Why you forget what you read... and how to fix it

Matt Ragland

25 Jan 202111:41

Summary

TLDRThe video script emphasizes the transformative impact of taking 'quick notes' on one's creative work. The speaker introduces a 90-day notes challenge, advocating for the creation of smart, unique, and contextual notes that form part of an individual's knowledge base. These 'quick notes' serve as a second brain, enhancing productivity by providing a wealth of pre-written content and ideas. The process of note-taking is likened to a treasure hunt, with each note acting as a building block for content creation. The speaker shares their personal experience of using these notes for podcast episodes, highlighting how the practice distributes creativity over time, reducing the stress associated with creating content from scratch. The script concludes with an invitation to learn more about this note-taking process through the speaker's guided course, 'Productivity Power Up,' which covers principles applicable to a wide range of professions.

Takeaways

📚 The speaker started a 90-day notes challenge to enhance creativity and productivity.
📝 The notes are referred to as 'quick notes' or 'smart notes', which are unique, contextual, and part of one's own knowledge base.
🔍 Traditional notes are often fleeting and lack the context needed for effective recall, unlike the 'quick notes'.
💡 Note-taking serves as a 'second brain', aiding in the organization of ideas and concepts for future content creation.
🧩 Creating 'quick notes' daily acts as building blocks or 'legos' of content, facilitating an ongoing content creation process.
🗂️ The speaker organizes notes with connections, references, and keywords to form interconnected thoughts and ideas.
📖 Reading becomes more engaging and slower due to the note-taking process, but it results in a valuable collection of connected notes.
🔑 Keywords on the back of each note card are crucial for creating clusters that help in finding related notes easily.
🎯 The process of note-taking helps distribute creative work, reducing the stress of 'creator's block' and the pressure of constrained creativity.
🚀 This method of note-taking allows for a more distributed and less pressured approach to content creation, acting as a curator of one's own creativity.
🌟 The habit of consistent note-taking nurtures a stress-free environment for creativity and productivity.

Q & A

What is the purpose of creating over 100 handwritten notes on index cards according to the video?
-The purpose is to make creative work easier and more fun by creating 'quick notes' or 'smart notes' that serve as a personal knowledge base and building blocks for content creation.
What is the challenge the speaker started at the beginning of October 2020?
-The speaker started a '90-day notes challenge' to create quality notes that would enhance their creative work and productivity.
What does the speaker refer to as a 'quick note'?
-A 'quick note' is defined as a note that is quality, unique, individual, contextual, and part of one's own knowledge base.
Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of returning to notes with context?
-Returning to notes with context is important because it helps in remembering why the information was significant in the first place, which is crucial for creative work.
How does the speaker describe the process of creating content with note cards?
-The speaker describes it as a treasure hunt for the mind, where one connects the dots of different ideas using note cards, making the creative process more distributed and less stressful.
What organizational data does the speaker put on the note cards?
-The speaker puts the note itself on the front of the card, connections and references on the back, along with the creation date, a reference number, and associated keywords.
Why are keywords important in the note-taking process described by the speaker?
-Keywords are important because they help in creating keyword clusters or note card clusters, which assist in finding related cards and organizing thoughts effectively.
How does the speaker suggest organizing the note cards as they accumulate?
-The speaker suggests that organizing the note cards is easy and fun, and it involves sorting through them like a treasure hunt, which aids in the creative process.
What is the benefit of taking quick notes according to the speaker's experience?
-The benefit is that it makes content creation easier by providing a second brain of ideas, concepts, and pre-written notes that can be used to create any type of content.
How does the speaker use the note cards for podcast episodes?
-The speaker uses the note cards by going through them with a general idea in mind, pulling out related cards that connect together for that idea, and treating the exploration like a treasure hunt to create a unique content stack for the podcast.
What is the 'Productivity Power Up' course mentioned by the speaker?
-The 'Productivity Power Up' is a guided four-week course that covers every element and principle of productivity to help individuals in their creative work or any other field of work.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Power of Quick Notes for Creative Work

The speaker introduces the concept of 'quick notes' or 'smart notes' as a method to enhance creativity and productivity. They explain that these notes are unique, contextual, and contribute to one's personal knowledge base. The speaker emphasizes that quick notes are different from fleeting notes, which are rarely revisited and lack context. The purpose of these notes is to serve as a 'second brain,' providing a foundation for ideas and content creation. The speaker also discusses the benefits of this note-taking practice, such as making the content creation process more efficient and enjoyable, and turning the act of reading into an engaging treasure hunt for creative ideas.

05:01

🎨 Content Creation Made Easy with Note Clusters

In this paragraph, the speaker discusses how taking quick notes simplifies the content creation process. They provide an example of using these notes for podcast episodes, where they start with a broad idea and then pull related note cards to connect different concepts. This method allows for a more distributed creative process, reducing the stress associated with writer's block and the pressure to create content in a specific moment. The speaker highlights that by taking notes regularly, they rarely start with a blank page and can act as a curator of their own creativity, assembling different notes like Lego blocks to create a cohesive piece of content.

