My Planning System For Note Taking & Time Management | Cal Newport

Summary

In the transcript, the author discusses the benefits of studying unrelated creative fields for enhancing one's own work, emphasizing the importance of note-taking in knowledge jobs. They define note-taking broadly and outline three critical systems: a working memory extender, an obligation tracker, and a system for capturing key ideas. The author also addresses balancing hobbies with professional life, suggesting a quantitative approach to scheduling and adjusting commitments based on personal capacity. Lastly, they advise students to seek study advice from books rather than YouTube, due to the incentive structures of each medium.

Takeaways

• 📚 The author discusses the benefits of studying creative fields unrelated to one's own for gaining fresh perspectives and inspiration, particularly in the context of writing and film studies.
• 🎨 It's suggested that studying another art form can provide an 'injection of creative energy' without the stress and anxiety that comes from comparing oneself to peers in the same field.
• ✍️ Note-taking is broadly defined as recording information on a durable written medium, which can be referenced later, and is essential for knowledge workers.
• 🔑 Three critical types of note-taking systems are identified: a working memory extender, an obligation tracker, and a system for capturing key ideas and reflections about work and life.
• 📝 The working memory extender is used for temporarily holding more information than one can remember, which is then processed into other systems like calendars and task lists.
• 🗂️ An obligation tracker is a system for maintaining all relevant information for every task or obligation, ensuring that all necessary actions are accounted for and accessible.
• 💡 The third type of note-taking is for capturing broader ideas and reflections, which is where most people think of note-taking, including journaling and saving relevant articles or thoughts.
• 📅 Balancing multiple interests and hobbies can be approached by using a quantitative method, scheduling them into a calendar to see if they fit and are sustainable.
• 🔄 If the schedule becomes too crowded, it's suggested to either reduce the number of activities, slow down the pace of learning new skills, or adopt seasonal pursuits.
• 📚 For students seeking to improve study habits, the author recommends books over YouTube for advice, as books have a better incentive structure for providing effective, practical advice.
• 📈 The incentive structure of a medium like YouTube may lead to content that is optimized for views rather than effectiveness, whereas books and podcasts are more likely to provide genuinely useful advice.
• 🤔 The author emphasizes the importance of aligning incentive structures with advice, suggesting that advice is more reliable when the incentive is for the advice to work, not just to attract attention.

Q & A

What is the main theme of the book 'Slow Productivity'?

The main theme of 'Slow Productivity' is the concept of enhancing productivity by focusing on creative pursuits outside one's primary field of work, such as studying films to improve writing.

Why does the author believe studying an unrelated creative field is beneficial?

The author believes studying an unrelated creative field is beneficial because it allows one to appreciate it with open eyes and gain an injection of creative energy without the stress and anxiety that comes from studying something too close to their own work.

What is the author's stance on note-taking?

The author views note-taking as essential for knowledge workers and categorizes it into three types: working memory extenders, obligation trackers, and capturing key ideas.

What is a 'working memory extender' according to the author?

A 'working memory extender' is a system where temporary information is recorded to handle the inflow of information during the workday, allowing one to keep track of more than what the brain can manage on its own.

How does the author suggest managing obligations?

The author suggests using an 'obligation tracker' to maintain all relevant information for every task, keeping it accessible and organized outside of one's head.

What tools does the author use for their note-taking systems?

The author uses a plain text file for working memory, Trello for obligation tracking, and a Remarkable 2 digital notebook for capturing ideas and reflections.

How does the author recommend balancing multiple hobbies?

The author recommends quantitatively scheduling hobbies into one's calendar, testing if the schedule feels sustainable, and adjusting as needed by slowing down ambition or stacking pursuits seasonally.

What is the author's view on using YouTube for study advice?

The author advises against using YouTube for study advice due to the platform's incentive structure, which prioritizes views over effective content, and recommends books with proven word-of-mouth success instead.

What book does the author recommend for improving study habits?

The author recommends their own book, 'How to Become a Straight-A Student,' which focuses on practical advice for studying and organizing academic tasks.

