How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking

by Sönke Ahrens, Nigel Fyfe (Narrator)

This is the second, revised and expanded edition. The first edition was published under the slightly longer title "How to Take Smart Notes. One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking—for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers".

The key to good and efficient writing lies in the intelligent organization of ideas and notes. This audiobook helps students, academics, and other knowledge workers 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 the Zettelkasten. 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 your notes, quotes or references, you can focus on what really thinking, understanding and developing new ideas in writing.

Dr. Sönke Ahrens is a writer and researcher in the field of education and social science. He is the author of the award-winning book "Experiment and Forms of World Disclosure" (Springer).

Since its first publication, How to Take Smart Notes has sold more than 100,000 copies and has been translated into seven languages.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Self Help, Writing, Productivity, Psychology, Personal Development

Audible Audio

Published February 19, 2025

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

0 stars for writing
1 star for premise
0 stars for research (very scattershot)
1 star for impact
0 stars for liking it

Did my star rating confuse you? Yeah, because reading this was confusing. So first of all, I'm a die-hard fan of Zettelkasten/Obsidian note-taking. It changed my reading and thinking life. Second, this is often the book that people recommend to folks interested in setting up a system. And for good reason...it does have a lot of helpful information, but it's poorly organized, repetitive, and geared toward some sort of "writing" future that feels oddly unspecified. Some parts were extremely useful, and then there were other parts that I skimmed through. It felt like it could have been a blog post.

[Victor Herrera Guzmán · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very general book, that talks about the Zettelkästen method. It mainly focuses on the importance of it, a good network of internal ideas, full comprehension and translation of what's read, rather than, the classification method itself.

I think this is highly important, since it remarks on the importance of having a slip-box, if you would like to have an easier writing process, and how the customization and interconnection of ideas, will rather help you to have too much to write about, instead of just a few topics.

You can find more information about the classification method and some ideas in YouTube or Google, but it could be useful if the book would have gone deeper around this topic which is also important .

Must read for people doing research, thesis or having a better classified information/notes/ideas of what's been learned.

[Ricardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The topic of note-taking is intriguing, regardless of whether one is a student or not. At first glance, the method presented by the author may seem convoluted. However, as the book progresses—particularly after the halfway mark—it all comes together, revealing a system that is surprisingly simple.

The key idea is that note-taking should not consist of merely summarizing articles or books (or quoting passages from them). Instead, it should focus on capturing the insights generated through reading, in the context of previous ideas stored in the slip-box system (or *Zettelkasten*, in German).

In the final quarter of the book, some chapters tend to reiterate earlier concepts without adding significantly to the overall understanding of the method.

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Let me know if you'd like to adapt this into an academic reflection or tie it back to your qualitative research interests—I think there are some fascinating intersections around personal knowledge management and sensemaking. Want to dig into that?

[Erickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

For someone like me who is usually very skeptical of self-help books, especially for tangible things like writing, I was expecting to be disappointed, but I was proven wrong.

I do not remember when was the last time I read a self-help book where (1) the anecdotes are not excessive, (2) the messages are straight to the point and concise, and (3) the exposition is not wasteful, and (4) the examples are very relatable and unambiguous. The strategies, based on Luhmann's Zettelkasten, are very concrete and adaptable to modern digital technology. I managed to have a skeletal version on Notion once I read the book, and I am starting to experiment with it. Since all my issues with note-taking was spelt out in the book, I have nothing to lose even if this does not work out in the end.

To first-order approximation, the key is to have a note-taking system that does not attempt to be a library or an archive, but rather a way to simulate how we recall memory under some (random) stimulus. The idea then is to systematically build this up into a system where ideas generation are induced by having ideas appear with connections to others, where the connections are actively built through (back)links. This note-taking practice in principle will solve three problems for me:
1. I never really go back to my own annotations or notes I wrote unless it is for exams (which I no longer have because I am not a student anymore).
2. I never was able to make brainstorming works.
3. My note-taking app, Notion, was severely under-utilized.

I would recommend this to anyone who cares about note-taking in their research or writing. I know in physics some would rather not take notes at all, and that is fair. However, in my case I have several reasons why I want to resolve my note-taking deficiencies, some of which are personal, and I am very glad that the book did not disappoint and does well in being very concrete without being verbose.

