Mind Mapping is a hot trend widely used in education, business, and life management fields the world over. It can help you to clarify your goals for 2024 and identify the steps you need to take to achieve them.
As 2024 approaches, you have another opportunity to set fresh goals and achieve optimum health, financial freedom, career growth, and spiritual blessings in the New Year.
Keeping in mind the stark truth that even basic resolutions don’t hang around for long for most of us, have you tried making a mind map for goal-setting strategies for the near future?
Mind Mapping has been a hot trend in recent years as it has been widely used in education, business, and life management fields all over the world.
It can help you to clarify your goals and identify the steps you need to take to achieve them.
Taking advantage of a personal goal mind map allows you to stay motivated and visualize your success, according to experts.
Mind Mapping is perfect for brainstorming and visualizing concepts, presenting and communicating ideas, unleashing your creativity, simplifying tasks and project management, and more. However, the same technique can help you in your daily chores like remaining fit and healthy, eating wisely, losing those extra kilos, staying productive, and moving on the path of spirituality with ease — thus achieving that elusive peace of mind.
What is a Mind Map?
A mind map is a diagram used to visually organize information into a hierarchy, showing relationships among pieces of the whole.
Mind maps can also be drawn by hand.
Although the term “mind map” was first popularized by British popular psychology author and television personality Tony Buzan, the use of diagrams that visually “map” information using branching and radial maps traces back centuries.
These pictorial methods record knowledge and model systems and have a long history in learning, brainstorming, memory, visual thinking, and problem-solving by educators, engineers, psychologists, and others. Some of the earliest examples of such graphical records were developed by Porphyry of Tyros, a noted thinker of the third century, as he graphically visualized the concept categories of Aristotle.
Buzan’s specific approach, and the introduction of the term “mind map”, started with a 1974 BBC TV series he hosted, called ‘Use Your Head’.
In this show, and companion book series, Buzan promoted his conception of a radial tree, diagramming keywords in a colorful, radiant, tree-like structure.
According to mindmapping.com, when you study the brain’s functionality and memory system, you will realize the extraordinary extent of its capacity and potential.
The Mind Map is a tool used to entice, delight, stimulate, and challenge you. You will discover some astonishing facts about your brain and its function, and you will take the first major steps on the path to freedom of the mind.
The Mind Map is the external mirror of your own radiant or natural thinking facilitated by a powerful graphic process, which provides the universal key to unlocking the dynamic potential of the brain.
How Mind Maps harness the brain’s power
A Mind Map is a highly effective way of getting information in and out of your brain. It is a creative and logical means of note taking and note-making that literally ‘maps out’ your ideas.
All Mind Maps have some things in common. They have a natural structure that radiates from the center and use lines, symbols, words, colors, and images according to simple, brain-friendly concepts.
Mind Mapping converts a long list of monotonous information into a colorful, memorable, and highly organized diagram that works in line with your brain’s natural way of doing things.
The Mind Map is the external mirror of your own radiant or natural thinking facilitated by a powerful graphic process, which provides the universal key to unlock the dynamic potential of the brain.
Science-backed benefits of mind mapping
According to the University of Adelaide in Australia, a mind map is essentially used to ‘brainstorm’ a topic like New Year resolutions.
It helps you remember and recall information. To understand this, try this little experiment. Close your eyes and think about a tree.
Picture it in detail, then think about what your tree looked like. Did you picture the image of a tree, or the word ‘tree?’
And was that tree in the center of your mind’s eye, or off to one side? And was it in color, or black and white?
In fact, in one study on mind map efficiency, researchers discovered that the benefits of mind mapping when studying and revision included boosting retention by 10-15 percent, according to nulab.com.
It makes complex ideas easier to understand. Mind mapping is often used for strategic planning — something that’s complex and involves lots of parts — because they work.
One study found that mind mapping helped students plan their essays and projects more effectively, improving the quality, structure, and coherence of their written work.
Mind maps improve your ability to recall information, which is a bonus when it comes to presenting work.
Challenging questions are much easier to answer when the information is deeply embedded. Mind maps also help your audience.
Multiple studies have found that pairing words with images helps bring concepts to life and aid understanding, which helps you get your point across more effectively and makes it easier for your audience to take in information.
Another study found that presenters who used visual language were seen as being clearer, more interesting, more credible, and more professional by their audience than those who didn’t.
Mind mapping helps you draw links between ideas, which in turn can help with lateral thinking — a key part of creativity.
Rather than linearly working from A-B, you can jump about and connect thoughts without getting sucked into linear thinking.
In fact, according to a survey by the Mind Mapping Software Blog, mind mapping can boost productivity by an average of 23 percent.
4 Essential Mind Mapping exercises
According to Divya Mohindroo, a New Delhi-based counseling psychologist and life coach, a mind map is a web of ideas that you create as you get hit with certain thoughts.
“You can include goals for your health, finances, career, relationships, and even daily life. Many people accomplish their goals more quickly when they have a visual representation of the things they are aiming to achieve,” she tells A Lotus In The Mud.
A great way to set your goals with mind mapping is to think about what you achieved the previous year.
“Consider what worked and what didn’t so you can plan ahead. Note the things you didn’t accomplish and whether they’re goals you want to take on again in the new year,” notes Mohindroo.
“The next step is to note down what is the most important for you, your core needs and wants. Setting your goals according to your priorities helps,” she adds.
Here is a summary of what other experts suggest:
1. Create first-level topics for each of the major roles of your life, and then add your major goals as subtopics.
At the next level, divide your goals into smaller steps or subgoals, and then convert topics to tasks to assign time frames and levels of importance to them.
2. In addition to laying out a plan for the things that you want to do in the coming year, you also need a plan for what you need to learn to accomplish those things.
A mind map is a great way to plan out the skills that you need to develop and the specific steps you need to take.
Use your mind map to identify specific places where you can get this continuing education and your timetable for doing so.
3. No person is an island. That sentiment was expressed by a famous philosopher many years ago, but it’s never been truer than today; no one can accomplish anything completely on their own.
We all need friends, colleagues, and subject matter experts. No matter what you call them, we need other people to accomplish our goals.
Instead of leaving your networking the chance, why not identify people and organizations you want to get involved with in the coming year that can help you to achieve your goals?
A mind map is a great place to plan out these new contacts and relationships. Think in terms of key influencers, mentors, and peers.
4. Year-end review mind map: What did you accomplish? Where did you grow? What cool projects did you handle?
Use it as a benchmark for planning for the next year as well as to update your LinkedIn profile. It’s time to kick butt. There’s much for you to learn, accomplish and grow.
For each of the goals like achieving optimum health, divide it into smaller steps or subgoals, and then convert topics to tasks to assign time frames and levels of importance to them.
How to make a Mind Map
Tony Buzan suggests the following guidelines for creating mind maps:
- Start in the center with an image of the topic, using at least 3 colors.
- Use images, symbols, codes, and dimensions throughout your mind map.
- Select keywords and print using upper or lower case letters.
- Each word/image is best alone and sitting on its line.
- The lines should be connected, starting from the central image. The lines become thinner as they radiate out from the center.
- Make the lines the same length as the word/image they support.
- Use multiple colors throughout the mind map, for visual stimulation and encoding or grouping.
- Develop your style of mind mapping.
- Use emphasis and show associations in your mind map.
- Keep the mind map clear by using radial hierarchy or outlines to embrace your branches.
