Lifestyle security

Focus on yor destination

Have you ever had a brilliant idea but not been able to put it into practice?

Have you ever worked on a project and reached a stage where you can’t see the wood for the trees?

Would you like to organise your thoughts to enable you to plan more effectively?

There’s nothing more annoying than letting a good idea slip by and finding out later that  someone else has put it into practice when you would have been able to with a little more organisation.

The answer might be the use of  ‘mind-maps’ which were the creation of  Tony Buzan, who realised that the mind doesn’t work in linear fashion and therefore listing items in note form was not an efficient way of outlining or planning data.

When used as a brainstorming tool,  a mind map stimulates a natural flow of  brain activity and by using word, image, number, logic, rhythm, colour and spatial awareness,  an enhanced overview of the problem can be built to assist in finding a solution. This gives you the freedom to ‘think’ in a more effective and brain friendly way giving you an advantage over individuals stuck in old fashioned linear thinking patterns.

Using mind-maps when studying can vastly improve the input of material and help to ‘hard code’ the information into the brain. You literally create a personal view of the subject arranged by association and because of the way the brain works the retrieval of information is so easy.

Early on in his secondary schooling, my son was used to getting reports indicating that he had ability but could do better, when he came across mind-mapping, he used them instead of written notes and later achieved four straight A’s at A level and got into Cambridge. Producing a mind-map helps stimulate right brain activity which can make learning an enjoyable exercise!

For my own part I’ve found it useful to use a mind-map for presentations in business, rather than the traditional bullet-point format and I find the mind map can by its intuitive nature help to keep the presentation flowing .

Far from the original concept, mind-mapping is now computerised which makes it easy to use existing graphics or create your own if you need to personlise it, but the great advantage is they can also be integrated into existing word processors  and presentation software which makes for a more professional approach.

There are a number of products attempting to replicate Tony Buzan’s original concept but I’ve found the ‘imindmap’ software which is Tony Buzan’s own brand to have the most intuitive interface and feel to it.