# How to Take Smart Notes ## Source Information - Author: [[Sönke Ahrens]] - Full Title: How to Take Smart Notes - Category: #source/books ## Highlights synced on 2024-01-10 > Every intellectual endeavour starts with a note. ([Location 59](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=59)) > Writing is not what follows research, learning or studying, it is the medium of all this work. ([Location 72](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=72)) > What does make a significant difference along the whole intelligence spectrum is something else: how much self-discipline or self-control one uses to approach the tasks at hand (Duckworth and Seligman, 2005; Tangney, Baumeister, and Boone, 2004). ([Location 103](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=103)) > Having a meaningful and well-defined task beats willpower every time. Not having willpower, but not having to use willpower indicates that you set yourself up for success. ([Location 116](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=116)) > We do not want to make ourselves dependent on a plan that is threatened by the unexpected, like a new idea, discovery – or insight. ([Location 140](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=140)) > The simplicity of the structure allows complexity to build up where we want it: on the content level. ([Location 178](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=178)) > There is no point in having great tools if they don’t fit together. ([Location 221](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=221)) > Writing these notes is also not the main work. Thinking is. Reading is. Understanding and coming up with ideas is. And this is how it is supposed to be. The notes are just the tangible outcome of it. ([Location 383](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=383)) > You don’t have to read anything you don’t consider an absolute necessity for finishing your most urgent paper, but you will still encounter a lot of other ideas and information along the way. Spending the little extra time to add them to your system will make all the difference, because the accidental encounters make up the majority of what we learn. ([Location 457](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=457)) > If we try to use a tool without putting any thought into the way we work with it, even the best tool would not be of much help. ([Location 526](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=526)) > An idea kept private is as good as one you never had. ([Location 571](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=571)) > Working as if nothing else counts than writing does not mean spending more time writing at the expense of everything else. ([Location 586](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=586)) > The slip-box is the shipping container of the academic world. Instead of having different storage for different ideas, everything goes into the same slip-box and is standardised into the same format. ([Location 650](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=650)) > The second typical mistake is to collect notes only related to specific projects. ([Location 677](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=677)) > Most ideas will not stand the test of time, while others might become the seed for a major project. Unfortunately, they are not easy to distinguish right away. That is why the threshold to write an idea down has to be as low as possible, but it is equally crucial to elaborate on them within a day or two. ([Location 702](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=702)) > A good workflow can easily turn into a virtuous circle, where the positive experience motivates us to take on the next task with ease, which helps us to get better at what we are doing, which in return makes it more likely for us to enjoy the work, and so on. ([Location 816](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=816)) > The slip-box is not a collection of notes. Working with it is less about retrieving specific notes and more about being pointed to relevant facts and generating insight by letting ideas mingle. ([Location 868](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=868)) > Trying to multitask fatigues us and decreases our ability to deal with more than one task. ([Location 919](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=919)) > We have to know what we don’t have to write about at the moment, because we know that we will take care of that in another part of our text. ([Location 966](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=966)) > The key to creativity is being able to switch between a wide-open, playful mind and a narrow analytical frame.” ([Location 990](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B09V5M8FR5&location=990))