Why does the author believe books have a better incentive structure than YouTube for providing advice?

The author believes books have a better incentive structure because their success depends on the effectiveness of the advice, leading to word-of-mouth recommendations, unlike YouTube, which is driven by algorithmic views.

Outlines

00:00

🎬 Creative Inspiration from Unrelated Art Forms

In the upcoming book 'Slow Productivity,' the author discusses the benefits of drawing inspiration from creative fields outside one's own. Studying films, for instance, can enhance one's writing by providing a fresh perspective and a source of creative energy. The author contrasts this with studying good writers, which can be too close to one's own work and potentially induce stress or anxiety. The concept is explored in the context of 'Slow Productivity,' emphasizing the value of appreciating different art forms for their inherent creativity.

05:02

📝 The Essence of Note-Taking for Knowledge Workers

The speaker elaborates on the broad concept of note-taking, defining it as the act of recording information on a durable written medium. They identify three critical types of note-taking systems essential for knowledge workers: a working memory extender, an obligation tracker, and a system for capturing key ideas and reflections. The working memory extender helps manage temporary information overflow, the obligation tracker organizes information related to tasks and responsibilities, and the idea capture system is for recording broader thoughts and insights. The speaker uses specific tools for each category in their life, such as a plain text file, Trello, and a digital notebook, emphasizing the importance of not mixing these systems and maintaining separation for effective note-taking.

10:03

🎼 Balancing Hobbies with Professional Commitments

The speaker addresses the challenge of integrating hobbies like playing the guitar, drawing, and gardening into a busy professional life. They suggest a quantitative approach to determine the feasibility of scheduling these activities by using a calendar to block time for each hobby and assessing whether the schedule is sustainable. If the schedule feels too crowded, the speaker recommends adjusting the frequency or duration of the hobbies or considering seasonal pursuits. The key is to ensure that these activities contribute to a deeper engagement in life without compromising essential habits or leading to an overly packed schedule.

15:04

📚 Incentive Structures in Educational Advice

The speaker critiques the reliance on YouTube for educational advice, pointing out that the incentive structure for YouTubers is to attract views, which may lead to content that is optimized for algorithmic preferences rather than educational effectiveness. They recommend books as a more reliable source of advice due to their incentive structure being more aligned with providing valuable content that leads to word-of-mouth recommendations. The speaker's own book, 'How to Become a Straight-A Student,' is cited as an example of a resource that focuses on practical study techniques and has sold well based on its effectiveness. The speaker also discusses the value of podcasts, which, like books, grow through sharing rather than algorithmic manipulation.

Keywords

💡Slow Productivity

Slow Productivity refers to the concept of enhancing creativity and productivity by taking a slower, more deliberate approach to work. In the video, the speaker discusses how studying an unrelated creative field, such as films, can inspire and energize one's own creative process, which is a key aspect of the Slow Productivity philosophy.

💡Creative Energy

Creative Energy is the drive or inspiration that fuels artistic and innovative work. The speaker mentions that studying art in another format can provide an 'injection of Creative Energy,' allowing for a fresh perspective and renewed motivation in one's own work, which is essential for maintaining productivity.

💡Notetaking

Notetaking is the act of recording information in a written form for later reference. The video emphasizes the importance of notetaking in knowledge work, outlining three critical types of notetaking systems: working memory extender, obligation tracker, and idea capture. These systems help in organizing thoughts and tasks effectively.

💡Working Memory Extender

A working memory extender is a tool or system used to temporarily hold and organize information that one is currently engaging with. In the script, the speaker uses 'working memory.txt' as an example of such a system, which helps in managing the overflow of information during a workday.

💡Obligation Tracker

An obligation tracker is a system for maintaining all relevant information related to one's tasks and responsibilities. The video script mentions using Trello for this purpose, where each obligation has its own card with all related information, ensuring that one does not have to keep track of these details in their head.

💡Idea Capture

Idea capture is the process of jotting down thoughts, concepts, and inspirations that arise during one's work or life. The speaker discusses using a digital notebook for this purpose, creating a space to record and reflect on ideas that can be revisited and expanded upon later.

