How I Take Book Notes

I recently shared on Twitter about how I use Heptabase for taking book notes, which garnered significant attention. Today, I want to elaborate on the operational methods of each step and the design principles behind them, which can be practiced in most note-taking tools.

"Motivational Psychology" mentions a concept called "goal distance" - the closer the goal, the stronger the motivation. For instance, to complete a trip, you can break down the goal into smaller tasks like planning, buying tickets... This breakdown brings each task's completion much closer than the overall goal. My note-taking process follows this principle and is divided into 5 steps:

1. Writing inspiring insights in the Journal
2. Converting Journal notes into cards for whiteboard reflection
3. Establishing sections and connections based on the book's structure and personal understanding
4. Incorporating previous knowledge into the whiteboard
5. Organizing a coherent narrative on the whiteboard for writing articles

Writing Inspiring Insights in the Journal

When taking notes, we often worry about whether our content is valuable, and once we start writing, we begin to consider format and word choice accuracy, which adds to the note-taking burden. The Journal's purpose is to provide a pressure-free input environment, as the information here won't "contaminate" the core card box.

When I encounter inspiring content while reading, I first record it in my Journal. While I try to link all my notes with other notes, at this stage, I don't require myself to spend too much time thinking - just record first.

As mentioned earlier, tools provide a pressure-free input environment, and we can also encourage ourselves to record through our mindset. In the past, I viewed notes and writing as results of thinking, but increasingly, I see recording as a thinking process. Many unclear ideas become clearer during writing, so don't worry about initial quality since writing is a process, not a result.

Converting Journal Notes into Cards for Whiteboard Reflection

After recording, every couple of days, I review previous notes, further refine valuable content, and convert them into formal cards. During this conversion, I do several things.

I write cards in my own words to avoid illusion of competence. This illusion occurs when we think we understand something but actually haven't mastered it. For example, feeling knowledgeable after highlighting text or taking notes, but unable to apply or explain the knowledge when needed. Using our own words to describe is a self-test of knowledge understanding. Additionally, I carefully craft note titles as they highly summarize note content - if simple summarization is difficult, the note might be too scattered or poorly understood.

I establish initial bi-directional links. I consider whether the card's knowledge relates to other cards, searching and recalling to create connections. These links not only deepen knowledge associations to improve future knowledge application but can also inspire thinking and become opportunities for discovering new perspectives. For example, when learning about "illusion of competence," I found its methods similar to the Feynman Technique - both require recitation to verify learning outcomes, giving me deeper insight into the underlying principles of the Feynman Technique.

Organizing the Whiteboard

I create one whiteboard per book to store related notes. I regularly establish sections and connections based on the book's structure and my understanding, breaking down, organizing, and linking knowledge to expand thinking.

In Heptabase, I can visualize the thinking process through card arrangement and connections, reducing the cognitive load. Why does this reduce burden? Let me explain.

Human brain processing capacity is limited (the brain is single-threaded), specifically in perceptual capacity; when focusing on one task, it's difficult to simultaneously perform others. For example, many people prefer instrumental music while studying because, compared to music with lyrics, it causes less brain interference and doesn't compete for attention with the main task.

When thinking, we need to recall and organize materials, putting the brain in a multitasking state. Visualizing abstract thinking processes on a whiteboard essentially transfers the burden of recall and material comparison to the whiteboard, allowing the brain to better engage in creative thinking.

Importantly, don't limit yourself to single book content; consider how this knowledge relates to previous notes (establishing deep links) - whether they corroborate or contradict each other. Integrating new knowledge into existing knowledge systems offers these benefits:

1. Enhanced retrieval strength through related knowledge association, making it easier to recall. Reference memory-related dimensions and how innovation comes from unexpected idea connections

2. Strengthened knowledge mastery through learning transfer

The point about "innovation coming from unexpected idea connections" deserves elaboration. Many concepts are born from linking knowledge across different fields. For example, Atomic Design, famous in the design field, was inspired by chemistry. Just as matter is composed of atoms forming molecules then organic compounds, Brad Frost applied atomic thinking to organize design systems, widely adopted in the design field. The concept of psychic entropy in psychology borrowed from physics' concept of entropy.

Writing Articles

After whiteboard organization, I usually have a deeper understanding of the book's knowledge. At this point, I identify the most inspiring or well-understood thread to write about.

According to the Feynman Technique, output is an opportunity to test our learning outcomes. When we discover knowledge we can't explain clearly during output, we can review the original text using page numbers recorded in notes and consult materials, further deepening our understanding.

Summary

Above is my book note-taking process:

1. The recording phase should be pressure-free; writing is just a process.
2. When converting to cards, use your own words and take card titles seriously.
3. Organize cards on the whiteboard for thinking, consider relationships with previous notes
4. Output articles to verify your mastery level.