![]() If you go through the new literature notes and what’s already in your slip-box, you need to think about how it can be combined. The goal is that this is a reference system. These are reminders and you should just write down whatever enters your head. With this method, to work on different things simultaneously, I never encounter any mental blockages.” The steps of note-taking I always work on different manuscripts at the same time. “When I am stuck for one moment, I leave it and do something else.” When he was asked what else he did when he was stuck, his answer was: “Well, writing other books. “Remember: Luhmann’s answer to the question of how one person could be so productive was that he never forced himself to do anything and only did what came easily to him. Apparently he also never read a text twice and he was seen as an impressive conversationalist who had a lot of information at hand. He took notes on a separate piece of paper and then (if valuable) moved it to his slip-box. Luhmann never underlined text and/or wrote in the margins. He also did not copy text or ideas it was more like a translation of the original text. He wrote the notes based on what was already in the slip-box, since ideas should not stay in isolation. One which contained notes + biographical info of what he read, and another which contained his “responses” or ideas about what he read. Luhmann’s slip-box system technically consisted of two parts. It also allowed him to enter academia – he wrote a doctoral thesis and habilitation thesis in one year (while taking classes). The sum of those notes was much more than just the parts itself. He was originally not an academic, but he started writing down notes and thoughts and linking them together. The origin of the slip-box / Zettelkasten method starts with Niklas Luhmann. “Writing is, without dispute, the best facilitator for thinking, reading, understanding and generating ideas we have.” Niklas Luhmann & Zettelkasten Writing notes accompanies the main work, which is the reading, thinking, and understanding, and coming up with ideas. This allows us to keep our interest and motivation aligned and do “almost effortless” work. With writing this means that the topic and questions can change and we need to stay flexible. If you want to stay in control it’s better to keep your options open. You can focus on the ideas, the content, and the argumentation. If you have a system that works properly, you don’t need to hold all information in your own head. Combining and incorporating pieces of written of information into a whole is easier – you never have to start with a blank page. But that is false: writing starts with good note-taking. People struggle exactly because they believe that writing starts with an empty page. #SMART NOTES PAPER CES BOYLE HOW TO#Only the terror of the blank screen when we start to write is a trigger to investigate how to actually write. And maybe that is the reason why we rarely think about this writing, the everyday writing, the note-taking and draft-making.”Īnother reason why people don’t look into note-taking more often is that there is no immediate negative feedback if we do it wrongly. “Writing is not what follows research, learning or studying, it is the medium of all this work. Book Summary & NotesĪll text that is quoted & italicized is taken directly from the book. If you’re interested in note-taking and Zettelkasten also check out my article on creating a digital commonplace book, or an overview of personal knowledge management systems. Not just if you’re a student that needs to write a thesis, or an academic working on a paper, but for everyone that reads and wants to remember and use that information.įor more details and reviews go to Amazon. In How to Take Smart Notes Ahrens describes what makes the Zettelkasten method so powerful, and how by developing good note-taking habits we basically do the legwork for many of our intellectual and creative efforts. He attributed this productivity to his note-taking system. It was originally invented by Niklas Luhmann, an academic who produced a prodigious amount of work in his career, covering a wide range of subjects. The system described in the book is based on the Zettelkasten method, an easy and intuitive way to take notes and to actually start use them. How to Take Smart Notes is by far the best thing I’ve read on note-taking and how to apply the things you’ve read and studied. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |