How to Take Smart Notes 🔗 **Source:** [How to Take Smart Notes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: [note-taking, zettelkasten, knowledge-management] > author: Matt Giaro > source: YouTube > reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM > date created: 2024-12-19 12:00 > > # 🏷️ Title: How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens - Book Review > <!-- deep-read:sections start --> ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Implement three-tier note system (fleeting → literature → permanent) — transition from collection to production #productivity - [H2] Audit existing notes for atomic structure — break complex ideas into separate notes #workflow - [H3] Set up regular inbox processing schedule — weekly review of saved articles and fleeting notes #system ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📚 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🛡️ DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### 🔗 References - [How to Take Smart Notes on Amazon](https://amazon.com) - [How to Read a Book](https://amazon.com) ## 📝 Summary - Matt Giaro reviews "How to Take Smart Notes" by Sönke Ahrens, focusing on the Zettelkasten method - The book addresses the gap in advice about note-taking versus writing, arguing most writing time is actually spent developing ideas - Key innovation is the three-tier note system: fleeting notes → literature notes → permanent notes - Main risk is becoming a "collector" rather than a "connector" - hoarding notes without producing content - Bottom line: Essential reading for anyone serious about knowledge management and writing ## 📖 Main Content The core argument is that traditional writing advice focuses too heavily on the actual writing phase while neglecting the crucial note-taking and idea development phase that precedes it. Ahrens proposes a systematic approach based on Niklas Luhmann's Zettelkasten (slip-box) method. The three-tier system creates a filtering mechanism: fleeting notes capture initial ideas, literature notes require active processing and understanding, and permanent notes represent your own synthesized thinking. This progression ensures only valuable, well-understood concepts make it into your knowledge system. The book emphasizes atomic notes - single ideas that can be easily connected and recombined. This approach, originally constrained by 3x5 index cards, prevents the common mistake of cramming multiple concepts into one note. A critical distinction emerges between "collectors" who accumulate information and "connectors" who actively synthesize and produce content. The ultimate goal is content creation, not just knowledge hoarding. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM&t=0) — [H1] Book Introduction and Spine Observation - Key idea: Initial impression of "How to Take Smart Notes" by Sönke Ahrens - Evidence: "one of the weird things about this book...the spine's upside down" #### ⏱️ [01:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM&t=90) — [H1] Core Problem with Writing Advice - Key idea: Writing advice focuses on writing but neglects note-taking, which consumes most of the work - Evidence: "there's tons of writing advice out there for the writing portion but there is very little and bad advice out there for like the whole note-taking portion" #### ⏱️ [02:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM&t=135) — [H2] Three Types of Notes System - Key idea: Systematic filtering through fleeting, literature, and permanent notes - Evidence: "there are three types of notes one is your fleeting notes...literature notes...permanent notes" #### ⏱️ [02:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM&t=165) — [H3] Fleeting Notes Definition - Key idea: Capture mechanism for daily ideas and reading queue - Evidence: "fleeting notes just ideas you have as you go through the day...you might put it in...Instapaper queue" #### ⏱️ [03:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM&t=200) — [H3] Literature Notes as Filter - Key idea: Handwritten notes create natural filtering because effort required indicates value - Evidence: "there's a filtering function because if it's not worth writing down it's just not worth it" #### ⏱️ [04:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM&t=240) — [H2] Permanent Notes Philosophy - Key idea: Focus on your own ideas derived from reading, not quotes - Evidence: "they're really based around the ideas that you have based on the reading you've done...they're not quotes from books" #### ⏱️ [04:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM&t=285) — [H3] Understanding Through Explanation - Key idea: Writing forces genuine comprehension versus passive quoting - Evidence: "it's far too easy to quote something and think you understand it but when you have to explain it then you have to understand it" #### ⏱️ [05:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM&t=330) — [H3] Topic Notes Concept - Key idea: Project-based note organization similar to shoebox method - Evidence: "topic note this is very similar to what I've heard called the shoebox method" #### ⏱️ [06:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM&t=405) — [H2] Atomic