How to take smart notes (book) by Sönke Ahrens
Productivity
This part aligns with "Drive" by Daniel Pink, hard work is fun when aligned with intrinsic goals and we feel in control. The problem arise when we set up our work in such an inflexible way that we can't adjust and becomes a process with a life of it's own.
Willpower misconception
Studies have shown that success is not the result of strong willpower and the ability to overcome resistance, but rather the result of smart working environments that avoid resistance in the first place.
It's not sustainable, we should aim to create virtuous circles instead.
Zettelkasten method (slip-box) from German sociologist Niklas Luhmann
Taking notes
- Take notes of thoughts on any accessible support
- Take notes as you read, links, references, rephrase, selective & small as much as possible
Filling the slip-box
- Turn 1 & 2 into permanent notes. Find connections to other slip-box notes, build real phrases with references, quotes etc
- Add it to the slip-box by looking where it relates, add links from/to other notes, and make sure it can be found
Create quality content
- Develop a topic by reviewing notes
- Pick a topic
- Turn notes into a draft
- Edit and proofread the manuscript
Tooling
Keep it simple: NASA invested a lot of time and effort building a pen that works in space. Russia faced the same problem, they used pencils.
The autor recommends Zotero https://www.zotero.org/ (opens in a new tab) for taking notes and http://zettelkasten.danielluedecke.de/en/ (opens in a new tab) as a slip-box.
Managing our limited resources
Attention
No multi-tasking. Cut down on distraction sources.
Short term memory
Our short term memory can only hold up to 7 items at most, but recent researches suggest it might be 4. But we can artificially hold more information if we map it through a rule, connect it to existing memories etc. This part aligns with the "Make It Stick" book.
Zeigarnik effect: Open tasks take short term memory until they are done.
The brain doesn't distinguish between a finished task and a postponed one, so taking notes tend to free our brain.
Willpower
Seen as a resources, limited and needs time to recover.
Decision making
Obama, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs (...) all dress the same way every day. One less decision to make, leaving more resources for decisions that matter.
Learning with the slip-box
Not learning from what we read because we don't take the time to elaborate on it is the real waste of time
The slip-box is here to take care of details and references, that way the brain can focus on what matters, the big picture, deeper understanding, creativity...
From Brainstorming to "slip-box'storming"
Brainstorming sounds trendy, but it has many flaws and biais. The lack of tools means we rely on the brain, and produce ideas that are easily accessible for the brain, connected to emotions and miss out a lot. It is unlikely to find ideas in a few minutes, compared to months of filling a slip-box.
Give up planning
An experiment by 3 psychologists asked a group for 3 estimations. Ideal, realistic and worst case scenario. The result shows that ideal and realistic were very close, which hints our inability to plan. And not even half managed to finish in time for the planned worst case scenario. More experiments shows experience doesn't seem to help. Even people who know about the overconfidence biais fall for it. The law of Parkinson states that we tend to fill the time we set for a task, so overestimating doesn't work.
(RIP scrum)
The most important step is to get started, and it is much easier on small tasks, when the finish line is in sight. Ex: Writting a note vs writting a book.
The power of habits
It is much easier to do something we have done before. Ex: if we intent to go to the gym, it is much easier the 2nd time.
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