💡Knowledge Workers

Knowledge workers are individuals whose primary job involves the creation, manipulation, or distribution of knowledge, often in the form of information. The video script addresses the need for different notetaking systems specifically for knowledge workers to manage their tasks and ideas effectively.

💡Incentive Structures

Incentive structures refer to the motivations or rewards that drive behavior, particularly in content creation. The speaker discusses how incentive structures on platforms like YouTube can lead to advice that may not be as effective as that found in books, which are driven by word-of-mouth and actual results.

💡Deep Life Fundamentals

Deep life fundamentals are the core principles or practices that contribute to a meaningful and well-rounded life. In the video, the speaker advises on balancing various pursuits without compromising these fundamentals, suggesting a quantitative approach to assess the feasibility of incorporating new activities into one's schedule.

💡Seasonal Pursuits

Seasonal pursuits are hobbies or activities that are engaged in at different times of the year, often aligned with the seasons. The speaker suggests this as a strategy for managing multiple interests, such as focusing on gardening in spring and guitar playing in winter, to avoid overwhelming one's schedule.

💡Study Habits

Study habits refer to the routines and strategies employed by students to learn and retain information effectively. The video script critiques the focus on apps and tools for studying, instead advocating for a deeper understanding of academic tasks and efficient learning methods as discussed in the speaker's book.

Highlights

Studying films can help improve writing by providing an injection of creative energy.

Studying an art form unrelated to one's own can reduce anxiety and increase inspiration.

Notetaking is defined as recording information on a durable written medium.

Three critical types of notetaking systems for knowledge workers are identified: working memory extender, obligation tracker, and idea capture.

Working memory extender is used for temporarily holding more information than one can remember.

Obligation tracker maintains information for all obligations, reducing the need to keep track in one's head.

Idea capture is for recording key ideas, articles, and reflections about work and life.

Different tools and systems should be used for each type of notetaking to avoid mixing tasks and ideas.

The importance of separating notetaking categories to manage complexity in modern life.

Balancing multiple pursuits can be achieved by using a quantitative approach and scheduling them into a calendar.

If hobbies don't fit into a schedule, it's suggested to pull back or slow down the pace of learning.

Seasonal pursuits or reducing the time spent on hobbies can help manage an overcrowded schedule.

The importance of quality time spent on hobbies over the quantity or speed of improvement.

YouTube may not be the best source for studying advice due to incentive structures favoring views over effectiveness.

Books may provide better advice on studying as their incentive structure is more aligned with effectiveness and word-of-mouth.

The recommendation to read 'How to Become a Straight-A Student' for effective study habits and techniques.

Podcasting has a good incentive structure similar to books, where content effectiveness leads to growth.

