Thread by @mhauken

Everyone forgets important details from meetings.

You don’t have to!

Here is a bulletproof method to remember anything:

1/10

Over the last few years, there have popped up a lot of notetaking tools that have a powerful feature named backlinks:
- @RoamResearch
- @obsdmd
- @NotionHQ
- @craftdocsapp
++

Here is how I leverage backlinks to quickly recall the essential info in every meeting I attend:

2/10

Create a new note for every day

In that note, write your notes for the meetings you attend.

Here comes the crucial part:
Whenever you write about a person or company, link to a page (double brackets in most of these programs).

It doesn't matter if that page exists yet.

3/10

After the meeting, when you review your notes, create a page for all the persons and companies that don't exist yet.

My company template looks like this:

4/10

My template for a person often looks like this after the first meeting:

5/10

By taking notes this way, you suddenly have a personal CRM!

If I meet @thatroblennon again, I can pop up my note-taking program and see all the times I've referenced him.

6/10

In the person-note I often write down what we discussed last or details about their family.

My favorite usage for the note is to write down gifts-ideas for them. Next time you need a gift, you know where to look!

@thatroblennon would probably enjoy Upgrade by Blake Crouch

7/10

Taking notes this way ensures you'll quickly find the information you need since you can either go by date, person, or company to find your notes.

As a bonus you'll probably see some connections you didn't before!

8/10

PS:
If your notetaking program don’t support backlinks you can always add links between dates, persons and companies manually.

9/10

Here is my template for persons if you want to copy:

• 📞
• ✉️
• 📍
• 🏢
• Role:
• How We Met:
• Tags: #people
• Interests:
• Gift ideas:
• Related:
• Other notes:

10/10

I hope you've found this thread helpful.

Follow me @mhauken for more. I weekly share learnings about productivity and design.

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