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bentrevett's review against another edition
2.0
The answer to the question “how do I take smart notes?” is apparently to use the Zettlekasten system because that’s cool and popular at the moment. The Zettlekasten system is only good if you’re making notes with the goal of eventually turning them into writing, e.g. research papers. If you’re not writing then you shouldn’t be using this system and this book is of no use to you and you should definitely not waste your time on it.
Basically, constantly be making rough notes, then at the end of the day turn these rough notes into actual sentences, where you create “links” between concepts that are ideally in your existing notes. These notes should be on little flash cards which you put into a box where each note is numbered/indexed (don’t think about what happens when you need to add a note between some existing notes because it all gets very messy) and then you can procrastinate by looking through all your notes and feel like you’re being very productive.
The whole system done with physical notes sounds like an absolute hassle that isn’t really worth it, luckily there’s loads of digital replacements, like Obsidian and LogSeq (the new productivity tools on the block! second brains! digital gardens! personal knowledge management systems! think how clever you’ll be once you start using these!)
The book starts with an introduction to the Zettlekasten system, then gushes on about how great it is with plenty of things you’ve probably heard many times before (writing is thinking! write things in your own words, don’t underline or copy verbatim! growth mindset!), followed by yet another introduction to Zettlekasten and then another gushing over it (and it very weirdly ends with a section on habits because I guess that Atomic Habits book was popular)?
I’m not sure of the point of the book was to repeat everything to drill it into my head, or it was just yet another case of padding out content (which seems to be a theme in these types of books, maybe someone should come up with a productivity system with the goal of writing shorter books?). It gets two stars instead of 1 because at least it’s under 250 pages.
Basically, constantly be making rough notes, then at the end of the day turn these rough notes into actual sentences, where you create “links” between concepts that are ideally in your existing notes. These notes should be on little flash cards which you put into a box where each note is numbered/indexed (don’t think about what happens when you need to add a note between some existing notes because it all gets very messy) and then you can procrastinate by looking through all your notes and feel like you’re being very productive.
The whole system done with physical notes sounds like an absolute hassle that isn’t really worth it, luckily there’s loads of digital replacements, like Obsidian and LogSeq (the new productivity tools on the block! second brains! digital gardens! personal knowledge management systems! think how clever you’ll be once you start using these!)
The book starts with an introduction to the Zettlekasten system, then gushes on about how great it is with plenty of things you’ve probably heard many times before (writing is thinking! write things in your own words, don’t underline or copy verbatim! growth mindset!), followed by yet another introduction to Zettlekasten and then another gushing over it (and it very weirdly ends with a section on habits because I guess that Atomic Habits book was popular)?
I’m not sure of the point of the book was to repeat everything to drill it into my head, or it was just yet another case of padding out content (which seems to be a theme in these types of books, maybe someone should come up with a productivity system with the goal of writing shorter books?). It gets two stars instead of 1 because at least it’s under 250 pages.
drs's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
Entertaining and easy to follow. I’m inspired to try the technique described. If it works I’ll bump up my rating.
mbynum's review against another edition
3.0
Some good ideas, but a lot of rambling. Also a very one-dimensional approach to “note-taking”, namely just where to organize your notes.
slayra's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.0
The slip-box or Zettelkasten method presented in this book resonated with me. As soon as I understood the idea, I changed the way I took my notes both at work and at home, and I can see how it can help me write better and also prepare presentations and other bodies of work (I chose the software "LogSeq" for it). The main problem with the book is that I understood how it worked right at the beginning and the remaining pages felt like fillers to justify a book instead of a manual. The author refers to this and explains why it had to be a book, but I disagree. I must give it 4 stars because it has changed the way I work for the better.
antonio_buehler's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent read. This book is less a tutorial on how to take smart notes, and more a book explaining why one should take smart notes with really compelling arguments. I think it did a great job, but the proof will be in the pudding. I may check back in in 6 months if I ever get my own slip-box up.
lisamariepavia's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.0
While informative and I did get some good sections, there is not a single illustration of what the author is trying to infer. He makes the "slip box" an earth-shattering creation then fails to give examples of how one connects the notes or organizies into clusters. It is also intensely repetitive for its own sake. I did make some notes and will use some of the research cited in my teaching, but ultimately, this failed to be the magical solution the author claimed it to be.
jantown's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
Repetitive, but useful quick read. I mostly skimmed parts.
helenlivesslow's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.5
Some interesting ideas but certainly not a guide book or manual, more like a discussion of how note taking can be beneficial