Sonke Ahrens. How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking - For Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. North Charleston. 2017.

  1. Read with a pen in hand
  2. Take smart notes
  3. Make connections between notes
  4. Write what you come up with

Additional Resources

Summary

Abridged Index

  • Introduction
    • Everything you need to know
      • good solutions are simple and unexpected
      • the slip-box
      • the slip-box manual
    • Everything you need to do
      • Writing notes is the tangible outcome from thinking, reading, understanding and coming up with ideas
    • Writing a paper step by step
      • make fleeting notes
      • make literature notes
      • make permanent notes
      • add your notes to the slip-box
      • develop your topics, questions, and research projects bottom up from within the system
      • after a while, you have developed ideas far enough to have a topic to write about
      • turn your notes into a rough draft (translate and enhance your notes)
      • edit and proofread your manuscript
    • Everything you need to have (the toolbox)
      • something to write with and on
      • a reference management system
      • the slip-box for permanent notes
      • an editor
    • A few things to keep in mind
  • The Four Underlying Principles
    • Writing is the only thing that matters
    • Simplicity is paramount
      • fleeting notes
      • permanent notes
      • project notes
    • Nobody ever starts from scratch
    • Let the work carry you forward
      • expressing understanding in your own words is a fundamental competency for everyone who writes
      • facts connected together in a network of mental models becomes easier to make sense of new information; learn, remember, retrieve
  • The Six Steps to Successful Writing
    • Separate and interlocking tasks
      • give each task your undivided attention
      • multitasking is not a good idea
      • give each task the right kind of attention
        • writing (formulating, proofreading, outlining, combining and developing)
        • reading (careful, skimming, flexible)
        • dont' make plans (see next)
      • become an expert (planning is like rails)
        • experts rely on embodied experience (intuition)
        • writing is for gaining insight and making it public
        • Hubert and Stuart Dreyfus: five-grade "expert" scale
      • get closure
        • open tasks occupy short term memory until done (Zeigarnik effect)
        • break writing to tasks
        • write down the outcome of your thinking, with connections to further inquiries
      • reduce the number of decisions
        • reliable and standardized work environment
        • using a defined structure and workflow preserves available mental energy
        • breaks are crucial for learning
    • Read for understanding
      • read with a pen in hand
      • keep an open mind (slip-box criterion)
        • whether something adds to a discussion in the slip-box
        • connect or is open to connections (including contradictions)
      • get the gist
      • learn to read
        • not writing down an an idea is a waste of time, rendering most of what you read ineffectual
      • learn by reading
        • elaboration is most successful learning method: think about what's read, how it could inform questions and topics, how it could be combined with other knowledge
    • Take smart notes
      • make a career one note at a time
      • think outside the brain
        • show your work
        • external scaffolding necessary for developing thinking
      • learn by not trying
        • forgetting actually facilitates long term learning
        • focus on building "retrieval strength" - cues and connections
      • add permanent notes to the slip-box
        • add it behind a note you directly refer to, or at the end
        • add links to other notes or links on other notes to the new note
        • make sure you can find it from the index
          • new entry
          • refer to it from a note already connected to the index
        • build a latticework of mental models
    • Develop ideas
      • develop topics
        • assign index keywords to connect a note to topics you are working on or interested in - connecting to larger context
        • good keywords are usually not already mentioned in the note
      • make smart connections (4 types of cross-references)
        • links on overview note (linked in index) - with two words indicating what you'll find
        • links on cluster-summary note - breadcrumbs for line of thought
        • links showing predecessor note
        • note-to-note links between ideas (weak ties)
        • search for meaningful connections is a crucial part of thinking
      • compare, correct, and differentiate - easiest when presented externally
      • assemble a toolbox for thinking - people learn best when:
        • connect to prior knowledge
        • understand broader implications through elaboration
        • retrieve at different times, in different contexts
        • retrieve with help of chance
        • retrieve with deliberate effort
      • use the slip-box as a creativity machine (slow hunches)
      • think inside the box
        • abstracting ideas frees them from their original context
        • confront yourself with your errors, mistakes, and misunderstandings
        • focus on the main ideas behind the details to grasp the gist
      • facilitate creativity through restrictions
        • format
        • length
        • one idea per note
        • citation structure
        • organizational structure
    • Share your insight
    • Make it a habit
      • take notes when reading
      • turn findings into permanent notes
  • Afterword
    • Read with a pen in hand
    • Take smart notes
    • Make connections between notes
    • Write what you come up with
  • Bibliography

Read. Think. Write