Book Reviews

Title: How to Take Smart Notes

Author: Sönke Ahrens

Published: 2017

Date Read: 2020

Amazon Rating: 4.4 out of 5

My Rating: 4.2 out of 5

Buy From Amazon

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Summary: Writing is the key to learning, and it begins not with a blank page, but with writing down our ideas and then linking them to other ideas to create a latticework of knowledge and understanding.

Who Should Read this Book

What I Liked About How to Take Smart Notes

What Could Have Been Better

My Notes

Key Quotes

The brackets and tags (#) you see represent links I created from each block in Roam Research, the note-taking tool I use.

“One cannot think without writing.” [[Niklas Luhmann]], p. front matter #Thinking #Writing

“…those who take smart notes will never have the problem of a blank screen again.” p. 2 #[[Smart Notes]] #[[Writer’s Block]]

“the myth of the blank page. . . good, productive writing is based on good note-taking.” #Writing [[Writer’s Block]]

“The research on will power or ‘[[Ego Depletion]]’ is in a bit of turmoil at the moment. But it is safe to say that using willpower is a terrible strategy to get things done in the long run.” p. 4 n.2 [[Ego Depletion]], [[willpower]] https://replicationindex.com/2016/04/18/is-replicability-report-ego-depletionreplicability-report-of-165-ego-depletion-articles/

“We know today that self-control and self-discipline have much more to do with our environment than with ourselves and the environment can change.” p. 5 #self-control #self-discipline

“Every task that is interesting, meaningful and well-defined will be done, because there is no conflict between long- and short-term interests.” p. 5

“Having a meaningful and well-defined task beats willpower every time.” p. 5 #[[willpower]]

“Having a clear structure to work in is completely different from making plans about something. If you make a plan, you impose a structure on yourself. p. 6 #planning #[[structure workflow]]

“The challenge is to structure one’s workflow in a way that insight and new ideas can become the driving forces that push us forward. We do not want to make ourselves dependent on a plan that is threatened by the unexpected, like a new idea, discovery – or insight.” p. 6 #workflow

“[T]hose who are not very good at something tend to be overly confident, while those who have made an effort tend to underestimate their abilities.” p. 8 #[[Dunning-Kruger Effect]] #[[Imposter Syndrome]]

“Most people try to reduce complexity by separating what they have into smaller stocks, piles or separate folders. They sort their notes by topics and sub-topics, which makes it look less complex, but quickly becomes very complicated.” p. 9. #Complexity #simplicity

“The simplicity of the structure allows complexity to build up where we want it: on the content level.” p. 9 #[[011 Zettelkasten]], [[Smart Notes]], [[note-taking]].

“The importance of an overarching workflow is the great insight of David Allen’s ‘Getting Things Done’.” p. 10 #[[overarching workflow]], #workflow

“Everybody is motivated when the finish line is within reach.” p. 21. #motivation

“Notes on paper, or on a computer screen . . . do not make contemporary physics or other kinds of intellectual endeavor easier, they make it possible.” [[Neil Levy]], p. 23. #notes #[[note-taking]]

“Putting notes into the slip-box, however, is like investing and reaping the rewards of {{alias: [[Compounding]] compound interest}}.” p. 93.

Key Ideas

The #[[Imposter Syndrome]], a feeling that one is not up to the task, is often a sign that you are. Kind of the opposition of the [[Dunning-Kruger Effect]].

Taking notes badly doesn’t create an immediate [[Negative Feedback]], which is why it’s so prevalent. How do we create negative feedback in all areas of our lives?

Negative Feedback is crucial to [[100 Excellence]], [[Habit Formation]] and more.

It’s why losing weight is so difficult, the negative feedback of eating poorly is not immediate. It’s also why most people don’t jump from tall heights—the negative feedback is almost instantaneous.

Breaking large projects into discrete tasks such that each task can be completed in “one go” creates a structure that enables [[flow]]. p. 6

What creates flow? How does our environment and [[task structure]] help create or maintain flow?

It’s better to be an [[expert]] than a [[planner]]. p. 7

The best at anything struggle the most, experience [[self-doubt]]. See [[Dunning-Kruger Effect]]

The mediocre at something often are the most confident. #confidence

Keep it simple. #simplicity

How do you write in outer space? NASA faced this problem because pens don’t write without gravity to push the ink to the tip. So NASA spent millions of dollars and countless hours to invent a pen that would write in space. The ingenious device uses compressed nitrogen to push the ink toward the tip of the pen. Russia faced the same dilemma. It used a pencil.

Zettelkasten Method

Step 1: Record bibliographic information of content consumed (e.g., books, articles, podcasts, videos)

Step 2: Record own ideas about the content from Step 1 in separate [[notes]]. Notes are written with great care, such that they could be used in a final manuscript. Very concise.

Step 3: Link the note(s) created in Step 2 to other related notes in the [[011 Zettelkasten]]

Step 4: Connect notes to an index. [[Structure Zettel]]

Types of Notes

[[Fleeting Notes]]: Capture every idea that comes to mind. They go in your #inbox to be processed later.

[[Literature Notes]]: Take notes on what you read. Keep it short, selective and in your own words. Be very selective with quotes.

[[Permanent Notes]]: Once a day review [[Fleeting Notes]] and [[Literature Notes]] and think about how they related to your current interests and research. The idea is not to collect–see [[Collector’s Fallacy]]. The point is to develop critical ideas, arguments and facts. Look for revealing questions and unique relationships.

