Dear visitor,

have you faced this scenario?

You are deciding on a brilliant new life plan and your first instinct is to tell someone, right?  Well, Derek Sivers says it’s better to keep goals secret. He presents research stretching as far back as the 1920s to show why people who talk about their ambitions may be less likely to achieve them.

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1. The linguistic genius of babies-10 minute watch

Dear Reader,

Patricia Kuhl shares astonishing findings about how babies learn one language over another — by listening to the humans around them and “taking statistics” on the sounds they need to know. Clever lab experiments (and brain scans) show how 6-month-old babies use sophisticated reasoning to understand their world.

2 your learning success, Dirk

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How can I improve my study skills with Mind Mapping?

Mind Mapping has helped students across the world change the way they make notes, improve their memory and prioritise information.

In this article, find out how Mind Mapping can improve study skills quickly and easily.

What is traditional note making?

Pen poised on the word ‘innovations’

Traditionally, when studying, we make notes in a linear, list style by making lines and lines of information. By making notes in this way we end up with ugly, dense lines of text which are difficult to read and understand.

Why are linear notes bad?

By writing notes in list form you are forced to isolate pieces of information, and you will feel unable to make connections between your ideas. Your creativity is not excited by linear, monochrome lines of text, meaning that you find ideas written in this way hard to read, and you don’t look forward to reviewing your notes

What is Mind Mapping?

A Mind Map is visual map of your ideas, laid out in a radial format around a central thought. To use Mind Mapping for study, simply take the central subject and then organise your notes around this point.

What are the benefits of Mind Mapping while studying?

Mind Maps appeal to your senses with their visual elements – images, branch colours and curved branches all add emphasis and ensure that you will remember your notes!

By noting down only key words, you save vital time while studying. Also, when you go on to write essays or study for exams from your Mind Maps, you will recall the most important information.
You generate ideas simply through making your Mind Map. Your brain actively makes links between ideas, adds connections, puts thoughts in order and generates further creative ideas.
Your brain responds to Mind Mapping as it replicates the natural thinking process, so you will find your ideas simply flow onto the page, making studying more enjoyable and more fun!

Mind Mapping as study skills

Student studies from a laptop and a pile of books

The Mind Map is a versatile tool, which can improve any aspect of study, including:

• Essay Planning

• Essay Writing

• Studying for Exams

• Generating Creative Ideas

• Solving Problems

• Brainstorming for Group Study

• Creating and Making Presentation

How could iMindMap improve my study skills?

iMindMap can improve your study skills even further, with a multitude of easy-to-use features and tools:

Image and Icon Libraries – give your notes quick visual emphasis with a vast array of images and symbols, designed to help you comprehend messages easily.
Save, edit and review your Mind Maps at leisure – great for revision!
Use Highlight Clouds and Relationship Arrows to make connections between ideas even more explicit.
Using the Expand and Collapse function is a great way to test yourself – or your friends! – on key information.
Add notes to branches for more detailed information, longer data or add useful web links for your reference.
Share your Mind Maps in a variety of ways with others, by exporting to PDF, image files, a webpage and even MS Word.

Mind Mapping makes studying fun!

In this article, you have found out why your brain does not respond positively to linear note taking, which may explain why you find studying boring! Mind Mapping can change all that. By using Mind Maps to make notes you will find that you enjoy studying more, have more original creative ideas and get information down a lot faster. Try it today!

Interested in Mind Mapping? You can get a FREE trial of iMindMap if you click on the banner at the side.

To your online success, Dirk

Related posts:

1. 7 Mind Mapping Uses for Teaching
2. 7 Ways to Use Mind Maps in Business

Another anmazing educational video by RSA.org. Hope you enjoy- to your online success,Dirk

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Why Multitasking Destroys Your Productivity

Most entrepreneurs I know are proud of their “multitasking” ability. But maybe they shouldn’t be.

The term was originally applied to computers – to describe the way a CPU solves problems by scheduling tasks and switching back and forth from task to task until each one gets done. Well, that may be an efficient way for a computer to work, but it’s anything but efficient when it comes to your productivity.