Transcripts

in the the new book slow productivity

coming out in March I talk about my

growing interest in movies and how uh

for anyone who does creative work

studying and building up a good

appreciation for an unrelated creative

field actually can really help what

you're doing and I write about in slow

productivity about studying films as

helping my writing if you study if I

study good writers it's too close to

home and it's kind of a more of a

stressful Workman like it's not

inspiring it's more uh I should do more

of that or it's more anxiety producing

but you study art in another format you

can come at that it's like I don't do

that art so you can just appreciate it

with open eyes and it gives you an

injection of Creative Energy for what

you're doing so I'm a big I talk about

this a lot and not a lot but I do talk

about in slow productivity studying an

art that's not what you do will make you

more inspired for what you do actually

do all right speaking of which we got uh

questions all right first question is

from Mark

what is notetaking for I found not

taking most useful in the short term

grounding me in my current task or

noting a few todos throughout the day

almost all them almost all of them are

immediately disposable it seems like not

taking can become fairly Naval gazing

and doing it sucessfully takes away from

execution it's a good question because

we see this a lot in our discussions of

organization notes and note taking is an

excessively broad term it covers lots of

different things and for a lot of people

like Mark these things get all mixed up

and they're thinking well I I don't know

I'm I'm sitting here journaling all day

is this note taking what should I be

doing what should I not be doing so what

I want to do here is step back let's

give a general definition for note

taking and then I want to highlight what

I think the three critical types of note

taking systems you need in your uh in

your life if you work any sort of

knowledge job and then we can from there

move on to talk about more advanced

options

so let's define note taking more

generally to mean recording information

on a durable written

medium so anywhere you're collecting

information in a written medium that's

durable that will then you you have it

outside of your head so you can

reference it later here are the three

types of this note taking that I think

are critical especially for most

knowledge workers one some sort of

working memory

extender this is where I use my text

file on my desktop on my computers

working memory. txt this is for strictly

expanding the amount of information you

can temporarily hold on to as you engage

with the inflow of information

throughout your workday so as things

come in you're in a meeting and people

are suggesting next steps you can just

write this information down in whatever

medium you use for your working memory

extender because it's probably more

information you can keep in your head so

there it is I write it down right there

or I'm going through my email inbox and

uh I need to remember different notes I

need to act on schedule this get back to

them I can write it into my working

memory. extender these are notes that

exist outside of your own brain allows

you to hold on and organize more

information than you could do just

strictly within the confines of your own

neurons now this is something that

resets all the time it is a it's a

durable form but you reset it all the

time so as I'm going through a meeting

I'm taking quick notes on here's the

five things I need to do after that

Meeting those notes will then get

processed out of my working memory file

into calendar reminders into my

obligation system so it's a a temporary

storage but it allows me in the moment

to keep track of more things that my

brain can do on its own that's not

taking but of a very temporary type next

comes what I just cited which is your

obligation tracker some system to

maintain all of the relevant information

for every obligation on your plate this

is also notetaking written durable

information that you don't have to keep

track of in your head so somewhere here

are all the things I have to do probably

categorized here is all of the

information related to each of these

things all in this one

place you want that information

accessible and captured somewhere that's

note

taking then finally we get to what most

people think of when they think about

note taking and this is more where

you're capturing key ideas about your

work in your life could be interesting

ideas interesting articles

brainstorms concerns that you have this

is the broad category that captures what

people normally think about in note

taking I might be journaling my thoughts

about things I might be writing down my

plans for how I want to improve my life

I might be capturing articles that are

relevant to the newsletter that I run

and things I want to

remember and this is where you're going

to use uh whatever type of system you

like to capture things in you have a lot

of different choices here all three of

these things are notetaking you need

some sort of system for

each so in my own life I use a plain

text file for working memory I use

Trello for obligation tracking Notes One

board per roll one column per type of

obligation one card per obligation all

of the relevant information for that

obligation on the card and I use my

remarkable 2 digital notebook for

everything else inside my remarkable 2 I

have dozens of different individual

virtual notebooks for keeping track of

ideas Reflections concerns Etc so those

are the three categories Mark do those

three categories different tools for

each different rates of refresh and

reset for each working memory you're

resetting this every 10 minutes or so

your obligation list you're working with

every day your bigger idea capture is