Notes Principle - Key idea: Single idea per note, originally constrained by 3x5 card size - Evidence: "a three by five card was a good limiter because if it took more than three by five card it was probably two ideas" #### ⏱️ [07:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM&t=450) — [H3] Digital Implementation Strategy - Key idea: Maintain atomic principle in digital systems through deliberate note separation - Evidence: "I break out the ideas in the book...and I break them up into separate notes of themselves" #### ⏱️ [08:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM&t=495) — [H2] System Purpose and Goal - Key idea: Systems should reduce complexity and enable content production, not just collection - Evidence: "the goal is to produce some sort of content for consumption by other people" #### ⏱️ [09:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM&t=570) — [H2] Collectors vs Connectors Problem - Key idea: Many people collect notes without producing content, missing the system's purpose - Evidence: "connectors are actually connecting ideas producing something collectors are just collecting them for no reason" #### ⏱️ [10:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM&t=645) — [H1] Book Recommendation and Impact - Key idea: Transformative effect on note-taking quality, comparable to "How to Read a Book" - Evidence: "I feel like most notes I wrote before I read this book are useless" #### ⏱️ [11:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM&t=690) — [H3] Literature Notes Archive Value - Key idea: Previous systematic note-taking enables retroactive knowledge system building - Evidence: "I can go through this and take my literature notes and port them...into as Idol casting system" ## 📚 References - [How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens](https://amazon.com) - [How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler](https://amazon.com) - [Obsidian Note-Taking Videos](https://youtube.com) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - The book fills a critical gap by focusing on note-taking systems rather than just writing techniques, since most "writing" time is actually spent developing and organizing ideas - A three-tier filtering system (fleeting → literature → permanent notes) ensures only well-understood, valuable concepts make it into your knowledge base - The ultimate goal is content production for others, not just personal knowledge hoarding - distinguishing "connectors" who synthesize ideas from "collectors" who just accumulate information ## 📰 Newsletter **Transform Your Note-Taking: From Collection to Creation** Just discovered a game-changing approach to knowledge management! "How to Take Smart Notes" reveals why most of us struggle with the blank page - we focus on writing advice while neglecting the crucial note-taking phase where ideas actually develop. The key insight? Implement a three-tier filtering system: capture fleeting ideas, process them into literature notes, then synthesize your own permanent insights. This prevents the common trap of becoming a "collector" rather than a "connector." **Practical takeaway:** Before your next writing project, audit your current notes. Are they mostly quotes and highlights, or do they represent your own thinking? Start breaking complex ideas into atomic notes that can be easily connected and recombined. Resources: [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md/), [Zettlr](https://zettlr.com/), [RemNote](https://remnote.com/) ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Developer advocacy: Create note-taking workshops for developer documentation workflows - Education: Develop curriculum on knowledge management for technical writing - Developer experience: Implement atomic documentation principles in API guides - Community management: Survey community on current note-taking practices and pain points #### Community - Contributors: Create templates for atomic contribution guidelines and issue documentation - Sponsors: Develop transparent documentation systems for funding decisions and impact tracking - Ecosystem: Coordinate knowledge sharing formats across related projects #### WordPress - Documentation: Audit existing docs for atomic structure and connection opportunities - Training: Develop lesson plans on systematic documentation and knowledge management - Community: Create note-taking templates for WordCamp organizers and meetup leaders ## 🧪 Hypotheses - Implementing atomic note structure improves documentation discoverability and reuse - Three-tier filtering systems reduce information overload in developer communities - "Connector" vs "collector" distinction correlates with content production metrics - Systematic literature note-taking increases retention of technical concepts ### 📊 Methodology - A/B test atomic vs traditional documentation structure for user task completion - Survey knowledge workers on note-taking systems and measure content output correlation - Track documentation reuse rates before and after implementing atomic principles ### ❓ Questions - How do successful technical writers structure their note-taking workflows? - What tools best support the three-tier note