Using Mind Maps Magazine Issue 32 

Editor's Note

We hope that we can play a small part in making this your best year ever!

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The first issue of 2016 is now available for download.

In this month’s issue:

How to Mind Map a Text Book

Faizel Mohidin

‘...Mind Maps in Education started with Using Mind Maps for note taking as an alternative to Linear Note Taking.

Using Mind Maps as part of a study method is still one of the most popular applications of Mind Maps and Mind Mapping.

By using Mind Maps for notes, you can reduce volumes of writing to a single page.

The main idea behind the use of Mind Maps as study notes, is not simply to make notes on the subject, but to actually organise the notes. The structure of the notes should reflect their original thought of the author and, if possible, reflect your thoughts on the matter...'

How to summarize a dense book with a Mind Map

Eric Bouchet

‘...Mind mapping is an excellent way to capture the key points of a book in a visual form. But what if the book you’re reading contains so much useful information that it’s hard to capture it all in a single mind map?

That was the case with *Time Power: A Proven System for Getting More Done in Less Time Than You Ever Thought Possible* by Brian Tracy. It’s a 270-page, very structured, very dense book. To keep it manageable, I created a a multi-page mind map composed of 12 linked maps, one for each of the book’s chapters. This turned out to be a surprisingly elegant solution to the challenge of providing myself and others with a high-level overview of *Time Power,* while also enabling readers to drill down into detailed summaries of its key take-aways.

Here is my 6-step process for mind mapping a complex book...'

Biggerplate Annual Mind Map Survey is here!!

Biggerplate

‘...Our Annual Mind Map Survey is now live and online, providing you with an opportunity to share your perspectives, and shape the future of mind mapping! The results of the survey will be published in our Annual Mind Map Report in February, and last year over 1,000 mind mappers from around the world took part!

 Have your say today!...'

 [Click Here to do The Survey >>]

How to leverage David Bowie’s favorite visual brainstorming technique

Chuck Frey

‘...One of the visual brainstorming techniques the late David Bowie used to inspire unique songs and lyrics was to randomly arrange newspaper and magazine headlines and other short bits of text as catalysts for ideas. You can do the same thing today using a visual thinking tool called [Mural.ly]

This “cut-up technique” was developed by artist Brion Gysin in 1959, when he adapted the montage art technique to printed words in an attempt to modernize the craft of creative writing. Its biggest proponent was American novelist William S. Burroughs, who further refined and popularized this type of visual brainstorming...'

Becoming a Lifelong Learner

Adam Sicinski

Commit yourself to lifelong learning. The most valuable asset you’ll ever have is your mind and what you put into it.

Getting an Education is No Longer Enough

‘...We go to school to get an education, and of course what we learn at school helps us to better understand the dynamics of the world we live in. We can then take the lessons learned and get a job that helps us earn a living.

During our schooling years we do a lot of study, research and reading. Some problem solving and creative thinking also come into play, however most of what we learn comes down to memory and recall. 

We are effectively tested on what we are able to recall and then on how we are able to make sense of that information...'

Mind Mapping for Research Teams

MindMeister

“At first his dreams were chaotic; then in a short while they became dialectic in nature.”

– Jorge Luis Borges, from The Circular Ruins

‘...Dialectics is an important consequence in our human brain’s evolution. You must have noticed that our ideas and decisions are never the result of one single thought. We tend to think various lines of thought simultaneously, with each line again branching out, often clashing with a few others before, eventually, all come to one singular conclusion. In order to arrive at a probable output, our mind argues with its own self constantly. We literally argue with ourselves.

When we try to force this process, for instance because we’re trying to come up with a new idea during a brainstorming session, our brain takes all the information it has, crunches all its levers simultaneously and rushes toward one ecstatic Eureka moment, which may or may not come. There are tools to aid in this process, however, and one of the best ones is mind mapping…'

Business trend 2016: make your company more agile

From iMindQ Blog

Tell me, would you know the answer to the following question? How many people are freelancing in your country? In the Netherlands (my homeland) there are nearly one million freelancers. That’s roughly 14 % of the Dutch workforce. According to a survey conducted by the Freelancers Union in the US, almost 34% of the U.S. population is freelancing. It is a direct consequence of technology changes that offer ample opportunities for matching jobs to workers.

A headline in the Economist says it all: "The future of work: there’s an app for that". Citing the article: "There’s large number of startups built around systems which match jobs with independent contractors on the fly, and thus supply labour and services on demand." Handy, Washio, Uber, Medicast, and a lot more. It’s no wonder my number one business trend for 2016 is about freelancing: "traditional" companies have to tap (more) into the pool of freelancers. Why? According to Fortune it will make your company more agile...'

Pavlov Dogs and Business

By Tarek Fahmy

‘...During the 1890s Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov was looking at salivation in dogs in response to being fed, when he noticed that his dogs would begin to salivate whenever he entered the room, even when he was not bringing them food.

Pavlov (1902) started from the idea that there are some things that a dog does not need to learn. For example, dogs don’t learn to salivate whenever they see food...'

iMindQ Online – Brings Innovation & Creativity to a Whole New Level  

...iMindQ Online is specially designed online mind mapping application, that provides intuitive and user-friendly environment to express your creativity and organize activities in a powerful visual format. You can brainstorm online with your team, create project outlines and manage meeting note within minutes, anytime and anywhere. Sharing knowledge and ideas with your associates has never been easier, with the use of interactive HTML Mind Maps, included in iMindQ Online.

iMindQ Online version 3.1 offers a whole new view on innovation and creativity by supporting Google Cardboard. Experience **Virtual Reality with Google Cardboard** in a simple and imaginative way, taking mind mapping to another dimension. You can see your mind maps in a 3D simulated environment, bringing you a fresh and enticing online mind mapping experience with user-friendly map space where you can organize your ideas...'

MasterMind Matrix

Adam Sicinski

'...For many years I struggled emotionally and financially. I thought I was doing all the right things, and just didn't understand why life was so difficult.

Desperate for answers I committed myself to reading every book I could get my hands on about psychology, productivity, goal setting, spirituality, money and other self-help topics. I wanted to understand why I was the way I was and how I could potentially improve my life and results.

Everything I was reading was of course of tremendous value, however many times I just felt overwhelmed with all this information. There was just so much to know, and reading all these books brought to light just how little I knew about myself in the first place.

I needed something that could help put all this information together for me into a diagram of some sort that I could use as a reference poster to help me better understand all these topics I was being exposed to. But unfortunately I couldn't find anything of this nature...'

New!

Courses from the Biggerplate Academy

We have partnered with Biggerplate to bring you great courses via Udemy, the world’s leading online University.

The latest course:

How to increase your business productivity using your favourite Mind Mapping Software.

Simply pick the course for your preferred software, click the button below and get instant 25% off!

Course Description:

Get productive in your working world using Mind Mapping!

Learn how Mind Mapping can help you take control of your business productivity, and manage your time and tasks more effectively! We'll take you from basic to confident use of Mind Maps, working through 4 key steps to create your own productivity dashboard mind map!

As usual, please let us know what you think, or what you would like to see in the magazine.

Faizel Mohidin

Publisher

Using Mind Maps Magazine