The Notecard System: Capture, Organize, and Use Everything You Read, Watch, and Listen To
Billy Oppenheimerbillyoppenheimer.com
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The Notecard System: Capture, Organize, and Use Everything You Read, Watch, and Listen To
Let The Notes Determine The Themes
One of the big breakthroughs for me with this system was to let the notes/categories determine the categories/themes/sections, not the other way around.
So originally I thought, I need a bunch of categories and themes first then I’ll keep my eyes and ears out for things that fit into those topics and themes. What
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David Brooks talks about what he calls the “theory of maximum taste.” It’s similar to what Murphy is saying. “Exposure to genius has the power to expand your consciousness,” Brooks writes. “If you spend a lot of time with genius, your mind will end up bigger and broader than if you [don’t].”
Billy Oppenheimer • The Notecard System: Capture, Organize, and Use Everything You Read, Watch, and Listen To
You are what you consume. That goes for what you read as well as what you eat. If you want to have a healthy mind you need to fill it with quality content.
“For every good idea that comes out of you, you need ten good ideas coming into you. And that’s up to you to ensure that you continuously fill yourself up with fresh knowledge and information and impressions so that one thing can come out.” — René Redzepi
Billy Oppenheimer • The Notecard System: Capture, Organize, and Use Everything You Read, Watch, and Listen To
Randall Stutman, an executive advisor and prolific note-taker, says, “collecting insights is just the preamble to what really matters: reviewing, with some level of consistency, those insights. You have to routinely make those insights available to yourself.”
Billy Oppenheimer • The Notecard System: Capture, Organize, and Use Everything You Read, Watch, and Listen To
“The greatest genius will never be worth much if he pretends to draw exclusively from his own resources.” — Goethe
Billy Oppenheimer • The Notecard System: Capture, Organize, and Use Everything You Read, Watch, and Listen To
So that’s basically what I’m doing when I read: I’m looking for interesting information, I’m on the hunt for stories, and I’m trying to make connections.
Billy Oppenheimer • The Notecard System: Capture, Organize, and Use Everything You Read, Watch, and Listen To
When I finish a book, I put it back on the shelf for a week or two. After a week or two, when I have a block of time, I grab the book and a stack of 4×6 notecards. The reason to wait a week or two? Time is a great filter/editor. Even with a really good book—one where I fold over every other page—I might only make 5-10 notecards.
Billy Oppenheimer • The Notecard System: Capture, Organize, and Use Everything You Read, Watch, and Listen To
When I come across interesting information, I underline then write a corresponding question in the margin. So what I underlined is an answer to the question.
Billy Oppenheimer • The Notecard System: Capture, Organize, and Use Everything You Read, Watch, and Listen To
If someone recommends a book or if I see a book referenced in another book or if I’m listening to a podcast and a book gets mentioned or etc., I will download the kindle sample. I will read that sample (usually the first 10% or so of the book) on the iPad and if i get hooked, I order a physical copy.