10:02

📈 Cultivating a Stress-Free Creative Environment

The final paragraph focuses on the benefits of the note-taking practice for nurturing a stress-free and productive creative environment. The speaker explains that by distributing creative work across different days, weeks, and months, one can avoid the pressure of concentrating creativity into a specific moment. They also mention that each note is a standalone building block that can convey one idea, which is crucial for the note-taking method. The speaker invites viewers to learn more about this process through their guided course, 'Productivity Power Up,' which covers principles applicable to various types of work. They encourage viewers to engage with their content and ask questions about the note-taking practice.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Handwritten Notes

Handwritten notes refer to the physical act of writing down information or ideas on index cards or paper. In the video, the creator emphasizes the use of handwritten notes as a method to enhance creative work. They are described as being more engaging and easier to organize than digital notes, and they serve as a tangible record of thoughts and ideas that can be revisited and built upon.

💡90 Day Notes Challenge

The 90 Day Notes Challenge is a personal initiative undertaken by the speaker to create 100 handwritten notes within 90 days of the year. It's a commitment to consistent note-taking as a means to improve productivity and creativity. The challenge is mentioned to illustrate the dedication and discipline required to make the most out of the note-taking process.

💡Quick Notes

Quick notes, as described in the video, are concise, context-rich notes that are part of one's personal knowledge base. They are designed to be unique, individual, and contextual, allowing the creator to quickly reference and build upon them. The video explains that these notes are not just fleeting jottings but are meant to be revisited and connected to other ideas, forming a network of interconnected thoughts.

💡Content Creation

Content creation is the process of generating original works such as blog posts, podcasts, videos, or any other form of digital or physical media. The video discusses how the practice of taking quick notes can streamline content creation by providing a wealth of pre-written and interconnected ideas that can be drawn upon when needed. This approach turns the act of content creation into a treasure hunt, where existing notes are used to build new content.

💡Productivity

Productivity in the context of the video refers to the efficiency and effectiveness with which an individual can create and manage their work. The speaker argues that the note-taking process described helps to supercharge productivity by providing a second brain—a repository of ideas, concepts, and notes that can be used to create content without starting from scratch each time.

💡Organization

Organization is the act of arranging and structuring items in a systematic way. The video talks about how the note-taking method helps in organizing thoughts and ideas effectively. The speaker mentions using dates, reference numbers, and keywords on the back of each note card to create clusters of related notes, which makes it easier to find and connect relevant ideas when needed.

💡Treasure Hunt

In the video, the term 'treasure hunt' is used metaphorically to describe the process of going through the note cards to find ideas and connections. It suggests that the act of organizing and revisiting notes can be an exciting and rewarding experience, akin to discovering treasures, which can lead to new insights and creative breakthroughs.

💡Curating

Curating, in this context, refers to the process of selecting and organizing content or ideas. The video describes how, by taking quick notes regularly, the creator can act as a curator of their own previous creativity when it comes time to publish a piece. Instead of feeling pressured to generate all ideas in the moment, they can draw from a pool of pre-existing, well-organized notes.

💡Stress-Free Creativity

Stress-free creativity is the concept of engaging in creative work without the pressure or stress typically associated with generating new ideas from scratch. The video suggests that by taking quick notes and building a knowledge base, the creator can foster an environment where creativity can flourish without the constraints of time or the fear of writer's block.

💡Building Blocks

Building blocks, as mentioned in the video, are the individual notes that serve as the foundation for larger creative works. Each note is considered a single unit of thought or idea, which can be combined with others to construct more complex content. The analogy of LEGO blocks is used to illustrate how these notes can be assembled in various ways to create different pieces of content.

💡Knowledge Base

A knowledge base is a collection of information that an individual has accumulated over time. In the context of the video, the knowledge base is built through the process of taking quick notes. It serves as a second brain, where ideas, concepts, and notes are stored and can be recalled when needed, providing a rich source of material for future creative projects.

Highlights

The speaker started a 90-day notes challenge in October 2020, emphasizing the benefits of creating over 100 handwritten notes on index cards for creative work.

The notes are referred to as 'quick notes', which are described as smart, unique, individual, contextual, and part of one's own knowledge base.

Quick notes differ from fleeting or fast notes, which are often jotted down without context and rarely revisited.

The speaker explains that note-taking is a superpower for creative work, helping to supercharge productivity by providing a knowledge base or 'second brain'.

The speaker shares that creating quick notes daily acts as building blocks or 'legos of content', facilitating the content creation process.

The front of each note card contains the note itself, while the back includes connections, references, and a bibliography of different sources.

Organizational data on the cards includes the creation date, a reference number, and associated keywords to create clusters for easy retrieval.

The speaker addresses concerns about organizing a large number of note cards, stating that it's easy and fun to sort through them.

The process of note-taking makes reading more engaging and allows for the building of an interconnected thought and idea network.

The speaker's favorite part of taking quick notes is how it simplifies content creation, providing an example with podcast episodes.

Content creation with note cards is likened to a treasure hunt for the mind, making the creative process more distributed rather than time-constrained.

The speaker suggests that note-taking allows for the distribution of creative work across different days, weeks, and months, reducing stress.

Each note is an individual building block, capable of standing alone and conveying one idea, which is crucial for the note-taking method.

The speaker mentions 'Productivity Power Up', a guided course that covers the principles of productivity, including detailed note-taking practices.

The video includes a call to action for viewers to watch other videos on note-taking for more context and steps on practicing this method.

The speaker invites questions about organizing and using notes in the comments section, specifically for those participating in the 90-day notes challenge.