Mindmapping is a technique where one iteratively draws a diagram with information, and links those pieces of information together with connections. It’s a very powerful technique which you can use when trying to tackle complex problem areas, such as new ideas, studying of new subjects, analysis of problems, organizing, writing, decision-making, etc.

This is a quick-and-dirty introduction how mindmaps work and how you can use them.

Prerequisites

You need:

  • a big piece of paper
  • a pen

Don’t bother with a pencil and an eraser - if you make an error, just smudge it over and rewrite. Also, don’t try to make your mindmap a masterpiece of art!

Now you’re all set with the tools. As an example, we’ll make a mindmap of a puppy. Start by making a bubble with the word “puppy” in the middle. This is the thing you should focus on when building the map. As new information branches out away from the main bubble, it will still somehow be related to the central bubble.

Puppy mindmap example 0

Next, add some more information. So, ask yourself:

  • What defines a puppy?
  • What feelings does a puppy arose?
  • What is a puppy?
  • How does a puppy look like?
  • What do I associate with a puppy?
  • etc.

…and we’ll get:

Puppy mindmap example 1

For each of the nodes, keep on asking the questions to proceed even further:

Puppy mindmap example 2

Note, you are free to group your ideas, concepts, associations etc. into new groups and associations and overall change the mindmap as you see fit, whenever you want. It’s good to note when one can generalize certain associations - this helps to raise the abstraction level a bit higher. Also, while doing so, one often finds new associations:

Puppy mindmap example 3

…and so on, and so on. You can add colors and other “bling” as you see fit (click on the picture to see a bigger version):

Puppy mindmap example 4

And eventually you’ll have a mindmap of a puppy. This was just a simple example, and if you try out mindmapping on a target of your choice, you will see how efficient the technique actually is in practise. It will be useful to use some subject closer to your interests, rather than picking a general example.

Notes on making mindmaps

Making a mindmap is very personal. Your mindmap might not end up looking like my mindmap at all, and this is perfectly OK! Your mind is different than mine - you look at things from your perspective based on your experiences, ideals, values, and so on, and I do the same for me. So what I come up with in my mindmap, you might not come up with in your mindmap, and vice versa. There is no one correct mindmap, as it is always a function of whoever creates it.

Software

You can make mindmaps with any media you can draw to. Instead of using a pen and paper, whiteboard or similar, you might prefer software. Software has the benefits that the mindmaps are easily archiveable and searchable, plus you can usually add internet links directly.

One very good mindmapping program, which is free (as in beer and speech) is Freemind. The puppy-example pictures above were done using Freemind.

There are others, including commercial ones, like Mindjet Mind Manager.

Memorizing a mindmap

If you made the mindmap to take notes (of a lecture, for example), you might want to somehow memorize it, or parts of it. Although just going through the map and its various branches many times may often be enough for you to associate one piece of information with another, thus aiding memory recall, it may be more efficient to use some memory technique. Although the the Loci system is more suitable for hierarchical information (like lists) instead of network-structured information (like mindmaps), it is possible to use it.

This is how it would work: start at some node which seems to be naturally “first”, and associate this with the first location of your Loci system. Then check which connections go out of this node, and associate these into the locations which are accessible from your first location. Repeat until done.

If you think you’ll run out of rooms/locations, you can try to memorize only the main structure of your mindmap, i.e. the biggest nodes. This way you’ll already have the other part of the association built, so the smaller nodes will be easier to remember even if you didn’t use the Loci system for all of them.

Examples of mindmaps

There are many different mindmaps and styles of making them. Just to give you some ideas, here are a few links (note, some of the images are BIG):