202302272137 Status: #idea #🧠 Tags: #creativity #note-taking # How to Take Smart Notes ## Overview "How to Take Smart Notes" by Dr. Sönke Ahrens explores the [[Zettelkasten]] method, a note-taking system developed by the German sociologist [[03 Beta Notes/Niklas Luhmann]]. Luhmann referred to it as "building a second brain". This method involves creating a systematic and interconnected network of notes that allows for better retention and understanding of information, as well as enhanced creativity and productivity. The Zettelkasten method fosters an environment where ideas are not just stored, but actively engaged with and developed, ultimately leading to the generation of new insights and knowledge. ## Contents 1. Introduction 2. Everything you need to know 3. Everything you need to do 4. Everything you need to have 5. [[Four Key Principles for Taking Notes]] 6. [[The Six Steps to Successful Writing]] ## Introduction ### Every Intellectual Endeavour Starts with a Note > "How do you plan for insight, which, by definition, cannot be anticipated?" - Writing is the best way to learn  - We never really start with a blank page  - Great students look beyond the obvious; they see connections in other disciplines. Bad students *feel* more successful/knowledgeable. See: [[Dunning-Kruger Effect]] - The best way to deal with complexity is to keep things as simple as possible, and allow complexity to build from there. See: [[Atomic Design]] ## Everything You Need to Know ### A good structure is one you can trust Success is less often the product of strong willpower, but rather the product of optimised work environments: > 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 (cf. Neal et al. 2012; Painter et al. 2002; Hearn et al. 1998). - The best way to feel in control is to stay in control. And the best way to stay in control is to give yourself options. To allow yourself to go wherever you feel. - A good system needs to be simple enough to allow for focus, and not superimpose a structure that gets in the way of thinking  ### The Slip Box System > He realised that one idea, one note was only as valuable as its context, which was not necessarily the context it was taken from. Techincally two slip boxes: 1. Bibliography 2. Brain ### Three Types of Notes 1. Bibliography: Lit Notes 🔥 Reference notes: Author, links. Quote w your interpretation of the quote. 2. Alpha: These are fleeting/temp notes. Light notes. Singular, simple ideas. Made to be reinterpreted and then discarded. 3. Beta: These are full ideas in your Zettelkarsten. Don't collect ideas, but develop them. These need to be in constant dialogue. [[Brands are Memes]] ## Everything You Need to Do Writing is, without dispute, the best facilitator for thinking, reading, learning, understanding and generating ideas we have. > If you want to learn something for the long run, you have to write it down. If you want to really understand something, you have to translate it into your own words. 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. ## Everything You Need to Have We need four tools: 1. Something to write with and something to write on (pen and paper, notes, Obsidian) 2. A reference management system (Zotero, Citavi ???) 3. The slip-box (Obsidian) 4. An editor (Paper, Coda, or Substack) More is unnecessary, less is impossible. ## Now Read 5. [[Four Key Principles for Taking Notes]] 6. [[The Six Steps to Successful Writing]] --- # Further Reading - [[Note Colours]] - [[Four Key Principles for Taking Notes]] - [[The Six Steps to Successful Writing]] - [[Three Types of Notes]] - [[03 Beta Notes/Niklas Luhmann]] - [[How to Take Smart Notes]]