Dave Crenshaw wrote my favorite book on the topic, and I recommend it to anyone who still thinks and feels that multitasking is cool. On page 29 in The Myth of Multitasking, he writes:

“Around the end of the twentieth century, some wordsmith saw the connection between our increasingly hectic world and the world of the computer. A catchword was born.

Newspapers began peppering their articles with the word. Talk show hosts began using it with frequency. Magazines began publishing articles about how to multitask more effectively.

Multitasking quickly became as popular and accepted as the automobile and the hamburger.”

Dave Crenshaw has a more accurate word to describe flipping back and forth between two (or more) activities. He calls it “switchtasking.”

Multitasking or switchtasking reduces your efficiency (your ability to do the right things) and your effectiveness (your ability to do things right) because it forces you to keep changing your mental focus. During the switchover time (less than a second, in most cases), your concentration diminishes and the number of mistakes you make dramatically increases.

In fact, many states (including California) have outlawed multitasking on the highway by making it illegal to speak on a handheld mobile phone while driving a car.

“A mere half second of time lost to task switching can mean the difference between life and death for a driver using a cellphone, because during the time that the car is not totally under control, it can travel far enough to crash into obstacles the driver might have otherwise avoided,” reported Dr. David Meyer from the University of Michigan.

Okay, so let me ask you a candid question. How many of the following common multitasking activities do you engage in?

• Writing e-mails while speaking on the telephone
• Checking voice mail while speaking to your spouse
• Reading the newspaper while listening to the news
• Watching TV while having a family conversation
• Tweeting while instant messaging while…

I’m guessing you’ve done “all of the above” at some point in your adult life. But my point isn’t to nag you about multitasking. It is to make you conscious of how destructive it can be.

It’s not only mentally stressful to splinter your attention (and make mistakes along the way), multitasking sets you up for failure… and the guilt of not completing everything you set out to do.

Stacking vs.Multitasking

Now if you do two things at once but can keep the majority of your attention on only ONE of those things, that’s a whole different animal. I call this stacking. Dave Crenshaw calls it background tasking. (You can call it whatever you wish.)

Stacking helps you get more done, faster and better. It is a productive use of your time because only ONE of the tasks you are doing requires mental effort.

Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about:

• Eating dinner while watching a video
• Jogging while listening to your iPod
• Driving while listening to the radio
• Writing an e-mail while printing out a document
• Munching on a snack while riding a bicycle
• Listening to the news while showering
• Reading a book while getting a haircut

Stacking doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you’ll become more effective (by doing the right things), but it can practically guarantee more efficiency (doing things right to get maximum results in minimum time).

Stacking & America’s Middle Class

Henry Ford didn’t invent the car, but he did figure out how to produce automobiles that were within the reach of the average American. And I believe he did this by preventing his workers from multitasking.

Prior to his introduction of the assembly line to the manufacturing process, cars were individually crafted by teams of skilled workmen. But instead of having one team work on one car, from start to finish, he created a stacking environment where the cars came to the workers – and each worker performed the same assembly task again and again.

The stacking power of the assembly line reduced the time it took to manufacture a car from 13 hours to less than six. That made it possible for Ford to offer the Model T for $825 when it made its debut in 1908. Four years later, the price dropped to $575. By 1914, Ford claimed a 48 percent share of the world’s automobile market.

What to Do Now

You can stop the insanity of multitasking right now by listing (right here) two or three multitasking activities you commonly engage in at work or at home.

Then, the next time you catch yourself multitasking, stop. Take a moment to think about what you’re doing, and quickly choose one of those tasks to focus on first. Complete that task before you switch to the other one.

I think you’ll find that this automatically makes you more efficient, more effective – and feeling a lot better about yourself for getting multiple jobs done right.

By Alex Mandossian

[Ed. Note: Alex Mandossian knows a thing or two about success. He has generated over $233 million in sales for his clients. And in the past three years, he increased his own revenues from $1.5 million to $5 million. You can get Alex's advice and practical marketing tips for info-publishers, small-business owners, and entrepreneurs for free at www.AlexMandossianToday.com.

Interested in making between $50,000 and $5 million - starting this year? Find out how to do so right here.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

2 your learning success, Dirk

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