How to Write Effective Book Notes for Future Articles
These knowledge packets can serve you well in the future.
Regardless of what you write, most writers have some element of research or reading within their work. So how do you take these notes in a way that you can use them?
Many of us research differently; some will have a topic in mind and then find the facts to back it up. This is a top-down approach; you have the end goal in mind and then find the building blocks to reach this goal.
Part of working at building a second brain is to look at a bottom-up approach which is the one that I have adopted. I also find this method works as I consume many books.
Physical Fiction Books
This is my favourite way to read; many bookworms may agree, but taking notes from physical books can be long and challenging. I approach this in two different ways depending on the book genre.
For fiction books, I always look for a paragraph or line that engages with me; keeping these favourite lines helps me recall the story. Because I swap many of these books with my mum and friends, I can not write in them directly.
For these books, I use an index card as a bookmark. If I find an interesting quote, I put a tiny pencil-drawn dot at the side and list the page number on my bookmark/index card. Then, when I have finished the book, I can collate them.
Non-Fiction Books
I adopt a different approach for these books and will issue a trigger warning for some bookworms here. I write in books. Yes, I felt the same five years ago, but my opinion has changed.
As I read through the book, I look for passages I like; I underline these and write notes in the margin about thoughts they have initiated or topics I want to research further.
Once I have done this, I do two things: fold the bottom corner over and write an index. The folding of the corner helps me find the passages again. I then write an index on the front of the book that summarises what I have found. Most books have blank pages at the front, so this is not difficult.
eBooks
Kindles, make this easy as you can highlight and put notes onto the kindle as you read it. I email these to myself when I finish the book. Of course, they need some cleaning up, but they provide the basis of my book notes.
Once I have these in my email, I can add chapter headings, quotes, etc., and sort the highlights into a logical order by topic rather than page number.
Killer tip if you are using this method, I would highlight the chapter headings as you go along, as these will help sort the information when they are emailed to you. You can also revisit your highlights and notes if you have a Goodreads account; you can access these for years to come
Audiobooks
This is a new area for me as I have only just embraced the joy of audiobooks. I listen to this mainly on audible and you can save short clips of it by getting a transcribe of what you liked.
Because I listen mainly to audiobooks in my car, it is not easy to take notes. For this, though, I had my mind put at rest by Tiago Forte on one of his podcasts, where he mentioned that most people could remember an idea for a couple of hours during a journey.
For this reason, when I arrive at my destination, I write the notes I need to into my Apple notes before I get out of the car.
Using Book Notes
Effective book notes can be used for a variety of purposes. For example, it could be that you use them for your knowledge base and will build on them later. On the other hand, it may be that you are using them for a specific project.
Whatever your reason for collecting book notes and research, a reliable method is essential. The more successful your method, the more valuable these little pockets of knowledge will be to your future self and workload.