Have you ever had one of those moments when you start to think that the system you have been using for years just isn’t working for you anymore?

I had that experience a few weeks ago when I was doing some personal studying on the weekend and while taking notes, I realised that there were several other projects that I was working on that could benefit from what I was learning and the application of it to these areas could be extremely beneficial. I then asked myself the question, “How can I ensure that this information isn’t going to be forgotten and how can I apply it across those other areas?”

I didn’t have a clear answer and for the next few hours I was mulling this over as I realised that my note-taking system was very much Top-Down, structured and organised into subjects/areas of interest and not that great at making links and relationships with disparate and in some cases, completely different fields of study or interest.

That afternoon, I was sitting in a coffee shop waiting for my kids and had a couple of hours to spare and decided to do some research on how best I could ensure that the tomes of notes that I have aren’t just an archival activity, but a true extension of my thought process, a personal knowledge management system that I could easily access when required.

As I started researching, I came across several references to the Zettelkasten Method and the more that I looked into it, I could see that this method could address the questions of how I could tap into the information that I had collected, but this whole approached seemed overly complicated and the more I looked into the more confusing it became as there are so many variations of this and no real clarity on the system as a whole. I then saw the book “How to Take Smart Notes” by Sönke Ahrens and figured I would buy it and read it. I dedicated my Sunday to reading the book and honestly, whilst it was an interesting read, I was thinking that this approach wouldn’t work, but I kept an open mind and read, and then it hit me. About two-thirds through the book it clicked.

I decided that I would try the approach and so I set up a new notebook and implemented the system and started using it for the notes on my current study topic whilst it has been a challenge to stick with the new method and not fall back into old habits, the benefit I have gotten from just a few weeks has been worth it and the quality of the thinking around the subjects has increased significantly, find previously unknown relationships and the just the depth of understanding on the subject has made it clear that this approach will work and is here to stay.

This brings up one more question which is “What do I do with the 20,000+ personal notes that I have in my old system?” The answer, Nothing! The reason being is that these are not wasted or need to be reworked into a new format, they need to be rediscovered. I have already gone back to a few of the notes and incorporated aspects of them into the new system and watched it organically grow as I start to find new connections and shall continue to do so.

The purpose of this was to not promote some new product or tell you how you should be taking notes, but to share a challenge that I encountered and if you have experienced similar challenges then maybe this can help and you may find a way to re-energise your learning or study. I have always been a strong believer in self-reflection and challenging systems that you are using to ensure that they still meet your objectives rather than become complacent and do it the same way that you have always done.

I have just started this journey, and can already see the benefits with my use cases if anyone is trying this as well and gets stuck, or has any questions, then please feel free to message me as happy to share my understanding and experiences of course learn from yours.