something you maybe go over in detail

much less often hey I'm going to have a

summit now to rethink this part of my

business let me go back and look through

my notes maybe that's just once every

few months or so so that's really

it um there are more complicated systems

and methodologies you know we have a lot

of fans here of zedel casin type systems

we also have a lot of fans here of

interesting note taking software that

really gets into the details of how you

store notes how you connect notes the

format in which the notes are stored

that is optional it's more about your

interest if you like information

management as a hobby you can build more

complicated systems around it but you

don't need complicated systems to

successfully take notes those are the

three areas you have to take notes just

make sure those are all three covered

with some sort of reasonable techn

system um and then you're doing a fine

job I think that separation is key don't

mix all this stuff together don't have a

mol skin somewhere in which you're

trying to keep your tasks next to your

vision for living on a cabin in 20 years

next to a grocery list you want to

remember when you go to the store we

need some separation for notet taken to

keep up with the complexity of Modern

Life all right what do we got next Jesse

next question is from reab as a

26-year-old software development

developer who has recently landed a

well-paying job I'm looking to pursue my

interest in learning to play the guitar

drawing and some days gardening however

I'm concerned about whether it's

feasible to schedule all these

activities into a single week while

maintaining a focus us on deep life core

fundamentals in your expert opinion

would it be possible to balance all

these Pursuits effectively within a

given week without compromising on

essential life habits well I think this

is a objective question for which you

can get an objective answer by becoming

quantitative so let's just work with

your calendar I'm assuming you're

professionally speaking you're organized

you time block your days you have a

clear shutdown so there's some clarity

about your time outside of

work play with that

time so start autopilot scheduling some

of these Hobbies maybe you guard in on

weekday mornings maybe you alternate a

guitar practice session and what was the

other thing drawing practice session on

different days you do it an hour before

dinner autopilot this

out see if it fits and if the stuff does

fit execute this autopilot schedule for

a while and and say does this feel

sustainable or do I feel like I'm I'm

constantly running from one thing to

another or it's overfilling my

time I used to run this exercise with

undergraduates who are trying to figure

out their academic programs and their

extracurricular programs and I would say

we got to sit down and just build a plan

for your proposal here you want to do

these five extracurriculars in double

major show me the time then they would

go through and block off the time for

studying and how long is this going to

take and put on their meetings and the

time to work on their activities and it

either fit or it didn't and sometimes if

it just barely fit they would come back

a week later and say this is crazy every

minute of my life is scheduled so if it

doesn't fit or it fits and your life

feels too crowded then you just pull

back you're getting an objective

feedback here you pull back it doesn't

matter if you're pulling back these are

Hobbies the thing is you want to be

spending quality time outside of work on

things that matter the quantity isn't

important so if it doesn't fit or it

barely fits maybe you do seasonal

Pursuits

in the spring I'm working a lot on my

garden and in the you know winter I'm

spending a lot more time on guitar

because that's sort of inside and I do

drawing in the fall you could have

seasonal Pursuits you could stack these

one over another or maybe what you need

to do is just slow down your ambition

for these

Pursuits and instead of saying look I'm

going to do four hours of guitar a day

and I want to be shredding in like six

months you say I'm going to spend less

time good hard practice like we talked

about the Deep diet trying to move up

the stair steps towards uh expert

knowledge but I'm just willing for this

to take longer a few years from now I'll

be a pretty good guitar player but I'm

playing you know just an hour every

other day that doesn't take up as much

time I'm doing so I have a drawing class

I take once a week and on Fridays I I

get out of work early and go to a park

to work on the drawing this is maybe I'm

going to learn these skills slower but

that makes their footprint on my

schedule smaller and I have more give

and more flexibility and don't feel like

I'm over scheduled so treat this like a

quantitative question get clear feedback

if it's too much reduce or slow down it

doesn't really matter for your goal here

which is just to make sure that you're

engaged in deeper Pursuits that's what

matters not the speed at which you're

getting better at things not the

quantity of things that you're actually

going

after all right who do we got next next

question is from Craig I'm a college

student trying to be more smart smart

about how I study and organize my

learning I'm relatively new to this

stuff strangely most productivity tips

on YouTube are about the top 10 to-do

list in note taking apps will I'd be

less effective if I don't use one of

those apps it seems like a lot of work

and set up to learn all those apps to be

efficient and I dread thinking about the

heavy lifting prep those apps require

what should I do well I think my answer

here at first is going to be ironic

because you may be listening to this

answer on YouTube but I'm going to tell

you in a second why what I'm about to

say here is not

oxymoronic don't use YouTube to get

advice on

