Bryan,
All of LS products require some amount of time and practice.
Please learn MindMapping. This one thing will enable you to problem solve, take notes, get the big picture, learn material faster.
Just learn MMing and you will see an increase in your ability to solve and learn. Nancy Margulies has a great book for learning. Tony Buzan's The MindMap Book is also great. Joyce Wycoff's book is terrific from another perspective. I really like the Wycoff book because it really trains us. I learned how to draw from the Margulies book and i got a feeling for MMing from the Buzan book and i put it all together from the Wycoff book.
You will not waste your time by learning MMing. Rather, you will be so impressed w/ your ability to process knowledge that you will feel smarter immediately. I also think it's the easiest technique to learn. I've done them all and it's the fastest, best, and easiest. You'll get so much more for the time spent.
good luck
