Book Review - One That I Liked, A Lot

The Book

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

2nd edition, Revised and Expanded edition. Hamburg, Germany: Sönke Ahrens, 2022.

Some Background

When delving into the world of ideas and the endless sea of information, finding a lifeline that keeps us afloat and guides us to our destination is crucial. Enter Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998). Luhmann was a German sociologist who was a prolific writer and an architect behind a fascinating note-taking or note-organization method known as the Zettelkasten. The word "Zettelkasten" literally means "slip-box". It is a box meant to hold index cards like a library might have (or might have had years ago) or the box in which your grandmother may have kept her collection of recipes. Luhmann wasn't just any academic; he was a powerhouse of productivity, churning out more than 70 books and a staggering 400 scholarly articles throughout his career. Most of which were in the field of sociology. Even more impressive, he was not formally educated in that field. It was only his hobby and fascination. His note-taking and information-storage methods made him a leading influence in the field. What was his secret? He had a meticulously organized slip-box, which became the backbone of his work, enabling him to navigate through complex theories and vast amounts of information quickly. It was also a system that provided him with ready-made outlines for his books and articles.

The Zettelkasten method is not just a fancy way of taking notes; it's a transformative philosophy of knowledge management and creation. Imagine each note as a living entity, not just static information. These notes, each housing a single idea, are linked and indexed to mirror the brain's tendency to connect dots. This allows for an organic growth of understanding and insight, expanding your thoughts and creating a web of interconnected ideas far greater than the sum of its parts. The Zettelkasten method doesn't just organize your thoughts; it revolutionizes them, sparking new connections and insights that can transform how you think and learn.

In the digital age, Luhmann's century-old method has found new life, inspiring a modern take on note-taking and information management. Sönke Ahrens' book 'How to Take Smart Notes' is a testament to this resurgence, offering a bridge between Luhmann's analog system and the digital tools available today. Ahrens doesn't just rehash old ideas; he breathes new life into them, making the case that the Zettelkasten method is not just for academic heavyweights. It's a tool for anyone, regardless of their field, looking to enhance their writing, learning, and thinking in a world overwhelmed by information. The Zettelkasten method is not a privilege reserved for the elite or heavyweight academic researchers; it's a tool that can empower and enhance the productivity of anyone willing to give it a try.

How to Take Smart Notes

Reading this book was not just a journey into note-taking techniques for me. It led me, and a surprising number of other readers I found on the internet, into a transformative practice that challenges the conventional wisdom of how we compile, process, and generate knowledge. If you love note-taking and knowledge management, enjoy writing (or would like to), or are involved in researching anything, I highly recommend you take a spin through this book. I say this not just for the sake of productivity but for the impact it could have on your intellectual pursuits and creative endeavors.

Reading Sönke Ahrens' "How to Take Smart Notes" felt like uncovering a secret garden in the middle of the jungle of endless and primarily useless information we live in. This book can be a beacon for those navigating the murky waters of traditional note-taking methods only to find our boats barely afloat. I've been a prolific note-taker for as long as I can remember. For the most part, those notes never went anywhere. I have systems on top of systems and notes everywhere that float along and offer me no future benefit. Ahrens doesn't just offer a life raft; he provides a sophisticated submarine to explore the depths of knowledge with clarity and ease. This may sound dramatic, but my journey through its pages was nothing short of revelatory, transforming my approach to capturing thoughts, ideas, and everything in between.

At the heart of Ahrens' philosophy is the slip-box, or Zettelkasten mentioned above, but with a new spin on it. He offers specific steps and processes to get the most out of the system in a new digital world. It's a system that turns the chaotic stream of information into a well-organized river, flowing seamlessly into future understanding of topics and connections in your notes that you may not have seen. This isn't about jotting down bits and pieces in isolation; it's about weaving a tapestry of knowledge, where each thread is connected to others, creating a picture of interconnected ideas. Keywords or critical topics can emerge as the heroes in this process as they connect to other ideas, ensuring that no thought is left behind, isolated in the dark corners of our minds.

Starting with the basics, he introduces us to fleeting and permanent notes. He urges us to write in our own words, thus cementing our understanding and recall. I see two core concepts. The first is writing what you learned in your own words. This process is about engaging your mind, bringing your unique perspective to the new fact you are learning, and ensuring you understand each concept. If you can re-write it in your own words, you understand. If not, keep working on it.

The White Canvas Problem

The next core concept for me is about connecting and finding unique ways each idea can be elaborated on with other concepts or ideas you have previously noted. In this process, we're not just taking notes; we're engaging in a dialogue with our thoughts, challenging them, expanding them, and seeing them in a new light. This process doesn't just prepare us to face the blank page; it turns the daunting white canvas into a colorful playground of ideas waiting to be explored.

I learned in Art School years ago that I was not the only person who often did not know where to start. Very frequently in life, we have things we want to do, write, or create but don't know where to start. I learned that artists call this the "white canvas" problem. One teacher of mine told me to make a mark, any mark. Just put something down on the canvas. It can be changed or corrected later, but this step gets you quickly out of the staring at the blank canvas and not starting mode. In this note-taking process, you write it down but do not start from scratch. You have previous notes that can be connected. The feeling of not knowing where to start goes away because you are always just adding; you never start from scratch. From previous connections, new connections will follow. Over time, you have a web of knowledge that never existed before; more importantly, it is unique to you and your experiences.

Core Principles of the Process

Below is a concise list of principles shared in the book that become specific steps in "personal knowledge management." The "PKM" world has taken on a new life in our connected world with new websites, programs, apps, techniques, AI tools, and the most prominent companies trying to cash in. My list below is a reworked list from Tiago Forte's excellent write-up on this book. Forte and his "Forte Labs" are leading influencers and guides in PKM. If you are interested, his website is a great place to start.

• Writing is not the outcome of thinking; it is the medium in which thinking occurs.

• Do your work as if writing is the only thing that matters.

• Nobody ever starts from scratch.

• Our tools and techniques are only as valuable as the workflow.

• Standardization enables creativity.

• Our work only gets better when exposed to high-quality feedback.

• Work on multiple simultaneous projects.

• Organize your notes by context, not by topic.

Conclusion

Ahrens' method is more than a solitary pursuit; it's a call to share, collaborate, and refine. We invite feedback, critique, and new perspectives by opening our notes to others through any method you choose, enriching our knowledge and sharpening our ideas. This collaborative spirit, coupled with a disciplined habit of regular note-taking, lays the foundation for a lifelong practice of learning, thinking, and writing with clarity and depth.

I first read this book a few years ago, and I come back to it often. As I think about my experience with "How to Take Smart Notes," I can't help but feel more equipped with a powerful toolkit for making sense of the information age. Ahrens has shown me a new way to take notes and fundamentally changed how I engage with information, ideas, and the world around me.