How to Take Smart Notes  ## Metadata - Author: [[Sönke Ahrens]] | [[3. Resources/Authors/Sönke Ahrens|Sönke Ahrens]] - Full Title: How to Take Smart Notes - Category: #books - Kindle: [Open in Kindle](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V5M8FR5) - Document Tags: [[PKM]] ## Document Notes ## Highlights - Writing is not what follows research, learning or studying, it is the medium of all this work. ([Location 72](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=72)) - another reason that note-taking flies mostly under the radar: We don’t experience any immediate negative feedback if we do it badly. ([Location 78](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=78)) - Note: How can I create positive feedback for myself when I take notes well? - That is why good, productive writing is based on good note-taking. Getting something that is already written into another written piece is incomparably easier than assembling everything in your mind and then trying to retrieve it from there. ([Location 94](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=94)) - The quality of a paper and the ease with which it is written depends more than anything on what you have done in writing before you even made a decision on the topic. ([Location 96](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=96)) - it is not surprising that the single most important indicator of academic success is not to be found in people’s heads, but in the way they do their everyday work. ([Location 100](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=100)) - What does make a significant difference along the whole intelligence spectrum is something else: how much self-discipline or self-control one uses to approach the tasks at hand (Duckworth and Seligman, 2005; Tangney, Baumeister, and Boone, 2004). ([Location 103](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=103)) - It is not so important who you are, but what you do. ([Location 105](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=105)) - Note: This contradicts the personal development work that is focused on being, doing, having in that order. However, it does strike my curiosity that others cannot encounter my being without doing. - Having a meaningful and well-defined task beats willpower every time. Not having willpower, but not having to use willpower indicates that you set yourself up for success. ([Location 116](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=116)) - A good structure is something you can trust. ([Location 123](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=123)) - If you can trust the system, you can let go of the attempt to hold everything together in your head and you can start focusing on what is important: The content, the argument and the ideas. ([Location 124](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=124)) - Even the best tool will not improve your productivity considerably if you don’t change your daily routines the tool is embedded in, ([Location 189](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=189)) - Studies on highly successful people have proven again and again that success is not the result of strong willpower and the ability to overcome resistance, but rather the result of smart working environments that avoid resistance in the first place ([Location 292](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=292)) - He did not just copy ideas or quotes from the texts he read, but made a transition from one context to another. It was very much like a translation where you use different words that fit a different context, but strive to keep the original meaning as truthfully as possible. ([Location 332](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=332)) - We need a reliable and simple external structure to think in that compensates for the limitations of our brains. ([Location 354](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=354)) - Make fleeting notes. Always have something at hand to write with to capture every idea that pops into your mind. ([Location 400](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=400)) - Make literature notes. Whenever you read something, make notes about the content. Write down what you don’t want to forget or think you might use in your own thinking or writing. ([Location 405](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=405)) - Make permanent notes. Now turn to your slip-box. Go through the notes you made in step one or two (ideally once a day and before you forget what you meant) and think about how they relate to what is relevant for your own research, thinking or interests. ([Location 409](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=409)) - Write exactly one note for each idea and write as if you were writing for someone else: Use full sentences, disclose your sources, make references and try to be as precise, clear and brief as possible. ([Location 414](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=414)) - Now add your new permanent notes to the slip-box by: a) Filing each one behind one or more related notes ([Location 417](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=417)) - Adding links to related notes. ([Location 421](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=421)) - Making sure you will be able to find this note later by either linking to it from your index or by making a link to it on a note that you use as an entry point to a discussion or topic and is itself linked to the index. ([Location 422](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=422)) - Develop your topics, questions and research projects bottom up from within the system. See what is there, what is missing and what questions arise. ([Location 424](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=424)) - After a while, you will have developed ideas far enough to decide on a topic to write about. Your topic is now based on what you have, not based on an unfounded idea about what the literature you are about to read might provide. ([Location 432](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=432)) - Turn your notes into a rough draft. ([Location 438](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=438)) - Edit and proofread your manuscript. ([Location 441](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=441)) - You need something to capture ideas whenever and wherever they pop into your head. ([Location 494](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=494)) - The reference system has two purposes: To collect the references (duh) and the notes you take during your reading. ([Location 500](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=500)) - The slip-box. ([Location 509](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=509)) - Fleeting notes, which are only reminders of information, can be written in any kind of way and will end up in the trash within a day or two. ([Location 662](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=662)) - Permanent notes, which will never be thrown away and contain the necessary information in a permanently understandable way. They are always stored in the same way in the same place, either as literature notes in the reference system or written as if for print, in the slip-box. ([Location 664](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=664)) - Project notes, which are only relevant to one particular project. They are kept within a project-specific folder and can be discarded or archived after the project is finished. ([Location 666](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=666)) - Fleeting notes are there for capturing ideas quickly while you are busy doing something else. When you are in a conversation, listening to a lecture, hear something noteworthy or an idea pops into your mind while you are running errands, a quick note is the best you can do without interrupting what you are in the middle of doing. ([Location 692](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=692)) - underlining sentences or writing comments in the margins are also just fleeting notes and do nothing to elaborate on a text. ([Location 695](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=695)) - Permanent notes, on the other hand, are written in a way that can still be understood even when you have forgotten the context they are taken from. ([Location 701](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=701)) - Project-related notes can be: • comments in the manuscript • collections of project-related literature • outlines • snippets of drafts • reminders • to-do lists • and of course the draft itself. ([Location 725](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=725)) - Having a growth mindset is crucial, but only one side of the equation. Having