Mental maps are more present in our lives than we think. In the young ages of the people, and where they dedicate their efforts to study and training, they are carried out to acquire knowledge. When we start working, they are also used to structure the ideas that we must use and to memorize any type of procedure that we must carry out. However, being relaxed is also still important.
What are the mental maps?
If we want to carry or structure any type of information or data to our brain, making a mind map is a really efficient procedure to achieve our goal, especially if we study and work at the same time and have little availability. Mix logic and creativity when writing and relating different ideas. As its name indicates, it is a kind of map where it is necessary to know the interpretation that must be carried out in order to understand what is being projected on paper. Just as it happened in the days of piracy, where corsairs had to be able to understand maps to know which island to go to find any type of loot or treasure, we also have to be able to understand it because otherwise it will end up being a real waste of time.
When making a mind map we will find some elements that are repeated and that are common to all of them. Like the road system in Spain, they have a radial system, with a central element where different related concepts appear and are linked by lines or different symbols that serve to connect the different ideas that we must take into account to understand all the information. that is being projected on the map. The experts who are dedicated to teaching to study highly recommend them. Motivation and entertainment is key to being more efficient when it comes to remembering concepts. For this reason, if we use a scheme or a diagram we will be able to study the same thing in less time than if we use traditional notes based on writing the text. In addition, when preparing a mental map we are already providing information to our brain, so we are carrying out and advancing part of the work that we will have to carry out later in the study hours.
Any type of mental map can also be compared to any current great city or the Roman Empire itself. The so-called urban center would become the main idea and the lines or symbols that unite the rest of the ideas. They would be the roads that would connect the rest of the points of the city. In the Roman Empire they would become the main city connected to the different provinces or points of interest for Caesar. Faced with any dilemma we may have, a type of mind map can help us unlock it. Placing the problem as the main idea and together with the possible solutions and their consequences can facilitate our choice when looking for any type of alternative that we may need. In most cases, the main elements are the central idea in the very center of the paper with the lines connecting the different alternatives. Likewise, these less important ideas can also carry with them other forks that connect with other secondary ideas being able to create really complex mental maps.
Advantages of using mind maps
All in all, the use of mind maps can bring enormous advantages for people who spend part of their time creating it. The most prominent are the following:
- A really effective way to memorize information. The use of graphs and data diagrams allow to increase the memorization capacity of the students. Although it takes extra time to carry it out, its advantages allow it to be amortized later.
- See problems in another way. In addition, it not only has an exclusive use for students, but for life in general. Capturing any type of problem on a mental map can allow us to see it from another point of view and even end up with the perfect answer to solve it.
- Facilitates data comprehension. In addition to studying, we can also face an oral presentation in public. Our objective is to capture the attention of our audience and a mental map can facilitate understanding and prevent them from disconnecting.
- You will have absolute freedom. However, beyond increasing your cognitive possibilities, each teacher has his booklet. There is no fixed style, but each person can use the one that suits them best.
Most school failures are given by the study method used by students. For this reason, the school itself recommends the use of mental maps to improve their cognitive abilities and increase the amount of information that can be entered into the brain, reducing the time required for it. Thus, it is an excellent option to turn around a complicated situation and regain motivation for studies by improving your grades.
How to create a mind map?
When creating a mind map there is no predetermined style or regulation that we must follow to the letter. There is only the objective of studying quickly. Freedom, as we have said before, is total. The first step is to choose those ideas that we want to highlight above all else. In fact, before putting the map on paper, we must do it in general terms in our brain. With this first stage, we are already carrying out an important part of the study and later it will be much easier for us to end up remembering everything. However, we must select the central concept. If we are to study, for example, the Spanish Reconquest, the central concept will be The Reconquest with the beginning and end years in parentheses.
Next, the Reconquista concept should come out of the main ideas that we must develop with other concepts. An example could be the main battles, the conquerors who participated in them and all the religious and artistic part that led to the expulsion of the Arabs from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492. Leave enough space to be able to develop these ideas with the different concepts that you must be able to memorize later. An efficient mind map is one that is easy to understand. Therefore, if you do everything tight, you will turn the remedy itself into the cause of the problem. Ideas must have a connection between them. Even relying on some visual resource such as images will also help to remember the concepts. It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words.
Computer science advances at an enormous speed and, therefore, it is now possible to make mind maps with computer programs. One of the great advances and that can make the difference in an oral presentation is the use of a program called Prezi, which goes from making Power Point presentations to true mental maps capable of capturing the attention of the viewer. Do not shy away from creating it in a group either, since it allows you to share ideas with colleagues and create one more efficiently than another. All in all, mind maps are an excellent resource for learning concepts, using them as visual support, or solving problems that we may have in life. They are a tool that can get us out of more than one trouble and that it has enormous benefits for all those who decide to invest their time in developing them.