Writing Slowly

This week I was making notes about a presentation when my colleague looked over and offered to just give me the slides. I said thanks, of course. But really I was making my notes to help me remember the key information. If I just referred to the slides, I’d never assimilate the presentation - I’d just listen then forget. Conversely, while I might never look at the notes again, since it was me that made them, some of it has now sunk in.

Many people make notes to help them remember things, but how do you do it?

This question matters to Kat Moody. She writes about learning to live with a nonexistent working memory (Archived version).

Presumably she doesn’t really have absolutely no short-term memory, but she does have ADHD, or as she likes to call it, CRSS (Can’t Remember Sh*t Syndrome).

That really resonated with me. And the horrible feeling of forgetting everything might seem familiar to you as well, even if you’re not diagnosed with either of these.

Inspired by author Ryan Holiday’s notecard system Kat Moody uses an app, readwise.io to make notes while she reads.

Bob Doto, author of the excellent new note-making manual A System for Writing, also does this. He says:

“I tend to read articles on a tablet or phone, using a read-later app with note-taking capabilities to capture my thoughts. When I’m done, I bring these thought-captures into my writing platform, usually as main notes.” (Bob Doto, A System for Writing, p.50)

There’s an informative Hacker News discussion, which extends to memory hacks more generally. One commenter laments that school rewards memorization more than understanding. That can be hard for people whose memory isn’t their strong point.

Perhaps ironically, I see note making as a useful means of forgetting, not just remembering. I don’t want to forget everything, but then I certainly wouldn’t like to remember everything either.

It’s a double act. My brain, when combined with my notes, helps me find the right balance between remembering and forgetting.

I have more to say about this subject, so please stay tuned¹. Update: Notemaking helps you remember - and forget.

Some other salient pieces about making notes:

On Keeping an Everyday Notebook (Instead of a Bullet Journal) archived version

Audio transcription workflow: How to Take Perfect Notes with Your Voice Using ChatGPT and Notion

Big, beautiful goals – but can’t be bothered? 11 great productivity tips for lazy people (includes tips such as ‘Write everything down’ and ‘Ditch the to-do list for a ‘first things’ list’.

How to actually use what you read with Readwise

Ryan Holiday’s notecard system

Image credit: Photo by Sean Benesh on Unsplash