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How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking
The key to good and efficient writing lies in the intelligent organization of ideas and notes. This book helps students, academics, and nonfiction writers to get more done, write intelligent texts, and learn for the long run. It teaches you how to take smart notes and ensure they bring you and your projects forward.
The Take Smart Notes principle is based on established psychological insight and draws from a tried-and-tested note-taking technique. This is the first comprehensive guide and description of this system in English, and not only does it explain how it works, but also why. It suits students and academics in the social sciences and humanities, nonfiction writers, and others who are in the business of reading, thinking, and writing.
Instead of wasting your time searching for notes, quotes, or references, you can focus on what really thinking, understanding, and developing new ideas in writing. It does not matter if you prefer taking notes with pen and paper or on a computer, be it Windows, Mac, or Linux. And you can start right away.
The Take Smart Notes principle is based on established psychological insight and draws from a tried-and-tested note-taking technique. This is the first comprehensive guide and description of this system in English, and not only does it explain how it works, but also why. It suits students and academics in the social sciences and humanities, nonfiction writers, and others who are in the business of reading, thinking, and writing.
Instead of wasting your time searching for notes, quotes, or references, you can focus on what really thinking, understanding, and developing new ideas in writing. It does not matter if you prefer taking notes with pen and paper or on a computer, be it Windows, Mac, or Linux. And you can start right away.
188 pages, Hardcover
Published February 7, 2024
4 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
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July 27, 2024
Sönke Ahrens lays bare the thinking behind the zettelkasten method to being more productive in writing. Although the mechanics of how to construct an analog or digital system to support active learning is certainly present, what I appreciated most was the well reasoned and supported arguments on why such a system works because of how the human thinks, with its own inherent biases that can get in the way of good thinking and writing.
By the end of the book, I was left with a profound, “what if…?” thought. What if I had started my initial university journey by building such a system to enable thinking? What difference would it have had in my academic life that has run parallel to my work-life, on a part-time basis, for decades?
The gift of any author and their work is to make us think. In this regard, Ahrens succeeds in this work and has inspired me to dig deeper into the topic and consider creating my own zettelkasten, built upon the foundational ideas and processes written in this book. It’s worth a read. Thank you, Sönke.
By the end of the book, I was left with a profound, “what if…?” thought. What if I had started my initial university journey by building such a system to enable thinking? What difference would it have had in my academic life that has run parallel to my work-life, on a part-time basis, for decades?
The gift of any author and their work is to make us think. In this regard, Ahrens succeeds in this work and has inspired me to dig deeper into the topic and consider creating my own zettelkasten, built upon the foundational ideas and processes written in this book. It’s worth a read. Thank you, Sönke.
Displaying 1 of 1 review