I Find It Difficult To Take Notes On Books

[Ariel]

I find it difficult to take notes on books. I just write a lot. I once read a 200 pages book and my notes were 20 pages long. I have no idea how to shorten it. I just feel sometimes that alot of information is important and I don't wanna miss it.

What do you think?

[Leo Gura]

Yes, way too much. Underline as you read and then maybe do a 1-2 page executive summary at the end with top lessons learned.

[Ariel]

Just now, Leo Gura said:

Yes, way too much. Underline as you read and then maybe do a 1-2 page executive summary at the end with top lessons learned.

 

I was trying to summarize the book so that I could get to it back later to refresh my memory. There is just so much information. How can I do it only from the top lessons?

[Leo Gura]

@Ariel That's what the underlining is for. If you properly underline a book, you can re-read all the juicy parts in 10 mins.

Some rare books are worth studying in much more depth. But those kind of books are very rare. I'm talking about your average self-help book.

[Guest username]

12 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

@Ariel That's what the underlining is for. If you properly underline a book, you can re-read all the juicy parts in 10 mins.

Some rare books are worth studying is much more death. But those kind of books are very rare. I'm talking about your average self-help book.

1

Man, books that induced ego death just from reading?! Time to update that book list!  

[mathieu]

2 hours ago, Ariel said:

find it difficult to take notes on books. I just write a lot

then read some crappy books and you will write almost nothing : )

just kidding. ok, if you write a lot, i think that's kind of programming the subconscious mind. helps you recall things better.

[Ariel]

14 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

@Ariel That's what the underlining is for. If you properly underline a book, you can re-read all the juicy parts in 10 mins.

Some rare books are worth studying is much more death. But those kind of books are very rare. I'm talking about your average self-help book.

Let's say for example that I would like to take notes on your videos. I can't underline anything, I have to write. What do I do then? I have to somehow take notes. It sounds to me like the same concept.

I remember you said to take notes on a lot of things. I don't know how it's possible here. I need to somehow scan for the best information but I am just in a fear that I will miss something.

[Michael569]

Attaching sticky notes to side to different pages also helps. Especially for some juicy insights. This way you can easily return to the best parts. You can also add a small comment on them so that it is easy to navigate. make sure to use plastic sticky notes not paper as those bend and un-stick all the time.

Use different colour labels to assign different categories or importance levels. Definitely did the trick for me when I was reading Stephen Covey's 7 Habits which was just packed with awesome knowledge. 

Additionally most books have blank pages at the end for notes. Use those to note which sides had great info and make sure you highlight it. 

One last suggestion. Record your voice reading the juicy insights and play it to yourself before sleep. Many students of medicine or law do this I heard. 

Remember sometimes it is better to read 1 book diligently and thoroughly then 10 books vaguely. That 1 could have more to say than 10% of the Self Help section in any retailer's self help. With such a book, no amount of time spent is wasted. Patience is your friend

[Leo Gura]

@Ariel Have you not been to school? Why is it so hard to take notes on a video?

Notes can be very detailed or very short, and anything in between. You just need to tone down the volume of your note taking.

This isn't history class. You don't need copious notes on my videos.

[BjarkeT]

maybe understand the information at the level of an aha moment usually you will remeber it longer and then try to recall the information without any reference(its called active recall which should be a really effective method for rembering information)

you could write your notes in a quiz formart to support active recall  (see if you can answer the question first without looking at the answer only look at the answer when you have recalled the information it should have the same effect even if you make the questions your self just as long as the answer isn't in the question the same notes could be help full later when you need the information it could also support something called spaced repetition which is an other help full technique for long term memory)

Edited October 9, 2017 by BjarkeT

[Elisabeth]

Read a whole chapter. Then write down the main point in three sentences (or bullet points). If the book has 10 chapters, you don't get more than 30 sentences.

Or be comfortable having 20 pages of notes. I don't see anything wrong with it per se, if the book was worth it. 

Or, reread your 20 pages of notes, and make a dense summary of those. 

Edited October 9, 2017 by Elisabeth

[Ariel]

3 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

@Ariel Have you not been to school? Why is it so hard to take notes on a video?

Notes can be very detailed or very short, and anything in between. You just need to tone down the volume of your note taking.

This isn't history class. You don't need copious notes on my videos.

I am in school Leo, and no, nobody teaches us taking notes here in my country, we don't do this thing here. I discovered it through the internet mainly. Maybe people do it in university or something, I'm still in highschool so I have no idea.

[Max_V]

@Leo Gura How does underlining apply to The Book of Not Knowing? It feels like I’d have to underline almost entire pages because it’s so profound. Almost nothing that could be left out.

[Insightful27]

@Max_V completely agree