Use Two Notebooks, Change Your Life
Summary
TLDRThis video explores the transformative power of using notebooks, a tool embraced by history's most influential minds. It delves into the neuroscience behind handwriting's impact on memory retention and processing information. The speaker advocates for two notebooks: one for daily tasks and organization, and another for capturing ideas and inspirations, emphasizing the unique benefits of pen and paper over digital alternatives in fostering creativity and building meaningful connections.
Takeaways
- 📓 Using a notebook can enhance memory retention compared to digital note-taking due to the higher brain activity involved in handwriting.
- 🤔 Handwritten notes encourage selective processing of information, as opposed to transcribing everything, which aids in understanding and memory.
- 🧠 Writing things down by hand can 'clear out' the brain, reducing the cognitive load of remembering multiple tasks or ideas throughout the day.
- 📈 The act of writing helps in focusing on important tasks by forcing a distillation of ideas to their core, which can prevent digital distractions.
- 💡 Notebooks serve as an 'ideas park', a place to jot down thoughts and inspirations that don't fit into immediate priorities but shouldn't be forgotten.
- 🔗 Physical notebooks can foster serendipity by allowing for unexpected connections between ideas when flipping through past notes.
- 📚 A dedicated notebook can act as a 'watch/read/hear' list for media recommendations, ensuring they are not forgotten and can be referred to later.
- 🤝 Writing down recommendations by hand can strengthen social connections, as it signals attentiveness and the intention to follow through on the suggestion.
- 🗒️ Having two notebooks—one for daily tasks and one for everything else—can help organize life more effectively, with the former being task-oriented and the latter idea-oriented.
- 📝 The larger notebook serves as a workspace for immediate tasks and notes, while the smaller one is portable and versatile for capturing a wider range of thoughts and ideas.
- 👉 The speaker recommends a system of notebooks for productivity and creativity, emphasizing the tangible benefits of pen and paper over digital alternatives.
Q & A
What is the main argument of the video regarding the use of notebooks?
-The video argues that using notebooks can change your life by making information more memorable, clearing out your brain, improving focus, and fostering creativity and serendipity.
According to the Tokyo University study, why is handwriting notes more beneficial for memory than dictating or typing?
-The study suggests that brain activity is higher when recalling information written by hand, and the complex spatial information in handwritten notes aids memory.
What does the video suggest about the process of note-taking by hand during lectures?
-The video suggests that hand note-taking during lectures helps students process information better because it forces them to make conscious choices about what to note, rather than just transcribing everything.
What is the psychological term for the brain's mechanism of repeatedly going over important information to remember it?
-The psychological term for this mechanism is the 'rehearsal loop'.
Who is Dave Allen, and what does he suggest for managing the rehearsal loop?
-Dave Allen is the author of 'Getting Things Done'. He suggests having a system for writing down all the things you need to remember, which gives the rehearsal loop permission to let your brain focus on other things.
Why does the video recommend using a notebook to capture ideas rather than a digital medium?
-The video recommends using a notebook because it allows you to physically see and relate to your ideas better, helps you distill ideas to their core, and reduces the risk of unintentional digital distractions.
What is the concept of an 'ideas park' mentioned in the video, and how does it relate to using a notebook?
-The 'ideas park' is a concept where you write down any notes or thoughts that don't fit into your current priorities. A physical notebook is particularly beneficial for this because it encourages serendipity by allowing you to see connections between notes as you thumb through them.
What is the significance of using a notebook to make friends, as illustrated in the video with a reference to 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'?
-The video suggests that writing down a recommendation in a notebook reassures the person making the recommendation that it will be taken seriously and likely acted upon, which can help build relationships and friendships.
What are the two types of notebooks the video suggests using, and for what purposes should they be used?
-The video suggests using a large spiral-bound notebook for day-to-day tasks and a pocket-sized one for everything else, including meaningful quotes, ideas, and recommendations.
How does the video recommend organizing the large notebook for daily tasks?
-The video recommends using the large notebook to write down daily tasks in a list that can be checked off, noting the first thing that needs to be done on every project, and using it for jotting down notes from work calls or new ideas.
What is the advantage of the spiral-bound notebook mentioned in the video?
-The advantage of a spiral-bound notebook is that it can lie flat on a desk without being crushed open, which is useful for keeping it open to the current page while working.
Outlines
📓 The Power of Notebooks for Memory and Creativity
This paragraph introduces the video's theme about the transformative potential of using notebooks. It discusses how historical figures and modern influencers have leveraged notebooks for planning and organization. The script emphasizes the benefits of handwriting over digital note-taking, citing studies from Tokyo University that suggest higher brain activity and better memory retention when recalling handwritten notes. It also touches on the idea that writing by hand helps in processing information during lectures by making conscious choices about what to note. The paragraph concludes with a quote from Raymond Chandler, highlighting the importance of the effort involved in writing to make ideas more memorable.
