208).
All you need to start mind mapping is a subject, some colored pencils and a large sheet of paper. You can follow these guidelines (Gelb, 2004: 206-208):
- Begin your mind map with a symbol or image (representing your topic) that you put in the center of your page. Starting from the center allows your mind to open to 360 degrees. Pictures and symbols are easier to remember than words and improve your ability to think creatively about your topic.
- Type the keywords. Keywords are knowledge-rich "lands" of reminiscence and creativity.
- Combine keywords with rays emanating from the center image. By connecting words with lines (branches), you clearly show how one word relates to another.
- Write your keywords in book letters. Writing in script is easier and more memorable than handwriting.
- Write one word on each line (line). By doing this, you avoid finding the maximum number of creative links for each keyword. A word-to-line discipline also provides training to focus on the keyword that suits you best, increasing your thinking precision while minimizing confusion.
- Write your keyword in book letters according to the length of the lines you write on it. This maximizes the clarity of the connection and saves space.
- Use colors, images, sizes, and code to provide better connectivity and highlighting. Show relationships between the various branches of your mind map and highlight key points. For example, you can prioritize main links by color codes. You can mark the most important points in yellow and the second-order ones in blue and continue in a similar way. Pictures and figures should be used wherever possible with bright and vibrant colors; they stimulate your creative ties and significantly strengthen your memory.
e-motivation.net team
Resources:
Michael J. Gelb, (2004) “Thinking Like Leonardo Da Vinci” (Trans. Tuncer Büyükonat), 2nd Edition, Beyaz Yayınları, İstanbul.
Michael Michalko (2008) “Secrets of Creative Genius” (Trans. Zübeyde Abat), Koridor Publishing, Istanbul.
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