You need your head examined

Tony Buzan's mind-mapping technique helps you confront your hopes and fears and 'gives you access to yourself'. The initial 'whoosh' of fear is worth it, writes Anne Dempsey.

When Tony Buzan was studying for exams, he felt there had to be a better way. "I had piles of notes and could not take them all in. In desperation I began to underline key ideas, then realised these were only 10 per cent of my notes, which meant I was wasting 90 per cent of my time learning what I didn't need. Over the next few years, I refined the technique, double-underlining and boxing key words, but using only one colour, which confused my memory and did not allow for discrimination. One colour is literally monotone . . . monotonous . . . boring. What does the brain do when it's bored? It shuts down. It dawned on me that as students we were using a system of note-taking and study that tunes us out, switches us off, sends us to sleep. It was a eureka moment.

"I felt the great thinkers must have had a better system. When I researched, I discovered that every single one of them - Darwin, Picasso, Newton, Einstein - used images, colours and associations to study and learn. So I began to use colour, and to apply the old adage that a picture is worth 1,000 words. The technique finally evolved into mind mapping, and the closest I've ever come to it is Leonardo da Vinci's notes, so I was in good company!"

In the four decades since, Buzan has seen his mind-mapping approach adapted around the world by individuals and organisations as an aid to career/life planning and creative thinking. His latest book, Mind Mapping at Work, explores many such applications, including the use of Mind Maps to combat bullying, help with work/life balance and more. He is giving a public lecture in Dublin next Wednesday entitled "Use Your Head".

Mind Maps, which Buzan invented and registered as a trademark, have at their heart a central idea or image, which is explored by means of branches representing different aspects, each connected to the central idea. From each branch, there can be sub-branches, which develop themes in greater depth. Just as the branches are all connected to each other and to the central idea, so each development impacts on the whole, giving Mind Maps a versatility and breadth that a simple list cannot achieve.

One reason is that lines, letters, numbers and lists are all left-brain mental skills. However, to be truly creative, you need also to marshal imagination, the realm of the right brain - which interprets colour, image, rhythm and spatial awareness. Hence the Mind Map rationale, which seeks to access the whole brain.

Try it. In this first month of a new year, it could be a good idea to have a fresh look at yourself. Use a Mind Map to assess your personal skills. You need coloured pens, pencils or crayons and a sheet of A4 paper placed in landscape form. Draw a picture of yourself at the centre and write "My Skills" above it. Now choose three colours to draw three different branches from your central image, labelled "Knowledge", "Experience" and "Goals". Use other colours to draw other branches that describe you in a positive way. You may know, for example, you are a "Self-starter" or "Creative" or "Dependable", and may identify other core attributes using one word per branch. Use pictures as well - of people, books, nature, tools, yourself.

Now draw smaller branches from each main branch to describe and develop the one-word key characteristics. A self-starter may have qualities such as discipline, courage, enthusiasm, leadership and perseverance. Specify your experience; is it in research, IT? Can it be applied in a number of settings (entailing more sub-branches)? Define your creativity in greater detail. Your knowledge may be as a result of qualifications and training. Your "Goal" branch can help you see where you might go in terms of future ambitions.

In his book, Buzan's colour-plated Mind Map of "My Skills" develops excitingly into a colour-coded kaleidoscope of linked possibilities as knowledge, experience, independence and communication skills join forces with goals to create a full, positive, yet realistic snapshot of you - and all you might be. Other black/white and colour-coded maps examine issues such as problem solving, time management, planning a holiday, starting a business, researching a job interview and building a successful team.

One of the things you may discover is that mind mapping takes courage. The leap forward can involve leaving our comfort zone and the body may respond quite viscerally with a kind of abdominal "whoosh", as happened with this mind mapper. "That whoosh is of fear but is also a whoosh of expectation and excitement, similar to preparing to meet someone important. You are having a meeting with yourself, facing the fear of facing yourself, and there can be a mixture of apprehension and excitement as you look in the mirror and see yourself reflected back," says Buzan.

"The reason for such fears is we have never been taught how to face ourselves before. A list of positives and negatives can be an inadequate tool which does not explore the magic of who we really are. You do need courage for Mind Maps. The most critical point is deciding whether or not to do it. Once you start, once you push off the diving board, you find yourself in a pool of clear, warm water which takes away the tension. There is a loss in letting go of the unknowing for the knowing, but it's like the loss of letting go of a heavy weight on your shoulders, which stops you breathing deeply and slows you down.

"I highly recommend incorporating fears, insecurities, problems, anxieties into Mind Maps. Fear feeds on itself, on darkness, so mind mapping fears brings them into the light. When you put it on paper, you face it. The minute you put it out, it becomes smaller, a focus for action. So for example, if you are afraid of illness and mind map it, you make the fear a friend, you can look at options to make yourself more healthy, like getting regular fresh air, eating a better diet, doing some dancing and singing."

These days, Buzan, who will be 63 in June, travels for nine months of the year lecturing and working with corporations and national governments, and also with the British Olympic rowing team.

"If you disallowed me from using Mind Maps, my entire world would grind to a halt. I use them daily, in my diary, in all my books [92 at last count], for creative thinking and for the sheer enjoyment of exploring thoughts. Mind Maps are a tool to help you make decisions, solve problems, remember, learn. They are also a mental gymnasium which strengthen the muscles of the mind and give you more access to yourself. You become more aware. Gaining awareness can be painful, but it leads to a more enjoyable life. It was Aristotle who said the unexamined life is a life not worth living."

* Use Your Head, a lecture by Tony Buzan, will take place at the National Concert Hall on Wednesday, January 26th, at 8 p.m. It will examine mind mapping, creative thinking and learning to learn. Tickets cost €60; book at www.nch.ie, tel: 01-4170000.

* Mind Matters At Work by Tony Buzan is published by Thorsons, price £12.99.