Have you ever been in a situation where you wished that someone had taught you to take effective notes? Well, we have all been there. We need to process new information to add it to our long-term memory so that we can remember it. This process involves comprehending it and connecting it with our existing mental capacity. However, it is impossible unless we have the power to make practical notes! That's where mind mapping note-taking comes to the rescue.

The mapping method of note-taking is a type of visual representation designed to help you organize your thoughts. Several ways to use them have been most commonly used as a tool for brainstorming or organizing information.

Mind map note-taking methods have been proven to help people think more creatively and solve problems more effectively by allowing them to visualize their ideas in an organized way.

1. Problems with Taking Notes in the Traditional Way

Remember when back in school, we would get a course outline highlighting things we were supposed to learn without any tricks or tips to know how to understand those? All our lives, we are taught the "what" of learning without focusing on the "how" of learning. That's why this method is ranked as the least effective one.

The problems with taking notes traditionally are that it is time-consuming and inefficient. Most people find it challenging to remember all the information you have gathered. Here are a few reasons why the traditional way is not the way to go about it:

• 1：Traditionally taking notes is a time-consuming and monotonous process.
• 2：It is repetitive. There are problems with traditionally taking notes, like forgetting what you wanted to jot down, writing down irrelevant information, and having to rewrite your notes later on.
• 3：One of the most common mistakes students make is missing critical information in their notes. They re-read large chunks of their notes, but they miss vital information. This happens because traditional notes don't provide a good overview of a topic, and students often have to read a lot of text to find what they need.
• 4：Writing in traditional notes is time-consuming because of the lack of focus on the topic and the unnecessary words that come with it.
• 5：When a page is filled with content, it becomes complicated to add additional information. The information that has already been added is more important than the new information you want. You would find yourself squeezing between the lines, making the work look haphazard and confusing.

2. How to Make Effective Notes with PDNob Mind Map

Scene 1: Minutes Taking

Using mind mapping note-taking in a meeting course of action is a great way to organize and take notes. It helps generate ideas, brainstorm, and connect with other people in the meeting.

The linear note-taking method of taking meeting minutes has been around for centuries. It starts with writing the meeting agenda in a notebook, taking notes during the meeting, and then writing up the minutes afterward. This method is time-consuming, tedious, and requires penmanship skills that not everyone has.

Mind mapping for learning has been proven effective as a tool for taking meeting minutes because they provide a visual representation of the structure of the meeting and give details about each section of the conversation. You can use it as a planning, project, and task management tool.

Here is why taking notes in a mind map is the better choice:

• Mind maps help you understand the text better by showing how each idea connects with the other views.
• Mind maps are very easy-to-follow because they are structured into different parts representing different levels of understanding or concepts needing further attention or clarification.
• It also helps you look at an idea's subtleties or concept.

Scene 2: Presentation

Starting a new mind map with your first topic is essential at the beginning of a presentation. The trick is to jot down any ideas that come to mind. This will help you stay focused and create an accurate yet straightforward outline for your presentation.

As the presentation starts, first, make a subtopic and as you move forward, create them in a clockwise manner. This will help you focus on the keywords rather than every other unnecessary word that the speaker says. The point is to get the gist of the presentation visually. Avoid using whole sentences and longer explanations. Instead, use short phrases, diagrams, or one-liners to remember the explanations.

To show the relationship between ideas and thoughts, indicate them using lines and arrows. Use different colors and fonts to highlight changes and other ideas.

Here is why taking notes in a mind mapping note-taking is the better choice:

• It helps in breaking down complex topics into digestible chunks;
• It provides you with ideas for content and visuals;
• You can visualize your thoughts and opinions on paper before presenting them to others;
• With mind mapping, different colors to represent various topics;

Scene 3: Reading Summary

It's through summarizing and analyzing a book that we can learn about ourselves, our values, and our worldviews. Summing up, books help us understand more about ourselves and others around us.

Mind Maps are handy for writing summaries, which can be a great way of preparing for an essay, exam, or just writing summaries for books you have completed. This is because they allow students to focus on what they need to know and what they want to say about it.

A mind map is a visual image of crucial information in a text. It helps students to find the most critical information in a long text and understand it better. It can be created by using keywords, short expressions, watchwords from the text, and images from other sources like videos or pictures. This way, the next time, they would not have to read a book all over again but instead, go through it and only require reading mind maps and recalling the overall gist of the book.

Here is why taking notes in a mind map is the better choice:

• They allow you to see patterns in your thoughts;
• They allow you to group similar ideas;
• Mind maps can also help you avoid repeating yourself or plagiarizing;
• With mind maps, the need for reading chapters or books over and over again is eliminated;

Conclusion

Mind mapping note-taking is an effective way to take notes and brainstorm ideas. It helps you organize your thoughts and provide a visual representation of your ideas that can be easily shared with others.

They are an excellent tool for struggling with taking notes or those who have trouble staying organized. They can help people get their thoughts on paper effortlessly and straightforwardly.

In the future, mind mapping may become even more helpful as it becomes more prevalent in our lives.