filtering system for distributed teams? - How can we identify and convert "collectors" into "connectors" in developer communities? ### 🔮 Future Research - Comparative analysis of note-taking systems across different knowledge work domains - Integration patterns between personal knowledge management and team documentation - Impact of atomic note principles on API documentation usability ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Shift from highlight-heavy to synthesis-focused reading and note-taking - Policy: Documentation standards should emphasize atomic, interconnected structure - Education: Technical writing curricula should include systematic knowledge management - Funding: Support tools and training that enable connection over collection ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: 9th Grade (Flesch-Kincaid) #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Book references, system diagrams implied through description - Improve: Flowchart of three-tier note system, before/after note examples #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Video format with spoken explanation and examples - Improve: Timestamps for easy navigation, audio-only version #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Clear definitions of fleeting, literature, and permanent notes - Improve: More analogies for abstract concepts, glossary of terms #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Physical notebook demonstration, hands-on examples - Improve: Step-by-step setup checklist, practice exercises #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Clear progression from problem to solution, systematic approach - Improve: Comparison table of note-taking methods, metrics for success #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: References to community practices and shared tools - Improve: Discussion prompts, peer review templates #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Individual reflection on personal note-taking practices - Improve: Self-assessment rubric, private journaling prompts #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Organic connection between reading and writing processes - Improve: Ecosystem thinking about knowledge flows, sustainable practices ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Clear heading structure in transcript, logical flow - Improve: Missing video has auto-generated captions, needs manual review #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Standard YouTube video controls - Improve: Chapter markers for easier navigation #### Contrast and readability - Present: Standard video player interface - Improve: High contrast mode option, larger subtitle text #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: Responsive video player - Improve: Transcript should reflow properly at 200% zoom #### Media and captions - Present: Auto-generated captions available - Improve: Manual caption review for technical terms, downloadable transcript #### Forms and interactions - Present: Basic video controls - Improve: Accessible video progress scrubbing ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: English-language content focused on Western academic traditions - Improve: Examples from diverse knowledge traditions, multilingual note-taking considerations #### Inclusive language - Present: Generally neutral technical language - Improve: Define jargon terms like "Zettelkasten," avoid assuming prior knowledge #### Neurodiversity support - Present: Clear structure with distinct sections - Improve: Content warnings for productivity pressure, executive function alternatives #### Representation - Present: Male reviewer discussing male author's work - Improve: Diverse examples of successful note-takers, varied use cases #### Psychological safety - Present: Non-judgmental tone about different approaches - Improve: Address perfectionism concerns, multiple valid starting points ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Deductive strength: System design principles clearly derived from stated goals - Inductive strength: Personal experience generalized to broader recommendations - Causal reasoning: Note-taking quality linked to writing output through clear mechanisms - Analogical strength: Physical index card limitations translated to digital constraints #### Fallacies - Survivorship bias: Success stories may not represent typical experiences, recommend longitudinal studies - False dichotomy: "Collectors vs connectors" may oversimplify the spectrum, acknowledge gradual transitions #### Tone of voice - Overall tone: Enthusiastic but balanced, personal experience grounded in systematic principles ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - Deny: No denials present - Attack: No attacks on accusers - Reverse victim/offender: No victim/offender dynamics - Emotional cues and rhetoric: Positive enthusiasm for learning systems, no manipulative patterns ## 🎯 Conclusion "How to Take Smart Notes" addresses a fundamental gap in knowledge work by systematizing the idea development phase that precedes actual writing. The three-tier note system provides a practical framework for moving from information consumption to content creation. The key practical insight is distinguishing between "collectors" who hoard information and "connectors" who synthesize ideas into new content. This distinction has broader implications for documentation, education, and community knowledge sharing. Next steps include implementing atomic note principles in existing documentation systems and developing training materials that help knowledge workers transition from passive collection to active synthesis and production. ## 🧱 Refactor <!