Take Better Notes, by Hand

Source: Hacker News

Overview

Researching a topic is hard, because not only are you trying to puzzle together the causes and effects of a given problem or historical series of events, you’re also looking out carefully for leads and new threads to pull. Falling down rabbit holes is common—and encouraged—but eventually you need to pull yourself back out and collect your thoughts. What’s more, if you’re reading books you don’t own, you’ll need some way to record the interesting bits to recall later.

Of course, there are a lot of different ways to take notes and organize your thoughts. I’ve settled on this four-part system, here organized from least important to most important:

• Pinboard – for links to PDFs & webpages + full‑text search.
• Books.app – the iOS/macOS app for importing PDFs & organizing them into Collections.
• Book Tracker – an app that’s great for saving long quotes via OCR.
• Good, old‑fashioned paper notebooks.

Quote captured via OCR via Book Tracker
Photo: mine

While the first three options might seem obvious—or even a bit boring (and I’ll admit that is partly by design)—the last one is the one I use most extensively and is by far the most useful. Writing stuff by hand not only helps me remember and recall information, but also helps me engage more deeply with the topic at hand. Paper notebooks are less distracting than digital tools, can be used anywhere there’s ambient light, and provide a tangible progress bar that physically takes up space on a shelf.

Of course, paper notebooks as a knowledge base have significant problems too. We did have a computer revolution for a reason, but there are several ways to mitigate those downsides with good, old‑fashioned note‑taking techniques.

How to take Notes

Page numbered index at the front
Photo: mine

All through school I was a terrible note‑taker. I basically just wrote down whatever the teacher/professor did on the board and then never went back to read them. When I decided to start taking physical notes again to collect my thoughts while reading, I knew I needed a better method.

Basic Practices

1. Date every page – apply a date to every entry, not just notes. It sounds silly, but it works.
2. Add page numbers – if the notebook doesn’t have them, add them (usually only the odd numbers on the right side).
3. Create an index – reserve a few pages at the front or back to build an index of topics, books, quotes, and any other entries. Update it as you go.
4. Highlight useful parts – underline or highlight passages that stand out.

Layout Technique

Because notebook space isn’t infinite, I keep a consistent layout to avoid losing thoughts:

• Right‑most (odd‑numbered) page – write the main notes in pen: quotes, observations, and mid‑stream thoughts.
• Left (even‑numbered) page – use pencil for follow‑up thoughts, cross‑references, or “out‑of‑band” entries that relate to the right‑hand notes.

Notes on the right, follow‑up thoughts on the left
Photo: mine

This simple system isn’t formal, but it works well for me. I maintain several notebooks, each dedicated to a different purpose (e.g., book notes, random thoughts, writing ideas, specific research projects). The index and consistent layout make it easy to locate quotes, notes, and ideas without hassle.

I’ve expanded the capacity of my own mind, and, at least anecdotally, the results are promising.