[Stefan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acts really well as a sales tool for the Zettelkasten idea and the author’s note-taking course with Obsidian 😉
The concepts aren’t particularly new. If you’ve been taught the Cornell Method, Walter Pauk’s 5Rs: record, reduce, recite, reflect, review, you’ll recognize the same core mechanics here packaged as a slip-box system (granted it was earlier system, Cornell'scoming from '50s). The framing is cleaner than the novelty.
Solid and to the point. It does not reinvent thinking, but it does emphasize execution and structure over theory, which is arguably the whole point. It forces you to confront a simple truth: mindless consumption does not lead to growth. Critical thinking and deliberate reflection are required. That reminder alone makes it worth the read.

[Logan Kettle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally started reading this because it was plugged in a YouTube video that major resonated with me on what my organization of thought could be like (linked below). Honestly, it was a pretty boring read and his tendency to jump around made things confusing and may have even weakened the appeal of the system he advocates for.

But I still got a lot of value out of this! I am definitely convinced that the Zettelkasten is a superior note-taking system to what is commonly used and provides value far and above information archiving. The issue now will be whether I can stick with it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSTy_...

[Angelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Repetitive at times, but overall a great intro to the Zettelkasten that will probably be the make or break system of my PhD

[Jacob P · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

I picked up How to Take Smart Notes after seeing it recommended alongside the Zettelkasten method by a YouTuber (Odysseus), and it starts strong. The opening does a great job selling the promise - better thinking, better writing, a system that compounds ideas over time. It clearly explains what the method is, how it works, and why it’s effective.

But once that foundation is laid, the book kind of… stalls.

A big issue for me was repetition. The same core ideas get revisited over and over without adding much depth, to the point where I found myself skimming large sections. For a book about efficient thinking, it ironically feels quite inefficient in how it delivers its message. There are interesting moments - some cognitive biases, paradoxes, and insights - but they feel scattered rather than building toward something cohesive.

The biggest takeaway is also the biggest frustration: this is a concept that can be understood very quickly. I read a review which I completely agree with, the sentiment being that you could spend a few minutes looking up the Zettelkasten method and walk away with 80–90% of what this book is trying to say across ~200 pages.

Another thing that didn’t quite land for me is how narrow the use case feels. The book leans heavily toward academic writing and non-fiction work. As someone who reads a lot (mainly fiction and classics) but isn’t an academic writer, I struggled to see how this would realistically fit into my day-to-day. I kept wanting it to branch out - how does this apply to general learning, personal knowledge, or even reading fiction (if at all)? It never really answers that.

That said, I don’t think it’s without value. The core idea is genuinely useful, and the framing around externalising thought and building a system that connects ideas over time stuck with me. I just wish it had been delivered in a much more concise and broadly applicable way.

Overall: a strong concept stretched into a long, somewhat repetitive read. Worth understanding - but maybe not worth reading cover to cover.

[T.L. Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

How To Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking by Sönke Ahrens read like a college dissertation. I first listened to (or at least started) How To Take Smart Notes as an audiobook while on a road trip. I didn't feel like I quite got it, so I immediately read the paperback version when I arrived home. While I understood Ahrens's point about the slip-box and its potential usefulness, I kept waiting for a depth into the process that never seemed to develop. How To Take Smart Notes felt repetitive beyond simply being consistent. Ahrens does a decent job of explaining his point, but I never felt excited about what the slip-box or its potential to change my productivity. Having read many, many books about writing techniques, this certainly felt like an option among many options including ones that already work for me. Ahrens claims that the slip-box is the only way to be productive several times and alludes to it even more putting my skepticism into overdrive. Overall, How To Take Smart Notes seems like a well-intentioned attempt to give people, particularly those in academia, a better way to write and even to think about what they're writing, but it fell short of convincing me to try using the slip-box.

[Kelly M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found How to Take Smart Notes genuinely insightful, especially as someone who’s trying to get better at linking ideas, building a personal knowledge base, and improving long-term learning and retention. Rather than focusing on note-taking as simple information capture, this book reframes it as a way of thinking, one that helps you make connections, answer questions, and gradually build a web of ideas that compounds over time.

What resonated most with me was the emphasis on translating what you read into your own words instead of taking verbatim notes. That shift alone changes note-taking from a passive activity into an active learning process. The book made it clear that notes are not an end in themselves, but tools for developing ideas, spotting relationships, and eventually writing more clearly and thoughtfully.

I’m already planning to implement several of the practices discussed, including writing book reviews like this one, taking more deliberate notes while reading, and focusing less on highlighting and more on understanding. If you’re interested in learning how to think better on paper, make meaningful connections between ideas, and build a system that supports deep thinking over time, this book is well worth reading.

[Ana Bu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found out about this book through a YouTube video on Obsidian by Odysseus.

He described it as a game changer and a be-all and end-all of books on note-taking, learning, research and writing.

