How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking

By focusing on what is interesting and keeping written track of your own intellectual development, topics, questions and arguments will emerge from the material without force.

But with the learned ability of spotting patterns, we can enter the circle of virtuosity: Reading becomes easier, we grasp the gist quicker, can read more in less time, and can more easily spot patterns and improve our understanding of them.

scientific term or concept only becomes meaningful within the context of a theory – otherwise it would just be a word.

Focus on the essentials and don’t complicate things unnecessarily.

thinking instead of remembering.

In fact, poor students often feel more successful (until they are tested), because they don’t experience much self-doubt. In psychology, this is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect (Kruger and Dunning, 1999). Poor students lack insight into their own limitations – as they would have to know about the vast amount of knowledge out there to be able to

Extracting the gist of a text or an idea and giving an account in writing is for academics what daily practice on the piano is for pianists: The more often we do it and the more focused we are, the more virtuous we become.

4. Now add your new permanent notes to the slip-box by:

9.2 Multitasking is not a good idea