3 Tips From Duly Noted To Create Novel Insights, Upgrade Your Thinking, And Unlock Your Genius With Connected Notetaking
Notetaking isn't just for remembering things in the future.
It's a skill for upgrading your thinking. Some of the greatest geniuses of history were avid notetakers. Charle's Darwin took hundreds of notes on species while on his adventures in the Galapagos. Leonardo Da Vinci had tens of commonplace books where he took copious notes.
Their notes helped them come to their revolutionary discoveries.
And they came to their insights without linked notetaking apps.
By integrating these 3 tips from Duly Noted for connected notetaking, you can create novel insights, upgrade your thinking, and unlock your genius.
šŖ“Tip 1: See Your Notes Like A Knowledge Garden
The first tip I got from Duly Noted is to see your notes like a knowledge garden.
Why a garden?
Jorge Arango describes it beautifully in his book [[Duly Noted]]: "Building and tending a garden takes time and effort. Some gardens are small, personal projects that provide more satisfaction than nourishment. But with serious commitment, itās possible to build a garden that nourishes and delights. Unlike 'products' like books or YouTube videos, gardens arenāt meant to be finished: the point is to keep them going. Which is to say, gardening provides value beyond mere utility. Itās a contemplative practice that calls for patience, stewardship, and disciplineāessential skills that are at risk of atrophying in our growth-hacked world. Maintaining a botanical garden or a knowledge garden is caring for something besides yourself, something that is alive and will keep you aliveāliterally and metaphorically."
Seeing my notes like a knowledge garden is helping me treat notetaking with the care and respect it deserves.
Like regularly tending a garden I have habits and routines that help me grow my knowledge over time. I have modeled an information diet that fuels my insights like getting rid of weeds in an actual garden. And I have methods for creating content out of my notes like making meals out of the fresh food from your garden.
šŖTip 2: Digital Linked Notetaking Boils Down To Just Three Rules
The second tip from Duly Noted is that linked notetaking boils down to just three rules, which are:
- Make short notes.
- Connect your notes.
- Nurture your notes.
When I first ventured into the realm of notetaking, I got bogged down in all the advice. Which notetaking app should I use? How should I collect information? How should I organize my notes? I switched notetaking apps five times before coming to Obsidian. And I spent over three years navigating the community trying to figure out what in goodness gracious I was doing.
It was overwhelming; I felt lost, anxious, and confused.
I wish I had known the rules above when I started my notetaking journey.
š ļøTip 3: Prioritize Notemaking Over Notetaking
The third and last tip I got from Duly Noted was to prioritize notemaking over notetaking.
Notetaking is writing things down to remember for later. Notemaking, however, is the act of purposefully connecting and nuturing your notes. The difference is notetaking is passive while notemaking is active.
Notemaking is where the true power of connected notetaking comes.
Anyone can take notes.
But it takes true effort, skill, and passion to notemake. Notemaking is where you create novel insights and understand information more deeply. That's why it's essential you set in time a regular routine for notemaking in your life.
If you don't, it will never happen.
I highly recommend you check out Duly Noted for yourself if you are interested in the concept of connected notetaking.
And if you liked this article, you check out my Obsidian Beginner Resource List.
Obsidian is one of the best-connected notetaking apps out there, which makes it an excellent choice for applying this article's tips. Save yourself countless hours of time and energy looking for the best Obsidian learning resources. It includes all of the resources I wish I had on Obsidian 3 years ago, including the best creators to follow, links to immerse yourself in the community, and my most popular curated content on Obsidian.