Summary: Sönke Ahrens: How to Take Smart Notes<br> Sönke Ahrens is the creator of Take Smart Notes, a project dedicated to helping students, academics and nonfiction writers get more done - ideally with more fun and less effort. He has spent years researching and experimenting with different note-taking systems and his settled on a methodology called Zettlekasten.<br> <br> Sönke is a writer, coach, and academic -- and also the author of the bestselling book, How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking - for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers*.<br> <br> In this conversation, Sönke and I discuss how to move past the practice of simply reading and highlighting by beginning to seek meaning. We explore how you might create a system for doing this and how external scaffolding can help. Plus, we explain what notes might look like and how you can use them for an ongoing conversation with yourself — and perhaps others.<br> Key Points<br> <br> Move past details and look for meaning.<br> As we become familiar with something, we may start believing we understand it.<br> Real thinking requires external scaffolding.<br> It's not so much about saving information, but in making connections between the information.<br> Your notes need not be long or numerous, but should spark (and continue) future conversations with yourself.<br> <br> Resources Mentioned<br> <br> How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking - for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers* by Sönke Ahrens<br> Take Smart Notes<br> <br> Interview Notes<br> Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).<br> Related Episodes<br> <br> How To Create a Personal Knowledge Management System, with Bonni Stachowiak (episode 129)<br> Help People Learn Through Powerful Teaching, with Pooja Agarwal (episode 421)<br> How to Use Cognitive Psychology to Enhance Learning (Teaching in Higher Ed)<br> How to Enhance Your Credibility (audio course)<br> <br> Discover More<br> Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.