-- deep-read:sections end --> ## 📺 Video  --- # 📄 Full Transcript *Auto-generated from YouTube captions · timestamps roughly every 30 seconds · [watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCrWIanRYnM)* **[00:00]** So, one of the weird things about this book, which we're going to review today, How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens, is that the spine's upside down. Notice that? Get your copy if you got one. Spine's upside down. So, I put on the bookshelf this way, I got to read up as opposed to down. Other than that, that's what we're going to look at, How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens, which is the whole Zettelkasten thing, which I've talked a lot about with Obsidian, uh and lots of people are talking about it right now. I've had this on my list for a long time, finally read it uh just a couple weeks ago. Buckle up. **[00:31]** The idea behind How to Take Smart Notes is that there's tons of writing advice out there for the writing portion, but there is very little and bad advice out there for like the whole note-taking portion. And honestly, a lot of your writing life, in air quotes, is going to be the note-taking portion. So, we have less advice for the thing you're doing most of the time, right, developing your ideas, getting to that point. And a lot of even the advice around that is, "Hey, start by brainstorming cuz you have no ideas yet." This book is designed to help you take smart notes, have a good system so **[01:02]** that when you get to the blank page portion, you just have to basically write through your notes. Now, to do that, there are three types of notes. One is your fleeting notes, just ideas you have as you go through the day, uh and it kind of anything you read in article, like, "Oh, that might be a good note." And you might put it in. Um this could even be like, "Oh, I have an article I want to read." So, I'm going to send it to my Instapaper queue, uh my DevonThink as a Now, I use DevonThink as a read later service. You're going to send it to that. And then, you're going to only maybe, you know, later, you're **[01:32]** going to actually see, "Is there an idea valid in this to go into one of the other types of notes?" Number two is your literature notes. Uh that's for me, that's this notebook. So, as I read a book, I actually take like handwritten notes in here. This is a filtering function because if it's not worth writing down, it's just not worth it. And then, out of those two notes, things move into your permanent notes. That's the only thing that should be populating your, I say, Obsidian or Rome or your knowledge system, your **[02:03]** Zettelkasten, which means slip box. Is your permanent notes. And these are not quotes from books necessarily. They're certainly heavily weighted away from quotes. Uh and they're really based around the ideas that you have based on the reading you've done. That's it. They're not based on It's far too easy to quote something and think you understand it. But when you have to explain it, then you have to you have to understand it. You have to understand it. You have to explain it. You might have to do research. I find that all the time when I'm taking notes **[02:33]** in a book. I have to have to go back and be like, "I didn't understand that." But I write down the page number, so I actually go back and I may read a couple pages again and be like, "Okay, that's what the idea was and here's how it connects into the overall theme." And I'm never going to write that down. Or I am going to write that down. Whatever the case may be. Now, outside of those three notes, there's actually one other type of note that Ahrens mentions. He mentions the topic note. This is very similar to what I've heard, uh called the shoe box method. And the shoe box method is, again, 3x5 cards. And then you have a project, you just put it in a shoe box. That's it. So, that's a topic note. Um I have one for keeping connecting ideas, **[03:03]** which links to Zettelkasten, the shoe box method, and the note card system, and like, IMF and commonplace books. And it's one note that links out to a whole bunch of different systems on how to take notes, on how to keep your research. And I will continue to keep that topic note or project note. If I was doing a project on knowledge management systems, I might, you know, if I had physical cards, I take all those cards that related to that and put them in one project. Now, as far as tips on good notes, Ahrens recommends a few things. Biggest one being that take small notes. Take atomic notes is what he would say. Um and they would say that **[03:36]** Niklas Luhmann, who actually kind of is the big person behind Zettelkasten, and