studying so when you're getting

information especially information on uh

improving your life you have to

understand the incentive structures in

place and for people who are purely

doing YouTube so I'm if you're a pure

study habits

YouTuber the incentive structure is for

views that's what you look about that's

what you care about I want more views on

my videos to get more views on your

videos on YouTube you have to to work

with the idiosyn

idiosyncratic properties of the

recommendation algorithm and you get

into this feedback loop where you your

your

content it morphs more and more towards

what's giving you this better feedback

from the algorithm and after a while

it's the algorithm specifying your

content so you may be started out as a

YouTuber saying I want to help students

study better because this is an audience

out there that cares about

this and after 6 months of interacting

with the algorithm it's you know the top

10 to-do list apps or whatever because

this is what's getting them the best

view numbers the advice might have very

little to do however with the nuts and

bolts of becoming a better student so

the incentive structure matters so if

you want to become a better student and

this is going to sound very self-serving

but I'm going to say read my book How to

Become a Straight A

Student now why is that better because

what is the incentive structure of books

when you write a book like how to become

a straight A student let me tell you

this from experience this is not a we're

going to go hard out of the gate there's

going to be a number one New York Times

bestseller I'm going to be on the Today

Show talking about this book and every

major podcaster wants to have me on that

is not the play when you write a book on

student advice the play is this better

work so some people will buy this

because they heard about it from me or

saw it on a

table I'm embarrassed to admit this

Jesse but when that book came out it was

my first my first year at grad school at

MIT I would sometimes go to the Harvard

Co-op as they call it the coupe and I

would uh it was on tables and kind of

hang around people would pick up the

book and look at it but that's like how

people discovered it at first I didn't

have a social there was no social media

back then wasn't on a big podcast people

would find it on tables and then it's

all word of mouth and what is going to

make someone recommend a book to someone

else this

worked this made me get better grades

you should read it my kids grades got

better after they read this so what you

want to look for if you want to align

incentive structures with advice here is

so you want to find a book on student

study habit advice that just had a quiet

entry into the marketplace and overtime

sell sell sell sales and I just looked

it up before the show I think the sales

um on how to become a St student is

approaching 250,000

copies a book that has never had any

major promotion has never been talked

about on a single major podcast show or

had any footprint on social media that's

all word to

mouth so there you verify the incentive

there for me to make that book sell that

many copies I was obsessed about this

better work what really works so books

have a better incentive structure

surrounding their information than

YouTube

does so you buy my book or any other

book that has sold a lot of copies that

focused on this topic you're much more

likely to get advice that works and

you're not going to hear anything about

note taking apps or to-do list in that

book my book gets right down to the

Brass tax of what are the different

academic tasks you have to do what is

the right way to do these how do you

take information from a textbook and

learn it efficiently to the point that

you can do well on a test how do you

write a paper how do you break that down

into multiple steps so that it's a good

paper that you're going to get good

grades on how do you learn mathematics

to the level that you can sit down for a

mathematics exam and get a really good

score on it well here's exactly how you

want to organize your notes here's how

you should study it these would make

excessively boring YouTube videos from

the perspective of the algorithm but

they also lead to notably High

gpas all right so now let's come back to

the oxymoronic uh fallacy early on

aren't you hearing advice now on YouTube

well here's how I I exempt what we're

doing here is that this uh if you're

watching this on YouTube what you are

seeing as the video of a

podcast right the podcast is the game

here we put the video of the podcast on

YouTube podcasting has a good incentive

structure it's similar to books uh there

is not an algorithm to please in other

words there's not an A A Hard

inscrutable complex feedback mechanism

that drives your content in podcasting

it is just like books if someone likes

your show they will tell someone else

about it and your audience grows a

little bit and that's how podcasts grow

is people uh find what you're talking

about to be effective enough that they

will then go on to tell someone else

about it so that's what I think saves us

here if you're watching this on YouTube

is that what we're trying to do is get

more podcast listeners and I see that

the exact same way as trying to get more

book readers the stuff's got to

work we play some tricks with the uh the

thumbnails and the titles to try to get

some algorithmic juice or YouTube guy

does that but the content comes out of

the

podcast so I think incent of structures

matter so keep that in mind so uh pure

YouTubers are not necessarily a great

source of advice on a lot of topics you

want to find sources of advice where the

incentive structure is for the advice to

work that's what's going to make it

actually do

better hey if you like this video I

think you'll really like this one as

well check it out