The only way to connect our messy minds is to stop thinking in silos and start linking our thinking.
Together with our past selves, we can solve challenges.
🧵 Prefer tweets? See my essay in the thread.
“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.” —Steve Jobs
Hidden in millions of note-taking systems, there are solutions to complex problems. But, few ideas get out—trapped in unconnected piles of notes.
What can we do about it?
To turn our notes into insight, we need to link them.
However, most note-taking systems are hierarchical; they cut up knowledge into documents, tucked away in folders. Fine for isolated projects, difficult to connect with other materials.
The antidote to complex problems is networked thinking. By loosely organizing snippets of text and connecting them any chance you get, patterns and solutions start to emerge.
Ditch your old systems and replace them with a networked thinking tool; Roam Research, Obsidian, or RemNote. They make linking notes effortless and useful, showing you exactly how your notes are linked up and where clusters emerge.
Then, ditch your old way of thinking; nothing exists in a silo anymore.
The atomic unit of knowledge is not a document; it’s a short note—a paragraph—with a single idea. Easy as that.
The scary thing about networked thinking is that there’s no structure to look at.
Notes in folders create an illusion of value whereas a few clusters of notes may look like muck. The reverse is true.
In the messiness, you’ll find the insights to solve complex problems..
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By planning ahead in the morning and reflecting in the evening, you create a balancing system. Keep an eye on your thoughts and actions and you can improve 1% every day.
We often think we're good at predicting the future, but rarely do predictions hold up. There are too many variables, so how can we become better?
Simple, plan in the morning and reflect in the evening.
The catch is you need to do it every day.
Without consistency, any growth withers. But if you do show up every day, even small improvements will compound like interest. And if you fail, you get up and try again.
Ever since I've started to use @RoamResearch, I've finally become the teacher I always wanted to be for myself. By writing notes, I'm able to send wisdom forward in time.
🧵 Prefer tweets? See my essay in the thread.
How much do you learn from your note-taking tool? In my case, I learn everything from it. I’ve found my personal savior.
Until I discovered Roam Research, I struggled to benefit from my notes. I would hoard truckloads of highlights and random thoughts, but everything would gather dust eventually.
Publish every day to force yourself to write. It won't be easy, it won't always be pretty, but you'll always learn.
Five writing tips to help you ship your work daily.
🧵 Prefer tweets? See my essay in the thread.
Writing daily has many advantages. Writing every day is also incredibly hard—you need to find the time, inspiration, and courage to ship your work. It gets easier, but never easy.
In the previous two weeks, I've written and published one short essay every day. I've laughed and cried (yes). Writing became easier and then double as hard. But, there's always a lesson hidden in my struggles.
Start by skimming, then dive in, before going down the rabbit hole of a topic. Keep the three reading stages in mind, and you'll learn something in every reading session.
🧵 Prefer tweets? See my essay in the thread.
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.”
—Francis Bacon
You can learn from any book, but that doesn't mean you should.
To make the most use of your time, you need to know what parts of a book are useful—if any. Learn to judge a book by more than its cover.
Small habits snowball into big changes. If you keep showing up and adjusting based on what you learn, success is a matter of time.
An atomic essay is about how I dropped 45 kg by steadily improving 1%.
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“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” —Will Durant
Small habits cause big changes. If you improve by 1% every day, you’re 37 times better after a year. Simple improvements function like compound interest—it snowballs.
I stumbled upon the principle of small, daily improvements when battling prediabetes. Having to lose 45 kg (99 lbs), I had to make a radical change in my lifestyle.