Definition of Mind Mapping

Mind Mapping is the representation of ideas and information in a visual form which the mind finds easier to visualise and remember. Images are located throughout the Mind Map with a larger central image or theme located at the centre of the Mind Map. Topics and subtopics are arranged around that central image.

Whether you want to plan, organize, memorize or be creative Mind Mapping is the most effective note taking technique and there are now a number of different Mind Mapping software tools available to facilitate the creation of Mind Maps.

Why use Mind Maps

Mind Maps provide a quick and easy method of organizing and highlighting the information that matters. This is particularly useful when you are studying for an exam as normal notes can be time consuming and even a barrier to revision. They are also useful for improving creativity, generating new ideas and decision making.

When reviewing information for an exam being able to review your notes quickly is important. Reviewing the most important, relevant information is even more important and Mind Maps enable you to do this as the most important key topics are located nearer the centre. Mind Maps also make use of images which the mind finds easier to remember and these can be used to summarize important information. Also the mind is better able to recall the information when associations or connections are made between related information. Mind Maps make this much easier then normal linear note taking.

Revising for exams using Mind Maps

Lets say you want to use Mind Mapping to revise for an exam. It is a good idea to first determine how much knowledge of the subject you already have. This will help when you want to build upon that knowledge later by developing associations and connections from the knowledge you have already gained.

Obtain a large sheet of paper or if you are using Mind Mapping Software create a central image or theme at the centre of the page. This will represent the main topic. Then write down the main subtopics related to that central topic by creating branches moving out from the central keyword. Add sub- branches to these subtopics containing keywords or short phrases summarizing key ideas that you can recall from memory and try to see how the different sub-topics and elements are associated.

Linear note taking is monotonous and boring. The key information does not stand out, they take longer to write and do not provide a quick way of summarizing the important information needed for an exam. Mind Maps highlight the important information by placing it nearer the centre in larger writing with images that can quickly sum up a key idea or topic. Try and sum up information with a few words or even better 1 keyword or image. Use plenty of colour and images. Organize the information like this helps you to build associations and is very usefully when you want to recall information at a glance.

Speed read books related to your subject after you have recalled as much of the topic as possible. There is a common myth that speed reading reduces comprehension and recall of information. Speed reading enables you to get a broader perspective of the information contained and helps you focus in on the important information. Getting a broad perspective of your subjects helps the mind to make associations and piece together the information particularly when you read the information in more depth. Before you speed read the book dont forget to flick through the book and look at the contents pages.

Give priority to those books that provide the most usefully and comprehensive information for study and exam revision and study them in greater depth.

Now add more detail to your Mind Map by adding branches and keywords and phrases after reading each category or section. These keywords or phrases should encapsulate the main ideas and sub-topics.

Continually recalling the information you have just read will go along way by itself in helping you store the information in your long term memory. It will enable you to determine if your mind is effectively recalling the information and if not to adjust your memorization methods.

Don’t forget to keep adding to your Mind Map after gaining knowledge that you consider important for the exam. Your Mind Map should become larger over time and more branches should be created moving even further from the central topic. Your Mind Map should become more detailed so make sure you use a large sheet of paper. If your using Mind Mapping Software you should add notes providing more in depth information if needed. Keep reviewing your Mind Map every few days to reinforce the information you have learned.

When you get closer to the exam you should be able to recall in detail the knowledge gained by glancing at your Master Mind Map which should now contain a detailed summary of an entire subject or topic.

The images will greatly assist in recalling information at a glance and the Mind Map itself will help you to see how all the elements and sub-topics are associated and ordered. Also you will not have to read through loads of notes to get to the key information.

The mind can remember and recall knowledge much easier when it can visualise a subject from a broader perspective and can see how the different topics and subtopics are ordered and associated. . Combine this with the power of images which speak a thousand words and give the mind more mental hooks to latch onto then you have a very powerful and effective method for learning.

The Author is a enthusiastic advocate of Mind Mapping and is the creator of creativemindmapping.com/. A blog dedicated to educating people of the benefits of Mind Mapping

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When it is not easy to determine the intricacies of the home budget, money management tools provide a useful avenue. The software is easy to use and admits a simplicity of home budgeting releasing money required for the payment of bills. Today, such software are also available online allowing online money management.

It is often frustrating trying to manage where the money should go after receiving one’s salary. Avail of the free money management software to make life easier, give less headaches, and find out how one can manage one’s budget so the focus can be on how to get money elsewhere.

The software comes with a user-friendly wizard so one maintains the objective when budgeting of the accounts is being done. Small projects required to be followed closely can be processed with facility by the financial planning software, with emphasis on those that deal with ideas on making money and projects to extract free cash.

One can be more organized by giving the family access to the free budget management software. The spouse and children can use this financial planning software to manage their own accounts and various activity costs. In this manner, they learn to plan and do not need to reason out how they have lost money due to various irresponsible or unplanned purchases, for example.

The free money management software is an efficient tool that allows the management of family expenditure while staying within the budget of a fixed or limited income. Budgeting and its nature become more comprehensible when using the software as a financial management device. Bill management becomes easier.

The different features of the software, such as graphs generated by it, its filtering tool that categorizes expenditures in a list, and importantly the management and control it gives over expenditures, make budget management a simple task. Using the tool ensures that credit card and bill payments are made in a timely fashion, sustaining a good credit history.

Personal budget calculator software along with the capability of online personal budget planning provides excellent budget and bill management for home budgets.

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Do you know what id theft protection means? This is a protection against the growing id theft menace these days. The thieves often send innocent-looking mails telling you to be an heir to an estate of the late so and so and a cash deposit for some incredible million dollars. If you try to trace other emails in your inbox they reveal similar patterns. This is a collective effort of a malevolent group whose main objective is to defraud people.

The social networkers are the favorite targets of these scammers. These criminals can fill their hearts content extracting personal information from these innocent beings. They will grab your email address and personal details. If you are a good subject for them they send you emails in various accounts employing various schemes in order to complete the missing parts of the puzzle.

This id theft menace is already prevalent on the net and it has been discovered. Unfortunately, there are still some naive recipients who succumb to the devious ploy of the criminals. Everything is history and charged to a painful experience. After having been successful, you will never hear anymore from them and gone is your hard-earned money. After all, these abominable creatures are able to succeed in stealing money from these poor people.

If you are very keen to details you will discover that the pattern on all these mails whatever the form is or from whichever office they come from reveal obvious similarities. The senders may assume different names, but the patterns and contents are more or less the similar. You can easily verify that if you have been receiving emails of this tenor.

You can help in stopping this internet scam by telling your friends on the web of these things. These people may seem to be unstoppable but you can reduce the number of would-be victims especially from among social networkers. Perhaps, these criminals will stop if there are no more victims if everyone has an id theft protection.

People need to secure themselves these days with some ID Theft Protectionwhich will protect their personal information and detect unscrupulous activities against unwanted penetration from thieves. To know more about this type of protection, simply visit this site at http://www.identitytheftlabs.com.

Tagged with: Business and Finance • Computer Software • computers • Credit and Collection • Financial Services • ID Theft Protection

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