How To Take Smart Notes - Book Notes
I didn’t know how much I needed this book until I read it. Over the years, I’ve tinkered with my note-taking process out of necessity. This book made note-taking fun, tremendously beneficial, and effective.
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The Book In 3 Sentences
Ahrens show us how to develop a centralized note-taking system and how doing so will make the creative process much faster and easier.
We think best when we externalize our thoughts.
Good note-taking is more than collecting facts and ideas, it’s taking time to capture personal insights and develop ideas.
Quick Impression
I didn’t know how much I needed this book until I read it. Over the years, I’ve tinkered with my note-taking process out of necessity. This book made note-taking fun, tremendously beneficial, and effective.
Who Should Read It?
This book is for anyone who wants practical tools for how to think deeply, develop ideas, capture insights, make new discoveries, and gain quick access their thoughts. More specifically, I’m thinking of the following groups.
1. Those who do knowledge work of any kind. I’m thinking of writers, teachers, preachers, speakers, etc.
2. Those who do creative work and need quick access to past ideas, thoughts, and experiences would gain many helpful insights from this book. I’m thinking songwriters, comedians, YouTubers, podcasters, etc.
3. Christians or religious people who want to think deeply about their lives and faith can pick up tools for how think in this book. If you want to get more out of your Bible study, for example, this book can help you.
Why I Read This Book
Frustration and desire are the reasons why I picked up this book.
I’ve been an avid reader for most of my adult life. I’m known for having 3-5 books in my backpack at any given moment and (to my wife’s dismay) I often pack a whole suitcase of books if we go on a trip lasting more than three days.
I didn’t discover my love for reading until I discovered my love for collecting and synthesizing ideas. Songwriting and writing online have been my primary channels for my synthesizing work. The combination of books, experiences, and observations about life are the materials I collect in order to do my work.
The problem is that I can’t remember what I’ve read. It’s not that my memory is bad, it’s that my memory is normal. I remember the gist of things enough to make me frustrated. When I’m ready to write on something I often find myself thinking, “oh man, I need to reread that book because I know there was something in there that could contribute to what I’m working on.” I have nothing against rereading. I love it actually. But it’s waste of time and an obstacle that slows me down when I’m ready to create.
I want to be a better collector of the ideas I pick up. I want easier access to my own thoughts when I need them. Learning to take smart notes is one key to growing toward the things I want for my life. I can’t remember exactly where I first heard of this book, but boy am I glad that I did.
How It Changed Me
Like I said before, I didn’t know how much I needed this book. I needed someone to give me to permission, freedom, and structure to write when writing is fun. Learning is often unlearning and I needed to unlearn my current understanding of the how, the when, and the purposes of writing and note-taking.
I thought note-taking was collecting and storing the things you’ve encountered. And I thought writing was something you do when you’re ready to sit down and officially develop a thought or argument. More often than not, this is how things are done in school. We capture and store information for months so that we can write the paper at the end of the semester.
This book helped me see that good (and smart!) note-taking is more like journaling. At times, note-taking is a collecting and storing of the things you have encountered. But effective note-taking is also taking the time to think out loud when I am inspired and my thoughts are interesting. Taking time to think out loud as I encounter interesting things (books, lectures, sermons, life!) makes the the writing and creative process fluid.
What has changed me most from this book was s seeing that note-taking is writing. And it’s fun. Much more fun than the times when I sit down trying to conjure up all the ideas I had when I was inspired. The times where I’m sitting down to officially write are now more about editing, rearranging, a further developing the interesting thoughts I’ve already taken the time to write in my notes.
My one disclaimer is this: If you read this book you’ll notice that Ahrens promotes a specific type of note-taking system called The Zettelkasten Method. I have’t mentioned much about this particular method in these notes because I’m not sure that I fully understand it and I’m not sure that every bit of the method works for me. However, many of the concepts within the method have been more than helpful enough for me to move forward. Instead of stressing over adopting the full Zettelkasten method, I would encourage readers to embrace the idea of creating some sort of centralized note-taking system that works for them. I now have one that isn’t perfect and I’m still working on how to make it better, but developing a centralized note-taking system has been wonderful and life-changing.
