CONTENTS
Start Here! ....................................................................... 3
FAQs on General Mindmapping …..………………………. 4
PHASE 1: The Priming Phase ..…………………………. 5
Step 1- Identify Meaning ………………………………....... 6
Step 2- Structure and Basics ………………………………. 6
Step 3- Group and Categorise …………………………….. 7
FAQs on Priming + Skimming ……………………………... 8
PHASE 2: The Relating Phase .………………………... 10
Step 4- Find the Central Idea ………………………......... 10
Step 5- Forming Connections Between Concepts .…..... 12
FAQs on Relating Concepts ……………………………… 13
PHASE 3: The Organising Phase ……………………… 14
Step 6- Translate to Visual Structure .…………………… 14
Step 7- Learning During the Process ……………………. 15
FAQs on Organising Mindmaps .…………………………. 15
How to Use Mindmaps During Revision ………………… 17
Final Thoughts and Links …………….………………… 17
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Start Here!
This is a mindmap I drew the other day.
It covers the content of 3 entire chapters, all it took was 30 minutes to make.
And because of it I will remember what I learnt forever.
That is why I can confidently say, mindmapping has been the single most beneficial “study
technique” that I’ve learnt over this entire year because it’s helped me process and remember
huge amounts of information in a very effective way.
And that is what I want to teach you today as well.
Oh, and btw, I’m Zain, currently a 4th year medical student studying in the UK. I’ve been learning
how to learn for over 7+ years now and I make videos on my YouTube channel about it.
PRO Mindmapping Method
I started off learning about mindmaps from YouTube and only gradually did I understand how
much this could transform the way I learn in medical school.
BUT... despite being a technique popularised in the 1970s, there was not one full video or
resource that taught me the actual practical steps to study topics using mindmaps.
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So, over this last year, I went on a deep dive, grabbed steps from here and there, experimented
with 30+ mindmaps and finally created a solid method for mindmapping.
I’ve now been regularly using this method to work through all my topics, cutting my study time by
at least 2/3s of what it was.
I’ve also successfully taught it to several 10s of 1000s online, many of whom claim that “it’s
changed my life”.
So I thought it was only right to create a full written guide.
This is the PRO Mindmapping Method, and it includes 3 phases:
In this full guide, my aim is to walk you through each phase of the mindmapping process, provide
example mindmaps and answer as many commonly asked questions as possible to help you
master the skill of creating mindmaps.
But remember; it is a skill. It will take time. So, get your hands dirty. Follow this method for at least
20-30 mindmaps, each time improving and watch your learning habits transform.
Frequently Asked Questions on General Mindmapping
| Why create mindmaps?
First things first, understand the REASON you’re creating the mindmap.
You know that just reading through your books isn’t the solution to learn smartly. It never works,
you can’t remember anything… ever. So, what do you change? How should you process the
information?
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The only way we learn new things is by connecting every new concept you read to what you
already know about the topic.
The only way we learn is by linking new knowledge to pre-existing knowledge. And the best way to
do that is by FIRST creating a basic model of the topics that you’re studying.
So that when you revise the rest of the chapter afterwards, you can simply read the information
and then quickly link it to the basic model you created i.e. the mindmap (instead of just reading it
and forgetting as usual).
Hence you learn content like this *snaps fingers*.
The mindmap should include and link all the basics of the key concepts and facts within one or
multiple topics on one page.
It needs to be a memorable and strong big picture that allows you recall and understand the
information in an intuitive way.
| What information goes on the mindmaps?
Remember, this is JUST the basic structure of the topics. So, you only put down the basic to
medium level concepts and information on here… no nitty gritty details especially at the start.
| How much information goes on the mindmaps?
The number of chapters or topics you include on a single mindmap DEPENDS on the type of info
you’re learning and what your exam is assessing you on.
My exams test me on the clinical side of diseases, so on my mindmap I mainly include this clinical
knowledge AND I do it for multiple diseases that are related to each other so that I can visually
compare and connect them in my head.
It makes way more sense to do multiple ones together rather than just for a singular disease. But
basically, it depends, and YOU have to be the judge.
