My Planning System For Note Taking & Time Management | Cal Newport
Summary
TLDRIn 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
- π 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.
- π¨ 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.
- βοΈ Note-taking is broadly defined as recording information on a durable written medium, which can be referenced later, and is essential for knowledge workers.
- π 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.
- π 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.
- ποΈ 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.
- π‘ 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.
- π 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.
- π 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.
- π 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.
- π 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.
- π€ 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
π¬ 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.
π 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.
πΌ 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.
π 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Slow Productivity
π‘Creative Energy
π‘Notetaking
π‘Working Memory Extender
π‘Obligation Tracker
π‘Idea Capture
π‘Knowledge Workers
π‘Incentive Structures
π‘Deep Life Fundamentals
π‘Seasonal Pursuits
π‘Study Habits
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
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