Where should note-taking start? | Obsidian
It can be difficult to take notes and connect them to your existing insights and concepts. Most of the time, I’m just taking notes to get blindsided in the end. I took a bunch of notes but now I don’t know what to do with them or where to connect them to.
Instead of building a meaningful network of concepts, I’m somehow building a messy network of chaos.
But the problem might not lie in the way I’m taking notes.
Maybe the problem has its spark much earlier but only becomes a full-blown fire when I want to connect my new notes.
typical note-taking beginning
My note-taking process basically always started by hearing about an interesting book, podcast or video. It immediately sparks a vague curiosity and I dive into it.
I start reading, take my messy notes, distill my notes and try to connect them to my existing network of concepts.
But most of the time, it is very difficult to connect the new notes to my existing ones because there is no natural open space for them; no true connection points. I had to engage in a lot of notes-connecting-gymnastics. If even that is not working, I end up just stuffing in new notes somewhere.
And that doesn’t feel great. We are eager to take notes. We want to learn. But we end up stuffing and forcing notes into random places.
Maybe the process should not start with finding a book you want to read, a podcast you want to listen to, or a video you want to watch.
ideal start
Instead of finding a book to read, note-taking should start with a question we have, with a perplexity we want to overcome, a problem to solve, or a clearly defined curiosity to follow.
What do you want to learn?
What are some questions you have?
What questions emerge from your existing notes?
Where are gaps in your understanding?
Where are gaps in your network of concepts?
After that, look for books, podcasts, or videos that might help you overcome the perplexities and questions you have. And the rest of the process stays the same. Consume the information, think about it, take messy notes, distil the notes, and connect them to your network of content — your other notes. This time the connections can happen naturally since they are based on actual questions you have.
If you still come across new content that sparks your vague curiosity, don’t fall into the trap of consuming it directly. Store and save it somewhere. Come back to it after you have a purpose — perplexity, problem, or question — to consume it.
The goal is not to find books to read but questions to answer.