🗒️ Clearing the Mind: The Notebook as a Cognitive Tool
The second paragraph delves into the psychological benefits of using notebooks to 'clear the mind.' It explains how our brains are constantly occupied with tasks and thoughts that need to be remembered, which can be distracting. The author references Dave Allen's 'getting things done' approach, which suggests writing down tasks to free the mind from the burden of memory. The paragraph also discusses the advantages of thinking on paper, as noted by G. Reynold in 'Presentation Zen,' and how physical note-taking can lead to better idea generation and prioritization. It concludes with a mention of the 'ideas park' concept by Ryan Holiday and the productivity benefits of having a dedicated space for capturing thoughts and ideas that don't fit immediate priorities.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Notebook
💡Handwriting
💡Memory
💡Cognitive psychologists
💡Clearing the mind
💡Idea generation
💡Distraction
💡Commonplace book
💡Serendipity
💡Recommendations
💡Two notebooks system
Highlights
Using a notebook can change your life by benefiting from systems used by the world's most influential and creative people.
Handwriting notes enhances memorability compared to dictation or typing, as shown by a study from Tokyo University.
Handwritten notes aid in processing information during lectures by forcing conscious choices about what to note.
Writing notes helps clear the mind by capturing thoughts that would otherwise occupy cognitive resources.
Dave Allen suggests a system for writing down tasks to alleviate the brain's fear of forgetting important information.
Writing on paper allows for better idea visualization and prioritization compared to digital methods.
Writing by hand forces distillation of ideas to their core, preventing unintentional digital distractions.
An 'ideas park' or commonplace book is a valuable place to write down meaningful quotes and thoughts.
An 'ideas part' is a space for notes and thoughts that don't fit into current priorities but shouldn't be forgotten.
Physical journals encourage serendipity by allowing for unexpected connections between notes.
A good notebook serves as a single repository for all ideas, preventing loss and ensuring reference.
Notebooks can be used for a 'watch read hear' list, compiling recommendations for media to consume.
Writing down recommendations by hand can foster new friendships and show seriousness in taking advice.
Having two notebooks—one for daily tasks and one for everything else—helps in organizing thoughts and priorities.
The larger notebook serves as a 'first thing' list for daily tasks and work-related notes.
The smaller notebook is for capturing meaningful quotes, ideas, and recommendations from friends.
The speaker offers a newsletter with weekly recommendations, inviting viewers to sign up for it.
Transcripts
this is a notebook you've probably owned
a few of them before but how can using
one change your life well in this video
I'm going to explain how some of the
most influential and creative people in
the whole world have benefited from
something that you can buy at any Corner
shop I'm going to talk about the systems
that they use and the Neuroscience that
underpins them and by the end hopefully
I'll have convinced you to use not just
one notebook but two first of all though
why use a notebook at all so it's easy
to point to all the people throughout
history who have used the notebook to
plan their schedule or organize their
thoughts but most of them had no choice
these days there are hundreds of ways to
store your ideas digitally and most of
them are more convenient than a little
book that you carry everywhere so what's
the benefit well firstly there's some
evidence that simply writing things down
by hand makes them more memorable than
dictating or typing them one recent
study from Tokyo University shows that
brain activity is higher when you recall
information that you've written out by
hand with the study authors suggesting
that the more complex spatial
information that handwritten notes
contain can Aid memory in another study
the authors suggest that taking notes by
hand helps students process the
information in lectures bear because it
forces them to make conscious choices
about what notes to take rather than
just writing down everything verbatim
and this is something that I found when
I'm taking notes from books if I
highlight paragraphs on my Kindle it's
easy to forget them but if I go back and
write them down in actual notes then
I'll remember them as Raymond Chandler
one said when you have to use your
energy to put those words down you're
more apt to make them count and this
leads us to point two which is that it
lets you clear out your brain so if
you're anything like me you probably go
through your whole day remembering
things you need to fix or jobs you need
to do or people you need to stay in
contact with and if you don't have
anywhere to put these thoughts then you
have to carry on throughout your day
kind of juggling them around in your
brain with everything else you're doing
in psychological terms What's Happening
Here is that when you've got something
important to remember your brain is
afraid to forget it and so it keeps
going over it and what cognitive
psychologists called the rehearsal Loop
obviously the rehearsal Loop evolved in
an era when we didn't have any pens or
paper and so it's almost too good at
remembering things and it'll keep
bringing them up while you're trying to
concentrate on what's actually important
and so what Dave Allen the author of
getting things done suggests is having a
system for writing all of these things
down which gives the rehearsal Loop
permission to let your brain go and
focus on something else Allan calls it
clearing the mind and the idea is that
it sort of reassures your brain that
it's okay to forget all of those other
things it's trying to juggle as long as
you have a trusted system for capturing
them all but it's also important to
remember that you think better on paper
so in his book presentation Zen G
