Mind mapping helps brain run efficiently

In his interactive session at a city book store, author Tony Buzan took the crowd back to their forgotten ways of effectively using their minds. He pointed out that everyone is capable of putting their brains to use, but simply refuse to identify the ways. At the gathering, Buzan spoke of mind mapping, a technique that he designed which helps to “run the brain efficiently.” Mind mapping, he pointed out was something that all humans do on a daily basis. However, it took Buzan to look into the process in detail and write about it.

Where it all began…
The story of how he thought about designing mind maps, said Buzan goes right back to his school days. When he decided to make more notes to help his slipping grades and worked diligently towards it, Buzan only ended up with more dismal results. This could come as a surprise, as most of us believe in detailed note-taking. The need for making effective notes, Buzan said, lead him to invent mind maps.

How it works…
What happens when you hear the narrative drone of a highly informative documentary? You go to sleep. Buzan realized that the monotone of blue-black ink on single lined paper also put him to sleep with the same sincerity. What’s more, he realized that he only needed to keep a few keywords in mind. This meant most of his cluttered notes were eliminated. All those words, he realised, helped very little, because the brain only thinks in images.

Putting it to work…
All the information needed is simply a web of graphic ideas. The keywords are highlighted, arrows lead you in the right direction and you can even liven it up, with a couple of cartoons! All it takes is a sheet of colourful and consolidated notes. Mind mapping is not just good for the brain, but also for the environment, Buzan said, because it saves a lot of paper!