a learning system in place that enables feedback loops in a practical way is equally important. ([Location 845](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=845)) - Expressing our own thoughts in writing makes us realise if we really thought them through. ([Location 863](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=863)) - The slip-box is not a collection of notes. Working with it is less about retrieving specific notes and more about being pointed to relevant facts and generating insight by letting ideas mingle. ([Location 868](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=868)) - But we know today that the more connected information we already have, the easier it is to learn, because new information can dock to that information. ([Location 875](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=875)) - Writing a paper involves much more than just typing on the keyboard. It also means reading, understanding, reflecting, getting ideas, making connections, distinguishing terms, finding the right words, structuring, organizing, editing, correcting and rewriting. ([Location 926](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=926)) - The good news is that we can train ourselves to stay focused on one thing for longer if we avoid multitasking, remove possible distractions and separate different kinds of tasks as much as possible so they will not interfere with each other. ([Location 940](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=940)) - Attention is not our only limited resource. Our short-term memory is also limited. We need strategies not to waste its capacity with thoughts we can better delegate to an external system. ([Location 1052](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1052)) - That’s right: The brain doesn’t distinguish between an actual finished task and one that is postponed by taking a note. By writing something down, we literally get it out of our heads. ([Location 1086](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1086)) - As literature notes are also a tool for understanding and grasping the text, more elaborate notes make sense in more challenging cases, while in easier cases it might be sufficient to just jot down some keywords. ([Location 1178](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1178)) - Developing arguments and ideas bottom-up instead of top-down is the first and most important step to opening ourselves up for insight. ([Location 1249](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1249)) - Instead of having the hypothesis in mind all the time, we want to: • Confirm that we have separated tasks and focus on understanding the text we read • Make sure we have given a true account of its content • Find the relevance of it and make connections. ([Location 1252](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1252)) - After aligning our interests, we can go a step further and prime ourselves for seeking out disconfirming facts. ([Location 1262](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1262)) - The ability to distinguish relevant from less relevant information is another skill that can only be learned by doing. ([Location 1275](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1275)) - But with the learned ability of spotting patterns, we can enter the circle of virtuosity: Reading becomes easier, we grasp the gist quicker, can read more in less time, and can more easily spot patterns and improve our understanding of them. ([Location 1283](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1283)) - Tags: favorite - When we take permanent notes, it is much more a form of thinking within the medium of writing and in dialogue with the already existing notes within the slip-box than a protocol of preconceived ideas. ([Location 1461](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1461)) - What does help for true, useful learning is to connect a piece of information to as many meaningful contexts as possible, which is what we do when we connect our notes in the slip-box with other notes. Making these connections deliberately means building up a self-supporting network of interconnected ideas and facts that work reciprocally as cues for each other. ([Location 1598](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1598)) - Writing notes and sorting them into the slip-box is nothing other than an attempt to understand the wider meaning of something. The slip-box forces us to ask numerous elaborating questions: What does it mean? How does it connect to … ? What is the difference between … ? What is it similar to? ([Location 1644](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1644)) - The consideration of how to structure a topic, therefore, belongs on notes as well – and not on a meta-hierarchical level. ([Location 1706](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1706)) - The first type of links are those on notes that are giving you the overview of a topic. These are notes directly referred to from the index and usually used as an entry point into a topic that has already developed to such a degree that an overview is needed or at least becomes helpful. ([Location 1748](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1748)) - A similar though less crucial kind of link collection is on those notes that give an overview of a local, physical cluster of the slip-box. ([Location 1759](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1759)) - Equally less relevant for the digital version are those links that indicate the note to which the current note is a follow-up and those links that indicate the note that follows on the current note. ([Location 1765](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1765)) - The most common form of reference is plain note-to-note links. They have no function other than indicating a relevant connection between two individual notes. ([Location 1768](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1768)) - Comparing notes also helps us to detect contradictions, paradoxes or oppositions – important facilitators for insight. ([Location 1803](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1803)) - When we realise that we used to accept two contradicting ideas as equally true, we know that we have a problem – and problems are good because we now have something to solve. ([Location 1804](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1804)) - Pay attention to what you want to remember. 2. Properly encode the information you want to keep. (This includes thinking about suitable cues.) 3. Practice recall. ([Location 1864](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1864)) - We learn something not only when we connect it to prior knowledge and try to understand its broader implications (elaboration), but also when we try to retrieve it at different times (spacing) in different contexts (variation), ideally with the help of chance (contextual interference) and with a deliberate effort (retrieval). ([Location 1867](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1867)) - Only by abstraction and re-specification can we apply ideas in the singular and always different situations in reality ([Location 1921](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=1921)) - A visibly developed cluster attracts more ideas and provides more possible connections, which in return influence our choices on what to read and think further. ([Location 2094](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=2094)) - If we, on the other hand, let questions arise from the slip-box, we know that they are tried and tested among dozens or even hundreds of other possible questions. ([Location 2106](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=2106)) - Good questions are in the sweet spot of being relevant and interesting, not too easy to answer but possible to tackle with material that is available or at least within our reach. When it comes to finding good questions, it is therefore not enough to think about it. We have to do something with an idea before we know enough about it to make a good judgement. We have to work, write, connect, differentiate, complement and elaborate on questions. This is what we do when we take smart notes. ([Location 2109](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=2109)) - If we instead set out to write, say, three notes on a specific day, review one paragraph we wrote the day before or check all the literature we discovered in an article, we know exactly at the end of the day what we were able to accomplish and can adjust our expectations for the next day. ([Location 2223](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=2223)) ## Related by Author - [[3. Resources/Readwise/Books/How to Take Smart Notes|How to Take Smart Notes]]