They are hard to combine – for GTD to work, you must know where you’re trying to go (clear objective) and the path can be decomposed into smaller steps that guarantee progress. GTD is different from Insightful Writing (Ahrens’s method). This system forces clear prioritization and continuously evaluates how tasks fit into the bigger picture. The central insight in GTD is to collect everything in one place and process it in a standard way. Insightful Writingĭavid Allen’s Getting Things Done system is an excellent way to be productive. As yourself the question: In what circumstances will I want to stumble upon this note, even if I forget about it? GTD vs.
#Taking smart notes book how to#
A Researcher tags notes to figure out how to retrieve them. An Archivist tags notes to figure out where to store them. You can use a tag scheme to link notes together, however, be cautious. Moreover, they automatically generate backlinks and maintain your link graph. Tools like Roam Research allow you to very easily link permanent notes together. Linking permanent notes together is an extremely important step. I use Roam Research, though Obsidian is a very reasonable alternative. Permanent notes require more thought to put together and are short summaries of fleeting notes. There are plenty of fleeting notes that weren’t great ideas or didn’t generate any particular value, and can be discarded.
Permanent NotesĪll forms of fleeting notes can be converted to permanent notes, though not all should. Alternatives include browser bookmarks, Pocket and Instapaper. I also use Notion to maintain a web reading queue. Treat highlights as another fleeting note. Importantly, the act of highlighting is insufficient. When reading books and articles, I find it particularly easy to highlight things – Kindle makes it very easy to highlight things, as well as revisit all highlighted content. Use whatever means you’d like to capture fleeting notes - pen and paper, voice memos, apps on your devices. The first step is to capture all your ideas - whether they’re coming from things you read, or during a shower, or on a walk, or when you’re browsing the internet. Replicating the system today is easier, thanks to technology. He relied upon these linkages to generate insight and connect one thing to another. Each piece of paper also had linkages to other notes.
He relied on writing notes that were organized by topic, putting physical pieces of paper next to each other in a slip-box. The original system was built using pen and paper by Niklas Luhmann.
#Taking smart notes book series#
The Zettelkasten system relies on a series of interconnected notes. Zettelkasten system to store and connect ideas Reading alone is insufficient and having read more does not mean more ideas. To generate more insights, Ahrens recommends changing the learning workflow. How do you plan for insight, which, by definition, cannot be anticipated?Īhrens’s book, while directed at students and researchers, is applicable to everyone that cares about learning new things. This process helps deepen our understanding. Read by taking notes and noting concepts in your own words. To generate insights, Ahrens recommends using the Zettelkasten method to create a Second Brain that helps see relationships between concepts, discover open holes, and validate or invalidate understanding. Generating insights is key to accelerate research and learning. #note taking #zettelkasten #summary Key Ideas