Whether you're looking for a career change or trying to improve an existing job, making the right decision can be tricky. At times like these, a Mind Map can be a useful tool to sort out thoughts, define goals and throw up fresh ideas.
Invented by Tony Buzan as a learning and memory tool while he was struggling to take effective notes as a student, a Mind Map is a colourful diagram with a central image representing the problem and curved branches radiating from it, each with a related key word printed above it. Central to the success of the technique is the use of colours, pictures and a non-linear structure to encourage brainstorming — Buzan says, mimicking our brains.
"The human brain finds it much easier to remember images than words and this is why, in a Mind Map, the central key idea is replaced by an image," explains Buzzan. "Your brain does not think in a linear, monotonous way, rather it thinks in multiple directions simultaneously — starting from central trigger points in images or key words.
"I describe this as radiant thinking, where thoughts radiate outwards like the branches of a tree, the veins of a leaf or the blood vessels of the body that emanate from the heart."
It's a far more effective problem-solving and memory aid than written notes, lists weighing up pros and cons and to-do lists, according to Buzan. "Lists and words are only a small part of the brain's thinking tool kit and if you use only this small fraction of your brain, you're going to come up with an incomplete solution."
He cites Leonardo da Vinci, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein who used similar thinking techniques to the ones used in Mind Maps — 'messy' notes, radial drawings, codes, arrows and images. "The traditional 'norms' within education are that list-making and monochromatic note-taking are good, whereas drawing pictures, doodling and daydreaming are innately wrong," says Buzan, who believes the opposite is true. "Traditional note-taking limits thought, whereas daydreaming and drawing will increase radiant thinking.
"Young children are natural Mind Mappers. They love to draw pictures, experiment with lettering, use emphasis, symbols, colours — not to mention stickers — when they are writing, drawing and communicating."
Phil Chambers has successfully used Mind Mapping since he was at school. Now running, his own training company, Learning Technologies, the 32-year-old says: "I first used them to help me study for my A-levels and later at university. It's a great tool for studying because you can use it to plan essays and to revise."
According to Buzan, the technique can be used for any purpose in life. While studying, the maps can be used for reading, revising, note-taking; at work they are useful for brainstorming, time-management and presentations. At home they can be used for planning, shopping, event and household management and socially they can be used to keep track of important dates, remembering people, planning holidays and social events.
When Phil started working in IT for a major bank, he used the technique to help him progress in his job. "I had to not only learn the bank's way of doing things in terms of IT but also how the banking system works and how the different aspects of financial communications worked. Mapping was really useful for getting a handle on all of that very rapidly."
As a careers tool, the maps can help prepare for a job interview, reach decisions about which career to enter, how to improve promotion prospects, or whether to leave a job or change direction.
"Mind Maps are useful at times when goals or targets are less clear. Everyone experiences times in life when the future is less than certain. At these times they are invaluable for problem-solving," says Buzan, a great advocate of what he calls 'directed daydreaming' to find a way forward. "You daydream the job and map your daydream. A Mind Map is like a captured daydream. It's an idea catcher, like a butterfly net."
Seven steps to creating a Mind Map
# Start in the centre of a blank page turned sideways — this gives the brain freedom to spread out in all directions and express itself more freely and naturally.
# Use an image for your central idea — this is more interesting for your brain.
# Use colours throughout because they are exciting to the brain and add energy to creative thinking.
# Connect your main branches to the central image and connect your second and third-level branches to the first and second levels. Your brain works by association; it likes to link things together. Connecting the branches will help you understand and remember more easily.
# Make your branches curved rather than straight. Straight lines are boring to your brain. Curved lines are more attractive and riveting to the eye.
# Use one key word per line. A single word generates its own array of associations.
# Use images throughout. A picture is worth a thousand words.
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