Top 3 Quotes
Writing is not what follows research, learning or studying, it is the medium of all this work.
The most important advantage of writing is that it helps us to confront ourselves when we do not understand something as well as we would like to believe.
If we write, it is more likely that we understand what we read, remember what we learn and that our thoughts make sense. And if we have to write anyway, why not use our writing to build up the resources for our future publications?
My Notes
Introduction
Everyone writes in one way or another and writing plays an huge role in the learning process. Writing is also a source of anxiety in most of us. What if writing could be easier and more fun? It all comes down to developing a good system and rhythm that allows me to capture and explore my daily thoughts and ideas.
There are many benefits to learning how to take good notes, the problem is that this isn’t taught and we rarely experience immediate negative feedback if we aren’t good at taking notes. Any negative feedback we might experience, - such as forgetting what we’ve learned, the need to cram for an exam, or staring a blank page when trying to create - we don’t tend to associate that negative experience with our lack of having a good note taking system.
Rearranging and editing what is in front of you is much easier than than trying to trying to remember and assemble things in your brain.
Being smart and successful is less about how much stuff you have stored in your head and has more to do your process, systems, rhythms - how you do your daily work. This is one big issue I have with modern schools. We teach information retention almost exclusively when the better win would be to train and teach students how to value and prioritize the process of learning and how to do life effectively. High IQ may be a bragging right, but it is of little importance when it comes to success (even academic success!).
Willpower is also not good at helping us succeed in the long run because our willpower depletes over time. The real win comes from setting us structures, systems, rhythms, habits, and process - tracks to run on! Tracks that require little to no willpower in order to execute consistently.
Chapter 1: Everything You Need To Know
Feeling the need to remember everything is stressful because it’s simply impossible. There is a need to develop an external brain. A place to hold the things you’d like to recall and remember. When we don’t feel the need to remember everything it increases our ability to focus on the task of the moment. We are more effective when our brains aren’t divided.
Creating a structure is different than having a plan. I may plan to write and create, but planning to do that doesn’t mean I have a structure for how I will do that. And in the creative process, there are things you simply can’t plan for - like inspiration. No one plans on being inspired at 3:00pm. What we can do is create a structure for what to do when inspiration strikes. How can we capture that inspiration? How can we bottle it up in a way that is helpful and useful to us when we do plan to create.
Self-doubt can actually be an indication of good things. Overly confident people tend to not be aware of their own limitations. Their limited knowledge, limited experiences, etc. Those who read extensively, embrace learning, and experience new things tend to be more aware of their limitation - what they don’t know. Those who are aware of their limited and finite perspective end up having more to offer to the world and tend to me more knowledgeable and skilled than those who are overly-confident.
The point of good notes isn’t to simply collect the things you encounter (information, experiences, quotes, etc.), but to develop ideas and spark new connections. Good notes are literally “thinking out loud.” Note taking is a chance to process your thoughts in a way that often leads to fuller-bodied thoughts or brand new thoughts.
Workflow and systems need to be simple. The simplicity allows for complexity to develop. When it comes to developing a note-taking system - don’t get complicated! A complicated process is a barrier to habitual practice. You will never develop complex and interesting ideas if your system is too complex to operate in consistently.
Chapter 2: Everything You Need To Do
Clearer thinking and understanding happens when you externalize your thoughts on paper.
There are different levels of notes. Inbox notes are thoughts and inspiration you have as you go about life. When you read, take literature notes. These are notes that go beyond copying, underlining, or highlighting. The goal is to quickly write in your own words what you are learning as things you are reading spark your interest. Both literature notes and inbox notes need to be collected in a place that you will return to later because they need to be processed further and turned into permanent notes. This is where you take the collection of notes you’ve made and try to make sense of them in light of your larger collection of knowledge and understanding.
Though this initially takes more time than copying or highlighting, it saves time when brainstorming for content and upcoming creative work. Instead of pulling things out of thin air, return to your permanent notes and find developed topics of interest there.
Chapter 3: Everything You Need To Have
Don’t overcomplicate how you take notes. Make it simple. Let the complexity of your ideas build within a simple, repeatable system.