It starts strong, like most advice books, promising lofty outcomes if you follow the steps outlined in this book, and also provides some interesting anegdotes and examples.

Then, we come to the central idea of the book: the slip-box. The method is interesting and effective (I'm using it myself), but you could have just skipped this book and googled "slip-box method", with 3 minutes of research, and gain the same amount of insight as by reading this entire book.

I skimmed through the second half because it's mostly fluff and general knowledge.

[Jackson Kozlowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I appreciate Ahrens sharing this technique with the world, he does not go into sufficient detail on the method. I would have greatly appreciated instructions on using Obsidian and Zotero to implement the technique. Maybe the technique is so open-ended and personalized that it's difficult to describe detailed instructions. That said, I left the book with a very vague concept of what notes should look like. Much of the useful content could be condensed into about 20 pages.

I am also skeptical of the effectiveness of the technique. If this book has sold 100,000 copies, why aren't there other notable proponents of the Zettelkasten?

[Klara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the idea that knowledge is best stored when mapping out how it links with other knowledge and ideas. I haven't created a zettelkasten so perhaps the book impacted me less in the long-term than in the short-term, but I have started taking "atomic notes" of thoughts I have through the day.

As I shape my ideas about policy, impact and finance, I will be noting ideas and linking common themes so that I can write about it in longer format later.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The theory of the zettelkasten is well explained here but not the method. It also gave entire credit for DNA research to Watson and Crick and failed to note the involvement of Rosalind Franklin, which if you were really taking smart notes would be a big point. If you want to understand more about the ideas behind it this is good. Otherwise, a few YouTube videos will be better.

[Cassi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has good information. I didn't always find it readable. I didn't like the formatting and or layout and I think that is part of what made it tedious at times to read. Maybe some visuals throughout the book would have helped break things up. If starting a new chapter on a new page is a financial publishing decision then maybe don't publish until your finances allow that extravagance.

[John Brennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little challenging to get through. I augmented my reading of this book with reading a few articles and posts, as well as watching several YouTube videos on Zettlekasten. The approach/practice seems most relevant to the pursuit of writing a piece of work (as was Luhmann's purpose) - which made it a bit challenging for my context which is to take more useful notes in a work context.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is most helpful for people seeking to write academic papers/articles. Ahrens writes about Zettelkasten, a slip-box system to take the daunting prospect of writing a book or an article to bite-sized tasks, almost with a gamified element. You write down small blurbs with a cite, which gives you momentum to read something more to complete the next piece of the puzzle. The idea is you accumulate 15 of these "slips" with an index that basically serves as a blueprint for your next piece of writing. The process I think is helpful for smart people who get "stuck" and can't proceed because they think the idea is not original enough, revolutionary enough, coherent enough etc. Ahrens points this out and highlights all the psychological factors that hold us back from writing.

The principles are similar to those espoused in "Getting Things Done" by David Allen, which is geared toward business folks. Put things down on paper and move on to declutter your brain and create space to see new connections. This is an analogous self-help book tailored towards academics. As an attorney who reads and writes a lot on behalf of clients, I find difficult to carve out time for one but find things to write about in my own voice. The book was helpful in providing a usable framework. So far, I've only managed a few "slips" in my inbox, but I can attest to the quick hit of endorphins from completing them. Wish I was recommended this book a long time ago in college or in law school.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, not revolutionary. Very general. I watched a few videos on YouTube about the Zettelkasten method, and didn't feel like this book added much knowledge to what I had already gathered about this topic, but it wasn't a dull read either, just average.

[Notger Heinz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant.

Changes the way I work and think. I am on a researching binge now.

[Oday]

garbage

[Najade · Rating 1 out of 5]

quick ass dnf. repetitive and you’ll probably learn more useful tips from a youtube video on zettelkasten

[ouesteli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Está siendo un poco repetitivo y redundante, mientras que se deja algunas cosas sin resolver. La idea es tan sencilla que el libro da vueltas y vueltas sobre la misma idea (para rellenar, supongo) y la acaba complicando un poco. Aún así, la primera parte es bastante interesante y me ha introducido al método Zettlekasten. Me parece muy interesante.

[Sola.scriptura · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some interesting ideas that I will incorporate into my research. But overall, I am still not sure.

[Jin Shusong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book. The author gave me advices to take dual-linked notes which would be helpful to me.

[Edgar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Closing line is great.

[Dave]

Not what I thought it was based on some YouTube recommendations. Not going to rate low because it's not necessarily the book/author's fault.

[Eugenio Lojero · Rating 4 out of 5]

El libro explica el funcionamiento de la técnica del zettelkasten para guardar notas y usarlas después cuando querramos escribir.