he did it a lot in the '70s. He did a long time ago, wrote and wrote tons of books and tons of other stuff. But a 3x5 card was a good limiter cuz if it took more than a 3x5 card, it was probably two ideas and you needed to put two separate cards. Now, you don't have this when you're using some digital system, right? I could write as long a note as I want in Obsidian. But, what I have done, and if you check out my how I take notes on books in Obsidian videos, which I'll link above, you'll see that I actually break up have a main note, kind of a topic note for **[04:07]** the book, and then I break out the ideas in the book as far as like what's the key idea to the book, and what's the what key one for me to discover later, to think about more, and I break them up into separate notes of themselves, and then I relate those notes to other ideas in other books that work. On the topic of choosing a system, Ahrens recommends or says, and rightly so, that a system should be there to decrease complexity or to smooth your path towards the end goal. And the end goal of these systems is to write something. Not to just collect a bunch of notes and **[04:37]** be happy that you have a big collection. The goal is to produce some sort of content for consumption by other people. He talks a lot about writing, could be videos, could be talks, could be whatever. Writing, fine. In your system, Ahrens recommends three types of applications. First is your for your literature notes, for your fleeting notes, just like an inbox type system. Second is for your bibliographic references. So, Zotero is what he recommends. It's a nerdy bibliographic tool, and I don't use that. And then third is like your main knowledge management system, which is what I use **[05:08]** Obsidian for. For my fleeting notes, for my um literature notes, I use like except the notebook I have here. I use that for one of them. That's my literature notes go here. Um and then they get moved into um Obsidian, or I use DevonThink to save articles, to save ideas into the inbox, and I process the inbox about once a week. I process all of the inbox, go through the articles there, and find the ones that are really long-term useful to me, and pull those ideas out into my Zettelkasten my **[05:39]** Obsidian system, my Zettelkasten system. Like I already said, Ahrens says that the whole purpose of the system is to write, to produce some content for other people. I think that's a big disconnection for a lot of people cuz most people that I really talk to in honestly, even in the Obsidian chat sometimes, they when you really talk to them, it doesn't seem like they're producing a lot of content out of it. They like the systems, they like searching for the tools, they like finding software and tools, but they're not actually going to produce a lot for other people. The true what I call **[06:09]** connectors, I suppose, um are far like far dwarfed by the people who are collectors. Right? Connectors are actually connecting ideas, producing something. Collectors are just collecting them for no reason and aren't probably going to do anything with it. So, for you, I'd say make sure you're a connector, not a collector. Now, as far as should you read this book? I think absolutely yes. There's probably only one other book that I recommend as highly as this and it's How to Read a Book, which is on the shelf behind me. How to Read a Book tells you how to read a book well. And this one tells you how **[06:41]** to make smart notes, how to make notes well. I think that I feel like most notes I wrote before I read this book are useless. All right, they're just not not the caliber they should be. I feel like most books I read before How to Read a Book, I didn't read them well enough. I didn't read them well. So, I'm lucky cuz before I took this, I actually took a literature notes. I have multiple books of all the books I've read with literature notes in them, with references. Right in here, there's Crofts references to other books I've read. Um so, I can go through this and take my literature notes and port them for like **[07:12]** last 5 years into a Zettelkasten system, which is excellent. I am going to put time into that. Um but other stuff that I've taken, like other stuff I've read that's sitting in DevonThink, it's just not I don't know what to do with it. Thousands of other notes in there that are just kind of sitting there dwarfed on their own that I honestly have never looked back at, never really built a robust system around them. So, I feel like they're kind of lost at this point. Even though Ahrens would say no one starts from scratch because you all read something at some point. So, should you read it? Absolutely. **[07:43]** Should get it. should also get How to Read a Book back there on my shelf. Links to both of them in the description below. And if you like the video, you can give me a thumbs up. If you love the video, you can subscribe, hit the bell so that YouTube tells you about stuff, but make sure your device notifications are off so you can read books, stuff like that. And if you really loved it, you can go to patreon.com/curtismchale, where you can support the channel. Ciao.