Reynold talks about visiting a senior
director at Apple to get his input on a
project the director said he'd sketched
out a lot of ideas and Reynold was
surprised when he got out a notebook to
show them off the way he explains this
now though pen and paper lets you get
your ideas out of your head and into a
space where you can physically see them
and that lets you relate to them better
than if you're looking at them on a
screen once you start scribbling it's
easy to make a kind of visual map of all
the things you need to focus on and
prioritize on what you need to do it
also Al helps you to focus on what's
important because writing things down
takes more effort than typing or cutting
and pasting it forces you to distill
your ideas down to their core rather
than like just transcribing stuff it's
also harder to get unintentionally
distracted if I'm filling in tasks on a
spread sheet it's easy to tell myself
that I need to go and like check
something online which 10 minutes later
turns into me looking things up on
social media but if I'm writing in a
notebook I have to like physically put
it down and go back to my computer to
find something that's distracting and
this relates to the the next point which
is that you need an ideas Park so Ryan
holiday talks about the idea of a
commonplace book which is a place where
you write out by hand all the most
meaningful quotes from whatever articles
or books you're reading and I think that
can be really valuable but gram allot's
productivity Niner introduces another
concept I found really valuable which is
having an ideas part which is where you
just scribble down any notes or thoughts
that don't really fit into your current
list of priorities these might be
headlines for articles concepts for
things that you'd like to try out or
even even threads that you're going to
write on Twitter this is a kind of place
for stuff that you don't want to do
immediately but also that you don't want
to forget about and you can do that
online and it definitely works but
there's something that I found about a
physical Journal that really encourages
Serendipity like thumbing backwards and
forwards through a load of notes can
encourage you to see connections that
you otherwise wouldn't when you're
looking at a document maybe you'll be
flicking through to find one thing and
something else will catch your eye and
it'll encourage you to put two thoughts
together and you'll come up with
something amazing and the value of a
good notebook is everything goes in that
one place so it's not like you're going
to jot it down in an email draft or some
random Untitled document and then forget
about it and never see it again and it's
also a good place for what all cot calls
a watch read hear list when you come
across good films to watch books to read
or music and podcasts to listen to and
that brings us to a notebook will help
you make friends so there's actually a
scene in Captain America the Winter
Soldier that gets this idea across
perfectly after they've both been doing
laps around the Washington Monument
Steve Rogers tells Sam Wilson that he's
been catching up on the decades that
he's missed and Sam responds by telling
him to listen to Marvin Gay's seminal
1973 album troubl man and then comes the
important bit cap immediately pulls out
a notebook and writes down the
suggestion along with a load of other
suggestions that show he's done this a
bunch of times before and I actually
still remember the first time somebody I
was talking to did this I recommended
something and he immediately pulled out
his own little notebook and wrote down
the suggestion to look at later that guy
was a friend of a friend now we're
friends and I do that thing myself and
there's something really cool about
somebody writing down a recommendation
by hand cuz it kind of reassures you
that they're taking you seriously and
that they're actually probably going to
do it rather than like forget about it
at the end of the night and doing it in
a notebook is even more special because
you're devoting physical space in
something that you don't have unlimited
space in to like put that information
down in a place where you will
definitely reference it incidentally if
you want to check out some of the
recommendations I get then I have a
newsletter where I put all of the best
things that I find in every week it's
totally free there's a link in the
description of this video and I would
love it if you signed up up so how do
you put all this together well this
leads me to my final point which is that
you need two notebooks so I do actually
have two notebooks I have one big spiral
bound one that stays on my desk all the
time and then I have one pocket sized
one that I carry everywhere with me the
big one is for day-to-day tasks it's
where I write down all of my jobs for
the day in a list that I can check off
as I run through I call it my first
thing list because I take the first 5
minutes on my workday to write down the
first thing that I need to do on every
project and then tackle them throughout
the day that's also where I can scribble
down notes from like work calls or fresh
things that come up and keep them open
constantly no matter how many tabs I
open on my computer so everything that I
need to focus on is there at a glance
and my mind says pretty clear because it
isn't constantly scrambling to remember
like 10 things by the way a benefit of
spiral bound is that it will lie flat on
your desk without you like crushing it
open which isn't something you get with
smaller notebooks and then the smaller
one is for everything else so one
example is that I've been using Ryan Hol
day's advice to go back through digital
Kindle notes and write out just the most
meaningful ones in a notebook but it's
also for notes ideas movies I might want
to watch music I want to listen to
recommendations from friends and
everything else and if you're watching
this and Going H this guy seems like the
sort of person whose recommendations I
might be into then you can find a whole
bunch of them here thanks for
watching
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