Now let’s get started with the exact steps. I’m going to break down and simplify the steps within
each phase to make it as clear as possible.
Phase 1: The Priming Phase
Think of priming as the preparation part of the learning. This priming means understanding the
foundation and structure of the topics before diving into any specific details.
The reason I’ve been going on about only starting with the basics of the topics first is because our
brain absorbs information best through “layering”.
This means we can only learn the most difficult information after we learn the medium level and
we can only learn the medium level information if we’ve understood the basics.
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So, when we go through a topic, this means ignoring everything except the absolute
basics, no details.
The following are the practical steps for this phase:
| Step 1: Figure out what your 3 related topics are about.
Open up the chapters or lectures for the single or related topics that you’ve picked.
Since I’m studying different diseases, I figure out a) what each disease is and b) how each of them
generally affects the body.
It is a simple step so you can’t spend more than a few minutes on it. You basically just need to
identify the meaning of the topics you’re doing.
But you see… straight away I am thinking of these diseases TOGETHER. I am reading their
definitions one after the other and naturally comparing them. How are they different or similar from
one another. Much more useful than learning each one in isolation.
| Step 2: Understand the structure and the basics of the chapter/s.
Now you skim read the full chapters properly. To effectively do so, do these 3 things:
A) While reading through, think about the headings and observe how each chapter is laid
out. What are the sections it’s divided up into? And then compare between the chapters again.
How do the different sections compare? Which sections look heavier in information for topic 1
compared to topic 2 for example?
This is you just creating a big picture.
B) As for understanding the basic information, go through the chapters top to bottom, do it
multiple times if needed. ONLY focusing on the basics, no getting stuck.
Skim read the concepts, the processes, look words up, and watch a few visual videos.
You obviously won’t know anything at this point, you’ll barely understand things and that’s fine, mix
and match the reading with the videos.
It’ll really help with getting a clearer idea of the basics, because videos are just easier to
understand. They explain the topic in a simple and visual way with arrows and animations, which
is helpful for understanding the basics.
Topper Tip: Skim-read similar sections of each chapter one after the other so you can continue to
compare them during the skimming, rather than skimming each full chapter one by one and
comparing after.
C) While you skim-read, side by side think and write down the main big subheadings you
can divide the information of the chapters up into. Most of them can be divided up into 3-5
groups. Very simple step.
This is the start of the keyword list we will be using for the content of the mindmap.
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This doesn’t necessarily need to be a copy of the subheadings within the chapter, that’s the way
the author grouped it. Change it and structure it based on what you think is a good way to think
about the chapter. The ones below are usually what I divide the chapters of these disease into as
I’ve found it to be most helpful for my understanding + my exam.
But this will vary depending on topic and complexity of topic you’re studying.
(labelled subheading categories example below)
| Step 3: Group the concepts into sub-headings and categorise the keywords
you want to include on mindmap.
You should have the subheadings or groups written down by now on a word document or
equivalent.
So use the skimming to learn more about the topics and add the specific concepts and facts within
each of them that you definitely want to include on your mindmap. This is the keyword list.
Yes, this resembles notetaking but remember this is all in preparation to create the mindmap, the
base you’re making that links all three topics together. So make sure there’s not too much useless
detail on there but not too little either. And that it makes sense.
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The image below includes the final keyword list for the osteoarthritis chapter I ended up
with. There’s two other chapters that are going on the mindmap (rheumatoid arthritis and
septic arthritis).
(labelled full keyword list example below)
The process of grouping information, figuring out ‘alright how do I want to categorise all this
information, what’s important to include here’… all of it a) promotes understanding and b) when
you’re revising later on, it’s way easier to think of the information if it’s categorised.
“Like oh yes… this antibody test isn’t just a test… it’s a first-line investigation for rheumatoid
arthritis -> which is an autoimmune disease -> that affects our joints and other systemic things.”
When you categorise the info you read, those links happen very quickly in our head. It’s just very
important for long-term understanding.
Frequently Asked Questions on Priming + Skimming
| How do you speed up the skimming or what do you do during it specifically?
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What you need to understand is that when I say skim-read, what I mean is you go through the
content, but you don’t read every sentence, you don’t get hung up on specific info or on things you
don’t understand.
