DULY NOTED

Arango presents a guide to better thinking through note-taking and the benefits of digital note-taking tools.

Notes are often seen as merely a tool for reference, for remembering, for “capture and recall,” but the author, an educator and “information architect,” aims to illustrate that good notes are also “a medium for thinking.” He begins by detailing what notes are and their extensive uses, from sticky note reminders to meeting minutes, transcriptions, research, and memory aids. The difference between evergreen notes, or notes meant to be kept, and transient notes, which can be discarded after a short while, is emphasized. Different ways to take notes, beyond (but including) scribbles on a sticky pad, are also discussed, such as photographs, audio and video recordings, and, especially, digital tools. The book illustrates the benefits of digital boards and programs capable of incorporating hypertext and metadata, allowing ideas to be interlinked (though the book largely focuses on introducing readers to the digital note-taking program Obsidian, there’s also information here about similar products like Apple Notes, Freeform, and Tinderbox). Throughout, the importance of organization to optimized note-taking is stressed repeatedly. Arango’s guide is short and approachable; managing one’s notes is presented as analogous to tidying up a kitchen after a big meal or maintaining a “knowledge garden” in need of regular pruning. The inclusion of “notable note-takers” band their note-taking practices offers excellent and sometimes surprising real-world examples, from software engineering to table-top role playing (the author also shares, somewhat tediously, how this book was itself developed from his own notes). Tips on mindfulness and using physical engagement to stimulate ideas are unexpected but welcome, further examples of how this resource is dedicated to moving notes beyond mere pen and paper.

An informative guide to organizing and managing thoughts, with a digital focus.