How to harness the potential of wandering thoughts
Think back to the last meeting you participated in or the last lecture you listened to. Do you remember what the other participants were doing? Did they listen attentively or did they sometimes look a little absent minded – like being somewhere else? Have you ever observed your [...]
How to harness the potential of wandering thoughts
Think back to the last meeting you participated in or the last lecture you listened to. Do you remember what the other participants were doing? Did they listen attentively or did they sometimes look a little absent minded – like being somewhere else? Have you ever observed your own mind and what it does whist you are sitting in a meeting or listening to a speaker?
It is most likely that you were not focused on the actual topic most of the time but instead thinking about something else. The American Psychological Association completed a research project on the topic and found out what people actually think about during a meeting or a speech at any given time:
- 18% are really listening and are focused on the topic
- 25% have erotic thoughts
- 57% are thinking about something else
We may argue about the exact distribution of the percentages, however, one thing seems to be obvious: it is a natural tendency for the mind to wander around and to follow associations that have been triggered by a certain key word or an event during the meeting or lecture.
Research has found that:
- People cannot concentrate much longer than 20 minutes
- The brain works by constantly creating associations
Therefore it is only natural that the mind wanders, even more so when the meeting or the lecture is not completely fascinating and attention grabbing. Even if it is, the brain constantly makes connections to already existing knowledge and causes listeners to drift off.
Most people take notes of the content they are listening to, but not of the other thoughts that occur during that time. The above numbers illustrate that we seem to have more non-topic related thoughts, than thoughts that fit the topic. Concluding that a lot of possibly very valuable thoughts are lost because we do not write them down.
The technique “In and Out Writing” helps us to harness the potential of this natural tendency of our mind by capturing not just the content of whatever we are supposed to focus on, but also the associations that are trigged while listening.
The traditional way this technique is done is in form of a table with two columns, the left side for “In” and the right side for “Out”. By dividing your paper into two parts and take notes like this you are most likely to have more notes on the “In” column than on the “Out” column. When using this technique remember that whenever an interesting “Out” thought occurs jot it down.
Mind Mapping = In and Out Writing10
This technique becomes many times more powerful when you use Mind Mapping techniques and iMindMap to implement it.
When you take notes in the form of a Mind Map you already visually structure the content (the “In” thoughts) you are listening to. Whenever an “Out” thought occurs you can add this thought by creating specially marked sub-branches to an “In” thought on your Mind Map. You can mark the sub-branches by using one of iMindMap’s icons, e.g. a light bulb or by assigning it a special colour that symbolises “Out” thoughts for you. If you combine these two options your map becomes even more visual.
The general concept of how it works using iMindMap is shown below.
If this method is used with iMindMap “In and Out Writing” becomes much more effective than in the traditional way using a table and writing down everything sequentially:
- Using an iMindMap format “Out” thoughts are not separated but are attached to the “In thought which visually becomes clearer and helps to reinforce the associations.
- By being connected to a context, knowledge transfer and new connections are facilitated.
- By being in a context as shown in the Mind Map, it is much easier to remember and recall the information.
- The Mind Map form enables the “Out” thoughts to be further developed by adding additional sub-branches.
- The Mind Map form triggers even more associations.
Next time your mind starts to drift away, capture your thoughts, they might be worth remembering!
Please Note: All the example Mind Maps were created using Buzan’s iMindMap™ – The offical software from Tony Buzan, inventor of Mind Mapping. To open and edit these files you will need to have iMindMap™ installed. If you do not have iMindMap™ you can easily download and try the software for FREE by clicking HERE.
by Florian Rustler
About iMindMap™
Tony Buzan is the world’s leading expert on the brain and is the inventor of Mind Mapping®, the thinking technique used by over 250 million people worldwide. Whilst many products have claimed to allow you to Mind Map on a computer, none have managed to fully duplicate Tony’s world renowned process. Until now that is… iMindMap™ gives you the infinite visual variety, portability, freedom, brain friendliness and effectiveness of traditional, highly proven Mind Mapping® techniques. iMindMap™ is the ultimate thinking tool which allows you to work, learn and think smarter so you can excel in any area of your life.
For more information on mind mapping, free videos, additional articles and to download a free trial of iMindMap™ visit here.
2 your learning success,
Dirk
One Response
Thank you Mirko,
I jsut love mind maps and cant stop posting about them:-) Dirk