Right now, you don’t have to be like ‘oh why am I not remembering this’.
You are just trying to think about what the basics are, what the concepts effect, how these topics
or subtopics are related together. You are just developing an initial structure in your head.
Skimming does take time at the start. You’re teaching yourself a completely new way of reading
through information in a quick way while only focusing on certain bits and ignoring the big chunks.
So of course it will. And that’s fine.
It’s a ton better to do the skimming and grouping of information properly at this stage than not
doing it and just diving straight in.
Also… you’re not wasting time. You’re studying in the most important way possible. Learning the
first layer of the topic and making sense of it in the best ways, which ensures that the rest of your
revision will be much faster.
| Skimming isn’t enough to make the mindmap, how do I do it?
You’re right, skimming superficially isn’t enough.
But when I say skimming, it’s a term I’m using for going through the content quickly without getting
stuck in the weeds. and side by side building up from the basics.
It means creating a big picture understanding and linking concepts together by comparing them.
And btw while you make the mindmap you can still have all your resources open; you should
continue to look stuff up and learn WHILE you create the mindmap.
So, this “skimming” isn’t all the reading you’ll get to do. You’re reading, understanding and adding
on to your knowledge throughout the entire process.
But the difference is… you’re thinking about what you’re reading critically, you’re analysing the
structure of different topics, you’re comparing, THEN you’re evaluating your understanding even
makes sense. And eventually you’ll be creating a mindmap.
Uncoincidentally, this directly hits almost every level of the bloom’s taxonomy learning system,
pretty neat right.
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Phase 2: The Relating Phase
Now is the part where we have to come up with how the topics and their concepts are going to
relate together on the page.
Basically, the goal is to near perfectly imagine where everything will go on our mindmap. What
goes in the centre of it? How will all the topics be laid out and connected around it etc?
I know this is the part of the process most people slip up on or get lazy with or don’t know how to
do. Because even though, this is how we best understand, it is so far away from the linear way of
learning we’re taught in school.
But you need to get comfortable with this part not being easy.
You need to sit there, actively thinking: what is a good way to relate these topics on the page
so that it’s memorable and makes intuitive sense?
The other thing you need to get comfortable with is that it will take a high number of reps to get
good at this step. I used to create mindmaps that were either too basic, or too complicated or
had too many connections or just copied the chapters table of contents.
Only after several different mindmaps, did I figure out what works. Which parts, which relations,
which links do I end up remembering? Which mindmaps helped my understanding the most?
And those questions can only be answered once you’ve put in the repetitions and stretched your
brain a bit.
I still scratch my head, compare the diseases for ages, look things up to try and figure it out when
I’m studying. But now, eventually I do come up with a good idea.
Let me explain how with some practical steps.
| Step 4- Find the central idea that links the big topics together
Start with the centre of the mindmap. Rather than having just the topic’s name in the middle, it’s
much more helpful to have a visual diagram or drawing in the middle that relates or shows all three
topics together (on a very superficial level of course). There are some examples below.
Super rough drawings I know but creating this central idea is essential to a good mindmap!
So think: what makes these topics similar but also different? Their causes, what they effect,
their parts, how they work… the list is endless. What can help you visualise all three easily?
For me, I always choose to put 2-4 diseases on the mindmap that are already related so it’s not
hard to come up with the central idea BUT it does take a while.
The misconception I want to clarify, is that to come up with this central idea, you don’t need to
understand everything super deeply, you just need a good idea of the basics.
If you know what the topics mean, if you’ve grouped them in subheadings and concepts, then you
will EASILY be able to find the main idea that relates them.
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Do they affect the same organ or system in different ways, are they caused by the same thing, are
they treated similarly, what’s linking them.
Just what is the basic link! And this applies to every conceptual, factual, technical chapter
out there. There is a conceptual base beneath every subject that you’re studying.
| Examples from Mindmaps I’ve Drawn In My YouTube Videos
Rheumatoid, septic, and osteoarthritis- I put a drawing
of a joint in the middle, half of it been super worn down
for osteoarthritis and the other half super inflamed
representing septic and rheumatoid. I chose to relate the
diseases based on their EFFECTS on our joints. And
then built around that.