Good tools and intentional workflows help avoid distractions and obstacles to creating.
A good note-taking system involves quick tools for jotting down notes and thoughts as they arrive. These quick notes simply serve as a reminder. You then need a centralized notes platform for the storage of permanent notes. This is place where you process all the quick notes.
Chapter 4: A Few Things To Keep In Mind
Take time to learn the tools you are using. It’s a waste of time to continue with a tool you don’t really know how to use effectively.
Chapter 5: Writing Is The Only Thing That Matters
Read, learn, and experience life with writing and creating in mind. This helps you pay more attention and focus your attention. As you seek to take notes, you quickly realize that you can’t capture everything. Taking notes with writing and creating in mind helps us think through what things we should note in order to further develop our thoughts on the things we might like to create.
Chapter 6: Simplicity Is Paramount
Simple ideas are often the most powerful.
You aren’t looking to “keep” notes, but ideas, insights and publishable thoughts.
Writing in margin and scribbling notes here and there creates extra work for your brain. You now have to remember where you wrote a note in order to access it. This just creates another obstacle in your workflow.
As you take notes and organize them, try not to think in terms of topics. It’s more effective to consider the context in which you would like to stumble on this note again.
A slip-box note-taking system helps your ideas grow and develop organically. Instead of manually developing insights, new insights appear organically as you weave through the web of interconnected ideas that have developed.
It’s a mistake to collect notes only for particular projects. This forces you to start all over for the next project. Your permanent notes are your current understanding of various topics and how that understanding is connected to other topics. Projects are when we synthesize interconnected ideas.
Fleeting notes (notes in the margins, highlights, etc) are useless and pointless if you do not plan to process them later and turn them into proper notes. They are also often lacking context. A proper note helps give context to the things you want to remember.
Proper notes aren’t just reminders, they are developed thoughts and ideas that can be seeds for future content.
Chapter 7: Nobody Ever Starts From Scratch
Writing helps us think. We think as we write.
The creative process isn’t linear, it’s circular. Learn to work with the process not against it.
The goal is to write when writing is interesting. Taking notes in moments of inspiration is more fun than trying to conjure up past thoughts later on.
We do not create from nothing. We are always using materials that already exist. That is why we are overwhelmed at the idea of trying to come up with something completely original. When it comes to our creative process, we need to work with reality instead of against it. Capture the ideas and insights that interest you so that you can build on them later.
Chapter 8: Let The Work Carry You Forward
There is work that takes energy to continue in and then there is work that gives energy and results in gaining momentum. Work that gives energy creates a virtuous cycle. A good and useful note-taking workflow can be a positive and rewarding experience that generates more energy to capture insights and create more in the future.
Motivation and willpower aren’t as necessary if we are doing things that we want to do and that are generating positive and rewarding results.
Getting better at something is motivating. Getting better requires feedback loops.
When we try to paraphrase in our own words what we are learning and reading it reveals to us whether or not we truly understand the material. Trying to explain anything in our own words is a good test for how well we understand. Writing notes is a kind of feedback loop letting us know if we truly understand something well enough.
A fixed mindset says, “I am either good or bad at this.” A growth mindset says, “I want to be good at this so I will try until I am good at it.” A growth mindset learns from failure. Failure is simply a part of the feedback loop. A fixed mindset is terrified of failure because failure feels final.
Learning and understanding is more likely to happen when our thoughts are connected. Even learning facts and information is easier when they are connected to other thoughts.
Chapter 9: Separate and Interlocking Tasks
Multitasking depletes our mental energy.
The creative process has various modes. If we try to work in multiple modes at once we end up multitasking and it drains our creative energy. For example, there is a time to simply get words on the page and then there is a time for creating structure for those words.
Intuition and gut feeling isn’t mystical, it’s an internal, often subconscious compass rooted in past (and often repeated) experiences. People with a vast amount of experience tend to think less than beginners.
Our memory is a limited resource. The best way to remember something is to connect it mentally to something else.
When we try to hold things in our memory, we cause our brains to multitask. This is why a good note-taking workflow and system are so helpful. We can’t write things down and give ourselves permission to forget it until we need it again.
