Last issue's article on Mind Maps was a resounding success. Many
of you wrote about how you use Mind Maps in your life. Several
TNPCers even shared with me existing Mind Maps that they had
created. It was exciting to see how many people find them useful,
and even more exciting to hear from those just discovering how
useful this method of note taking can be. In this article I'll
share some of my thoughts on Mind Maps in particular and
creativity in general. If you aren't familiar with Mind Maps
check the sample map I created with MindManager and converted to
HTML from last issue:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/311/tr.cgi?maps1
What Mind Maps give you is a visual representation of how you are storing information on any given topic. Most of us are used to taking notes of things in a way that represents the structure of the original material. The traditional notes and outlines we are all familiar with fall in this category. These notes are still useful. A combination of both note types usually works best for me. The real strength of the Mind Map approach comes when you combine your notes from various sources into one map giving you an overview of your accumulated knowledge in any topic.
Why did the MindManager software get me so excited? Because the maps work the same either at the computer or on paper. The computer-based Mind Map gives you more features and the ability to dynamically alter the map, but the basic functionality remains the same. Many of the benefits gained by PIMs (Personal Information Managers) and the like are lost when you aren't at your computer, forcing you to access your information in different ways. This is very frustrating to me. The Mind Map transcends this limitation and lets you focus on your data rather than the technique. Each time you look something up on your Mind Map all of the data is reinforced, increasing your retention.
Electronic organizers carry the promise of making our data portable. Our esteemed colleague Al Gordon uses a Palm Pilot but I just can't bring myself to haul around an electronic device (the only exception being my Minidisk recorder). Besides there is just something about seeing things in my own handwriting that makes it personal. So I use handwritten Mind Maps for the most part and use the MindManager software when I need to share things with others or quickly convert my map to a Web page or outline for further development.
Creating maps between different disciplines and exploring the relationships I find has been very useful to me. For instance I have many years experience in sleight-of-hand and by profession I am a Webmaster. Combining thoughts between the two yielded many parallels that weren't apparent before the exercise. Adding other interests of mine to the mix has produced a unique body of knowledge for me to draw upon in my day to day work.
MindManager Mind Mapping software:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/311/tr.cgi?maps2