Cushing’s syndrome, conns, Addison’s disease- All
effect the same pituitary-adrenal axis so I focused on
what happens in each part of the system to CAUSE
these conditions.
Types of shock- I realised that each type of shock just
affects a different part of the circulatory system. So, I
drew out the system and drew out the literal effect each
shock type had in a super visual way.
And that is the big benefit.
By thinking of a good central idea, 1) I’ll be able to add onto it more easily when making the
mindmap and 2) when I revise these arthritis topics, I’ll be able to very easily remember the entire
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mindmap if I can immediately think of this memorable diagram in the middle that splits or explains
the diseases.
Topper’s Tip: If I have to recall a topic during later revisions, I just start with this centre and that
immediately helps me remember everything around it in a super quick way.
| Step 5- Form relations and connect concepts away from the centre
Once you have the centre thought of, you can start to think about finding relations between the
rest of the content.
This is where we decide how to structure the rest of the information we’ve noted down and
categorised in our keyword list… onto the mindmap.
Again, this is the part most people struggle with. How much do you include? What do you include?
It doesn’t come naturally. It is difficult to come up with ways to relate concepts, but it is essential
for your learning, linking information together is the way we learn.
And it is how you’ve been learning all your life, whether you realise it or not.
So, remember... repetitions! Your skill will evolve the more you actively think about how to relate
the concepts and the more topics you do it with.
Your skill will improve but the actual steps won’t change. So here you go-
A) Think about how all the groups and sub-headings within the big topics can be related to
each other.
| Remember, for any topic, relations are just how two pieces of info affect each other.
The subheadings or groups could have an effect or the same cause or they could be step 1 and
step 2 and step 3 of a chronological process.
B) Write down all of the relations you can come up with. From my experience, especially for
beginners that’s the best way to do it. Otherwise, we just get confused, jump the gun and start
drawing the mindmap adding arrows and things with no planning.
Here, let me show you what I noted down for the osteoarthritis vs rheumatoid arthritis comparison.
This is taken directly from my notes so it’s rough, but it’s good enough to give you an idea.
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Overall understand that finding them take a while and that’s good. The process of making this
mindmap is the real learning. Not the actual end product.
C) Choose what’s important to show on the mindmap and think about how it’s going to be
visualised. This honestly has to depend on what your exams are and what you need to know.
For me, including the entire pathophysiology or every exact thing that causes these conditions is a
waste of time. I only want to emphasise the clinical process that the patient has to go through and
remember how that’s different between the conditions.
So that’s what I included. I mirrored the osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis patient and their
process through the hospital.
I compared what they looked like and what their hands looked like as well. That’s a common exam
question. And these were simple drawings that represented like 10-15 facts about each patient!
Rheumatoid
Patient
Osteoarthritis
Patient
Yes, the mindmap making takes a bit of thinking and preparation, but once you’ve thought of the
central idea and vaguely know what’s going on the mindmap and where it’s going, now we can
actually make it.
Frequently Asked Questions on Relating Concepts
This was a longer step to be honest because the majority of people struggle here. I’ve answered
most of the questions already but some more FAQs about the relating phase were:
| Thinking about organising it and grouping etc. takes too much time and feels
passive, what do I do?
| I just don’t find the connections at times and I feel like I am wasting my time
just to find the right connection and drawing the map.
Definitely not passive if you’re figuring out how each concept works and connects with other
subtopics in the chapter. Even in the priming phase, you’re learning throughout! You’re using all
the layers of the bloom’s taxonomy model.
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If you are learning multiple huge topics in such an effective way, in this little amount of time… you
will barely have to “re-learn” anything later while studying and the amount of time you’ll save is
absolutely insane. This applies even if you aren’t doing every step perfectly.
Phase 3- The Organising Phase
Now is when we make the mindmap and organise all the subheadings and concepts we’ve written
down, the one central idea, create the relations we’re thinking about. And actually put it all on the
page so that THIS mindmap can be the base, the way that we remember and think about these
topics.
| Step 6- Translating to a visual structure
So, when drawing it out a) start with drawing the central idea and connect the big topics to it.