• One idea per note
• Write as if the note will be published
• When done, delete Fleeting Notes

Permanent notes should be written in way that allows you to understand them even when you have forgotten the context in which they were originally written.

[[Project Notes]]: Notes related to a specific project, just as writing a book or paper.

Linking Notes

Add the permanent note to your system through linking:

• Add links to an index note. [[folgezettel]]
• Add direct links to other Permanent Notes
• Add links to previous/next notes

[[Smart Notes]] focus recording one thing–“insight that can be published”

[[Smart Notes]] in a [[011 Zettelkasten]], like [[Compounding]] becomes more valuable as it grows.

Quotes:: “The slip-box is designed to present you with ideas you have already forgotten, allowing your brain to focus on thinking instead of remembering.” p. 41.

Common Mistakes

Treating every [[idea]] as important. It results in nothing being important.

Taking only [[Project Ideas]].

Taking only [[Fleeting Notes]]

Consistent format of notes is critical. #[[metadata]]. A standard format eliminates decision-making.

Let the Work Carry You Forward (p. 51-56)

The process of taking [[Smart Notes]] creates a [[workflow]] with [[Feedback Loops]] that is self-sustaining. It’s a circular process, as we read, take notes, read, take more notes and add to or modify existing notes. The interconnectedness of our ideas help us to remember them. An isolated idea, like a plant separated from the soil, will soon die. A idea connect to other ideas with grow and flourish.

• Separate and interlocking Tasks
• Multitasking doesn’t work
• Focus on one task at a time. Separating different tasks helps us to stay focused on one task at a time. [[workflow]], not just motivation, is critical to staying focused. The [[011 Zettelkasten]] provides the workflow.
• We should write down the results of our thinking
• Reduce decision-making in the process of note-taking.
  • Same note format
  • Same process for Literature Notes
  • Same process for extracting and connecting ideas
• Read for Understanding

Literature Notes should be prepared with the goal of creating Permanent Notes in mind. [[Begin with the end in mind]]. Some Literature Notes will be extensive, depending on the complexity of the source and our knowledge of the subject. Some Literature Notes may be nothing more than a single sentence. The key to remember is that Literature Notes are there to aid in the creating of Permanent Notes.

Keep an open mind. Challenge your theories. Be curious.

Writing is not the process of taking our thoughts and ideas and putting them on paper. Writing is the process of coming up with the thoughts and ideas in the first place. Thinking is not an internal process divorced from the physical world. It happens with pen in hand or fingers on the keyboard. p. 95

In the case of a [[011 Zettelkasten]], the “external Scaffolding” as described by Neil Levy, 2011, Neuroethics and the Extended Mind, includes not just the notes, but also the links between the notes. And the links are not just a convenience or a pathway. If done properly, the compel us to ask, “how does this idea related to other ideas in my collection.” And it’s this question that makes all the difference. Indeed, it’s the thoughtful linking that turns a collection of notes into [[Smart Notes]] and a [[Second Brain]].

But how do we do this? We ask good questions:

Q: Why is the idea/book/article important for my own lines of thought?

Q: What does this all mean for my own research and the questions I think about in my slip-box?

Q: Why did the aspects of the book I recorded in my Literature Note catch my interest?

Q: What does it mean?

Q: Hoe does it connect to other ideas?

Q: What is the difference between . . .?

Q: What is it similar to?

We also write down how ideas connect with each other, which in turn forces us to understand how ideas relate to one another and how they differ…

Develop Ideas

While Ahrens recommends adding links to each note to an index, he rightly points out that links between notes are more important. With an index, we organize our ideas based on our current understanding. With links, we give our future self an opportunity to discover what is currently unknown.

“Focusing exclusively on the index would basically mean that we always know upfront what we are looking for – we would have to have a fully developed plan in our heads. ^^But liberating our brains from the task of organizing the notes is the main reason we use the slip-box in the first place.^^” p. 109 #Quotes #[[011 Zettelkasten]]

The index is a means to an end. It should be designed to give us “entry points” into our slip-box. From there we allow the interconnected notes to take us on a journey of exploration and surprise.

“The quicker we get from the index to the concrete notes, the quicker we move our attention from mentally preconceived ideas towards the fact-rich level of interconnected content, where we can conduct fact-based dialogue with the slip-box.” p. 109 #Quotes #[[011 Zettelkasten]]

Think like a writer, not an archivist. An archivist asks where to store a note based on keywords (tags or folders). A writer asks, under what circumstances do I want to stumble upon this note in the future, long after I’ve forgotten about it.

Good tags, or keywords as Ahrens calls them, are words and phrases not already used in the note.

Converting Literature Notes into Permanent Notes is a process of [[abstraction]] and re-specification. We take a specific idea and generalize it. Then we narrow back down to the specific, but in a different context. For example, I took the idea of a [[Latticework of Models]] and abstracted it to the broader idea of the [[Power of Patterns]]. From there I re-specified it in the field of [[510 Chess]].

“Making things more complicated than they are can be a way to avoid the underlying complexity of simple ideas.” #Quotes #[[000 Learning]] #Complexity

Keep notes concise and standardized.

A literature note can be as simple as “on page x, she says y.”

Standardization makes the technical side of note-taking automatic.

Share Your Insight

[[Brainstorming]] is not an ideal way to generate [[Writing]] topics. We favor recent ideas and hold onto our first ideas, even if they aren’t the best.

[[Writer’s Block]] is generally a problem for those who see writing as a task separate and apart from research and note-taking.

We can instead use our slip-box as the source of our ideas for articles, papers and books (and [[Podcast]]s)