Willpower is also a limited resource more than it is a character trait. It’s better to think about how to put ourselves in situations and environments that do not require the use of much willpower.
Chapter 10: Read For Understanding
A final written piece is just an edited draft and a draft is a series of notes and ideas synthesized and combined into a continuous text.
Context is important. Simply highlighting strips quotes from their context. It also fails to help us remember or see the context for why the highlight matters to us. The author may be talking with a particular context, but the idea is meaningful to us in light of another context. It’s important to note and make those connections.
Sometimes noting what is not mentioned is as important as noting what is mentioned.
Our brains are hardwired to search for data and information that confirm what we already think. “Confirmation Bias.” Taking notes can be a way to work against this tendency. Try to find and note counter-arguments. Don’t neglect them think them through in your notes.
Taking good notes takes practice. It’s both a skillset and a way of thinking. It’s learning to get comfortable with taking quick note of the ideas you encounter.
The skill of reframing our knowledge in our own words is even more valuable than having extensive knowledge.
Writing things down can feel like a waste of time, especially if we are slow at it early on. But the real waste of time is not noting the ideas we encounter because we will likely forget them all and fail to see how they connect to one another.
Elaboration is the best way to learn. Taking good notes is about developing the skill of elaborating on the things you think you understand. Elaborating doesn’t mean writing thousands of words on a topic. It is simply about being able to state what you know in your own words and within your own context.
Chapter 11: Take Smart Notes
Try to read with a question in mind.
The value of our note-taking compounds over time as we collect ideas, elaborate on them, and then find connections as we synthesize them.
The best thinking happens externally, not internally. We process our thoughts better when we can get them in front of us. On a personal note, I’ve noticed that this is true in terms of our feelings and community as well. Sometimes we need someone to sit with us and let us talk out the things in our heads. Simply saying words and placing our thoughts and feelings in the open helps us to make sense of them, make connections, and see them for what they are. This is why things like friendship and counseling are so valuable and helpful.
Our personal notes are formed in the context of why we are approaching this book, lecture, etc. in the first place. Where we are coming from and why the ideas we encounter matter to us is all part of the formula that transforms our notes and elaboration into something original.
We want to forget well because forgetting information is actually helpful and facilitates long-term learning. Taking good notes gives us permission to forget.
When it comes to knowledge, what we want from our memory is not the ability to simply store things - we want to be able to recall things when it matters and is helpful to do so.
We shouldn’t focus on simply acquiring information or ideas. Our focus needs to be on understanding. We haven’t learned something just because we’ve stored it in our brains, we’ve learned when we’ve understood.
Chapter 12: Develop Ideas
The goal is for our note-taking system to be something we think within, not something we think about. A good system frees our brain from thinking about how to take a note, freeing us to spend our mental energy on the idea in front of us.
Comparing notes and making connections is a huge part of the value of taking notes in the first place.
Good notes is about developing mental models. Your centralized notes are like the scaffolding for your thoughts and ideas.
Seeing differences and nuances between seemingly similar ideas and seeing connections between seemingly different ideas is a skill worth developing.
Creativity is often about seeing the relationship between different ideas. It’s about playing with ideas and experiences - combining raw materials into new things.
Simple ideas are among the most powerful and important. We would do well to take them seriously. We have a tendency to overvalue complexity. Complexity develops as you string together a series of simple ideas.
Structure and limitations help creativity to flourish. Creating within bounds is helpful, though counterintuitive.
Chapter 13: Share Your Insight
As you learn and experience life a good question to ask is, “what is interesting about this?” Get in the habit of noting the answer to that question.
Note-taking produces an abundance of creative ideas.
Visualizing and “manifesting” the win is a bunk idea. But what is helpful is visualizing and preparing yourself for what it will take to win. On a personal note, this made me think about how the Bible prepares us for suffering. If we are mentally prepared for what it’s going to take to endure and win, we are more likely to win.
Chapter 14: Make It A Habit
Intention matters. Important things rarely “just happen.”
Habits help us solidify and repeat the things we intend to do.
When it comes to taking notes, the best thing we can do is create a centralized note-taking system and develop new note-taking habits.