Make the central diagram clear, use colours and make sure it helps you differentiate between the
different topics on the mindmap. Add icons next to each topic, underline them, bold them anything
to show that these are the main big ideas!
b) First plan visually where the main concepts and info will go and then start adding it
around each of the big topics. I know it sounds simple but doing this well was an issue for many
people when I asked. It’s a struggle to make it look memorable and include everything that is
needed on there. The two things that help the most though are ensuring 1) flow and 2) clarity
Here are my general tips to achieve good flow of ideas and to make the mindmap as clear as
possible for you to remember.
1. Make it 90% visual and reduce the words on there as much possible
Instead of me writing out what each of these diseases effect the human body, each presentation
and symptom that I listed out for the diseases. I just drew out these horrible looking stick figures to
represent who these conditions commonly effect, how this one just messes up your joints whereas
this one messes up everything else too.
Like 20 facts were condensed into 2 very memorable diagrams, that I can very easily compare in
my head and refer to as well. And that is what you need to be doing as well. Use icons, symbols
and bright colours.
And yes, this still applies to physics or chemistry actually maybe even more so because you want
to easily represent the concepts behind each equation, behind each topic visually in a clear way
and you want to make sure the ideas all flow.
And yes, to maintain extreme levels of clarity in flow of the concepts
2. Add thicker arrows for more important connections. And different TYPES of arrows
for different purposes.
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You can see how I’ve done thicker arrows for the big topics, darker arrows to visualise the process
patient goes through when they present with the disease. Then smaller ones coming off diagrams
or linking different concepts together. Again this isn’t a 10/10 mindmap at all. But it still maintains
good flow.
3. Make sure the groups on the mindmap are intuitive and limit the excess
The way the subtopics and concepts are laid out, actually needs to make sense. You need to be
able to close your eyes and picture everything on there. And if you can’t remember it after trying
for a bit, then it isn’t easy to understand. It isn’t intuitive and you need to reorganise and find
clearer relationships that link the concepts better.
| Step 7- Learn WHILE creating the mindmap
This isn’t a separate step. But throughout this whole process, I am thinking of these topics as a
lego. I am grouping the pieces together. I’m creating links between what goes together how they
relate and now I’m putting it together.
But while I put it together. While I create the mindmap, I’m going back to the textbook, the
keywords and phrases list, the videos. Looking up ways to visualise something better. Half my
ideas of how to visualise the diseases come from osmosis or zero to final videos.
This is what active learning looks like. I am using the resources to either solidify what I already
know or to see if I’ve missed something when things don’t make sense. Does the way I’m laying
this mindmap out actually make sense, is it correct? Can the details start to fit on here. It’s a
continuous evaluation of the structure of the topic.
And that’s what makes this method so effective. The fact that you’re challenging your brain and the
way you think about the topic. Rather than you just reading off the textbook and just accepting
things as fact, hoping that it’ll magically stick. No, it has to be an active process.
And those are pretty much all of the main steps involved in… the mindmapping method.
Frequently Asked Questions on Organising Mindmaps
| How to use mindmaps for practice-based subjects like math, physics,
chemistry?
I wish I knew about these when I was doing those subjects. I would’ve never had to “just do
practise questions” or work off pattern recognition when solving problems, figuring out reactions
etc. My understanding would’ve been rock solid.
Even though it may seem suited for theory-heavy subjects, mindmaps are equally if not MORE
valuable for practise-based ones. EVERY subject requires a strong conceptual foundation to
tackle questions and problems in exams. And the best way to build this is via mindmaps. Concepts
would be interconnected, problems would feel intuitive to solve, you won’t need to memorise every
single formula nor fall for the trick questions. Because you’ll actually know what everything means!
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The steps to do the mindmap for these subjects do NOT change!! They are the exact same 7
steps. Choose 3 related topics, skim them, make a keyword list, group, categorise, find a central
idea, find relations, and connect the basic and medium-level concepts on the mindmap.
Their purpose is to help you form a solid base of the topic before going and memorising or jumping
straight to practise questions. Of course they don’t replace practise questions, but that’s true for
any subject.
