Less is More

In this post I talk about the importance of simplicity in Mind Maps. Elegance and brevity help you to memorise. You do not need to capture every single detail on the Mind Map. This requires courage, self-belief and trust that your brain’s capable of recreating memories from simple triggers. Your memory is better than you think.

Is Everything Really Important?

A very common problem for budding Mind Mappers is that they create super-complex Mind Maps with lots of detail and then struggle to memorise them. This causes stress which disrupts memory and you can get into a vicious spiral of decline. When you suggest that they simplify their Mind Maps they protest saying, “but everything is important”. They fear that if they miss something off their Mind Map this could be a crucial piece of information which they need in the exam. They think if it’s not on the Mind Map they will forget it.

It is absolutely fundamental that Mind Maps were never intended as a verbatim transcription from a book or presentation. Albeit missing out adjectives, prepositions conjunctions, etc. The aim is not to record every minute detail of a textbook. You should be able to reduce the material into one or two words for a whole paragraph or sometimes even fewer.

If you find you need masses of detail it’s probably a symptom that you don’t understand the topic. Albert Einstein most famously said “If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself.” It is far better to have a few simple Mind Maps than one dense monster.

Unlimited Memory

It is theorised that your subconscious mind permanently stores everything that ever happens to you or you pay attention to. It is like a huge hard drive with virtually unlimited capacity. The problem is you can’t always access the Information and retrieve it back into your conscious mind.

Memory works by association. The Mind Map highlights not only the information and its sub-themes, but also the connections and relationships between the ideas. Each idea links to those elements which relate to it. Tapping into the vast reserves of your memory just requires using triggers which activate the association process. Keywords in Mind Maps act as triggers.

It is important that you choose appropriate keywords. These are strong, concrete nouns and verbs. They summarise the essence of a piece of text or presentation. A memory targeted keyword is one which, when reviewing, triggers the same information in your imagination as when the Mind Map was created.

Poorly chosen keywords, from a memory perspective, are mostly abstract nouns, adjectives and adverbs. They can be creative and trigger many associations but are non-specific.

Tony Buzan explains, "A creative word is one that is particularly evocative and forms images, spraying out associations in all directions. It is also far more general than the more directed key recall word. Words like 'ooze' and 'bizzare' are especially evocative but do not necessarily bring to mind a specific image."

Why Use Images?

It is a trite saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. Even so, pictures, diagrams, symbols and images are very effective ways of summarising ideas. Just think of the uses of icons in everyday life, from signs to software.

You may believe that you think in words and only kids use pictures but, at the most fundamental level, images are universal. Words are vital for communicating but they ultimately evoke pictures. Images are the natural language of thought, stimulate creativity and are far more memorable than words. Thus, a well-chosen Image can trigger a whole stream of associated information

Images are so powerful that a picture, graph or simple diagram maybe enough to represent a whole chapter. In simple terms, you can think of memories as pictures in your head. Liberal use of images creates, "a stimulating balance between your visual and linguistic cortical skills".

When Tony Buzan was at university he took traditional linear notes. He explains why this was ineffective, “At the time, I thought that I was good at note taking, but, if you look at these notes, you realise that the information is very difficult to extract from them. They may look 'neat' in a traditional note taking sense, but they are very messy in terms of your brain being able to extract the information from them. The notes are the opposite of brain-friendly - they are brain-unfriendly.

Indeed, it was the fact that I was making these kinds of notes at the time and getting worse and worse in terms of my academic performance which was one of the main triggers to my developing of Mind Maps.”

One of my clients, a debt management specialist who needed to learn a lot of consumer credit law, said, “After a short while, I was at the point where my study notes for complex subjects were reduced to drawings on cards. I am pleased to say, that I received unprecedented grades… You just need to take that leap of faith, and discard the ‘ye old faithful’ linear notes!”

Keep it Simple with an Open Structure

Branches should be simple curves allowing the Mind Map to organically grow into available space. Avoid overly straight or angular branches. As far as possible branches should radiate outwards and avoid curving back towards the middle. Consider negative space and balance to the left and right of the centre. Negative space is a term used in art to describe the space surrounding a subject. Have you noticed the arrow between the ‘E’ and “x’ of the 'FedEx' logo? This is an elegant example of what we mean by negative space.

"Leaving the right amount of space around each item gives your Mind Map order and structure. Taken to its logical conclusion, the space between the items can be as important as the items themselves" ~ Tony Buzan

Putting it all Together

In summary, keep your Mind Maps as clean, simple and as open as possible. Choose appropriate keywords which enable you to easily recreate the information entrusted to them. Wherever you can, substitute images and diagrams in place of multiple words. Review your Mind Maps to keep the Memory Strong (I’ll talk about the review schedule in a future post). If you follow these simple principles you’ll find studying is much less stressful and what you study stays learned.