Thread by @maxholzheu

I hereby present you my summary of @fortelabs's summary of @soenke_ahrens's How To Take Smart Notes.

10 Principles to Improve Your Note Taking Skills

Original: praxis.fortelabs.co/how-to-take-sm…

1. Writing is not the outcome of thinking; it is the medium in which thinking takes place

If you want to learn, you need to remember. To remember, you need to understand. To understand, you need to remix. To remix, you need to write.

2. Do your work as if writing is the only thing that matters

Treat everything you read as if it's research for your next publication. Be selective and rigurous.

Having a clear, tangible purpose when you consume information forces you to learn the basics efficiently

3. Don't start from scratch

Brainstorming and researching should be done by Past You. Write notes in a way that makes them easier to find in the future.

4. Our Tools and Techniques are only as valuable as the workflow

The Strategy needs to make sense as a whole. Don't get lost in Tactics.

Implement a workflow– a repeatable process for collecting, organizing, and sharing ideas.

5. Standardization enables creativity

Don't take notes in a random way. A common format removes unnecessary complexity and takes the second-guessing out of the process.

Standardize Your Notes

6. Our work only gets better when exposed to high-quality feedback

We can only become better when we intentionally expose our work to high-quality feedback. Our notes can be that feedback.

It is easy to think we understand a concept until we try to put it in our own words.

7. Work on multiple, simultaneous projects

It is only when you have multiple, simultaneous projects and interests that the full potential of an external thinking system is realized.

Increases serendipity.

8. Organize your notes by context, not by topic

Specifically, the context in which it will be used. The primary question when deciding where to put something becomes

In which context will I want to stumble upon this again?

Where and/or when do I want to find this note again?

9. Always follow the most interesting path

It is more important to maintain motivation and energy levels by pursuing whatever interests you, than sticking to a plan.

It is not an indulgence. It is an essential part of asking our work sustainable and thus successful.

10. Save contradictory ideas

Our only criterion for what to save is whether it connects to existing ideas and adds to the discussion.

Don't be afraid of saving contradictory stuff. Fight confirmation bias. Save everything.