They are simply a way to think about the entire topic and understand it long term in a very intuitive
manner. So that you can easily refer to that understanding WHEN doing the questions or learning
the details!
In chemistry, mindmaps for organic reactions would make so much sense, for example for
alcohols, aldehydes and carboxylic acids. Linking functional groups, reaction mechanisms plus the
conditions required for specific reactions. Easy few mental models that would sort out most of
organic chemistry.
Or in maths, mindmaps for trigonometry including the unit circle, trigonometric ratios and
identities. The central idea could simply be the unit circle with a triangle in the middle. And then all
the concepts come off it. The best most logical relations would be forming around that mindmap.
And you could avoid so much unnecessary memorisation.
So point is, instead of jumping to solving equations from your books, use mindmaps to build
frameworks of entire topics. Get creative, practise them. And of course, you still need to do
questions, practising problem types is just as important for mastery. But this will reinforce the
theory even while you sharpen your problem-solving ability.
I will create a full video with a few examples on how I would create a mindmap for problem-based
subjects. But honestly, you don’t need it. You are more than capable if you can use these steps.
| I end up with excessive amounts of information on it, making the mindmap is
heavy and unclear and too complex. Topics are so vast and interconnected
that my mindmaps feel too large. How do I solve this? What’s the max size?
For several months, I was creating mindmaps that were too information dense, I didn’t know where
to stop.
Of course I’m out of that stage now.
But it’s because overtime I realised which information on there actually helped my revision.
Overtime I realised that adding ALL the specific details on the mindmap wasn’t smart because I
wouldn’t remember them anyways. Overtime I realised that for that initial mindmap, only include
the basics and medium-level concepts (I know it’s hard to judge but it just takes practise with your
specific subject). So if it’s messy it’s fine. It’s part of the process of getting better. Make it messy.
I repeat, the aim of these mindmaps isn’t to cover every single thing to do with the topic. It is
simply to create a rock-solid base of the topic that allows you to understand it in a very intuitive
way, so that the rest of your learning becomes easier and faster.
In terms of the information on the mindmap, there shouldn’t be more than one-word or two-word
phrases ideally. No long sentences or paragraphs. Ideas need to be represented visually with
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icons, processes, arrows. Because that is what’s memorable. Optimise for showing clear
connections and ideas over adding extra details. We’ll be able to learn them later anyways and at
a much faster rate because our understanding overall will be so solid.
How to Use Mindmaps DURING Revision?
How should I use them or revise using them after making them? Should I put them into
flashcards to reinforce?
After studying the topic for the first time and creating the mindmap, you now have a strong base
understanding. BUT you still have to go through the topic obviously, to fit the details into your
picture, to memorise and understand what isn’t on the mindmap.
Normally it would take you many revisions to understand and memorise. But with mindmaps, when
you now go and revise the topics, you will be taking in the information AS YOU READ IT. Because
you’ll be able to easily link the information to the subheadings or the categories on your mindmap.
The way I study after that first session:
1. Create questions from the information so that I have a resource to test myself.
2. Recall those questions and learn side by side from the answers.
3. For wrong answers, re-learn and re-think why you didn’t understand it.
4. Throughout the learning, think about all the knowledge in terms of ‘where would this fit on
my mindmap, does this make sense in terms of how I’ve learnt it initially”
Very simple steps. But that’s my suggestion to start with. You’ll start to think in terms of these
mindmaps more and more over time.
Final Thoughts
I hope that this full guide on the PRO mindmapping method has given insight and clear
steps for you to, now, implement the technique within your own topics and subjects!
Of course, there’s no way I’ve answered ALL your questions. I grouped a 100+ questions and
found the most common issues to include within this guide.
Therefore, if you have any more questions about the process, do leave them in the comments of
my videos, community posts or alternatively email me at zain@zainasif.com.
If you aren’t already subscribed to my YouTube Channel, go check out the 100+ videos on there
and show some support.
Check out these mindmapping videos if you haven’t (they’ll help with this guide)•
•
•
How to Create Mindmaps (basics)
My Live Walk Through of Creating a Mindmap for 3 Topics
My Full Memorisation Guide (how I use mindmaps to effectively memorise)
Appreciate every single one of you. Thank you for reading this far
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