How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking

And every shift is a drain on our ability to shift and delays the moment we manage to get focused again.

Make sure that you really see what you think you see and describe it as plainly and factually as possible. Double-check if necessary. This isn’t as obvious as it sounds. The ability to truly see what is in front of one’s eyes is often listed as a trait of experts. And that

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.

Because it should not be used as an archive, where we just take out what we put in, but as a system to think with, the references between the notes are much more important than the references from the index to a single note.

Do not brainstorm for a topic. Look into the slip-box instead to see where chains of notes have developed and ideas have been built up to clusters. Don’t cling to an idea if another, more promising one gains momentum.

Fleeting notes are there for capturing ideas quickly while you are busy doing something else.

Unfortunately, the most common way people organise their writing is by making plans. Although planning is almost universally recommended by study guides, it’s the equivalent of putting oneself on rails.

Permanent notes, too, are directed towards an audience ignorant of the thoughts behind the text and unaware of the original context, only equipped with a general knowledge of the field. The only difference is that the audience here consists of our future selves,

Finally, oppositions help to shape ideas by providing contrast. Albert Rothenberg suggests that the construction of oppositions is the most reliable way of generating new ideas (Rothenberg 1971; 1996; 2015).