Thank you for writing these posts (and for no charge, my god!). I was initially frustrated trying to implement your instructions, until I actually just did the damn thing. Now it has become abundantly clear just how much indecision and anxiety had been ham-stringing my ability and willingness to take notes when I wanted. I'm still figuring what works for me and how, which is to be expected for any new method, but simply using the Cornell layout, numbering my pages, having a TOC and index, and linking pages has given me so much more confidence and so much less to think about whenever I have the urge to start jotting.
It really is amazing how much anxiety and indecision and information our minds can process in a split second, and the consequences that follow when we aren’t prepared.
I’ve been waiting for your post, thanks ! For me the TOC has been a fantastic discovery ! I’ve been thinking how many thoughts and notes I have lost because I couldn’t find them. Now I’m happier. I’ve been practicing and will do it more until your next post. Thanks !
Andrew, if I may ask, the index tip was to write a word or some words related with the text in the page at the top of the page ? And then make a reference in an index at the end of the notebook (like in books)? Because I find it difficult as there may be many words that describes the subject of the page. Or maybe I am totally wrong and my memory is bad and I should just read your post again. Thanks !
The top of the page is for a title and the index items go at the bottom. I’ve had some pages with over ten words, but they all fit down there because the box you’ve created is about 1/4 of the page, maybe a little less.
So at the top of the page you write the title that will end up in the TOC at the front of the notebook while at the bottom of the page you list words that will end up in the index at the back of the notebook.
Some people call what I am calling the table if contents the index, which I think is a little idiosyncratic, so you’ll want to distinguish toc from index for the system I’m showing.
But do continue to take your time and practice at a pace that works for you!
Using your system has revolutionized my random ‘journalling’ into locatable notes in many more than three notebooks. I’ve gone through a lot of ink since your first post on this topic. I am grateful! I can have a deeper appreciation for my many thoughts and good ideas because I can find them again! I am still pondering the application of these rich resources to my several projects but that will come as I sort through other issues.
Like @VirginiaNeely notes above, I am unclear about how to incorporate quotations into this system, and look forward to your comments in the future.
And you’re right about digitally induced decision fatigue, which I’ve experienced often without fully appreciating the cost. One example/solution for me might be writing/shaping articles in longhand before retyping them into the publishing program that inevitably throws up technical hurdles that distract my thinking.
A thousand thank you’s; I can’t tell you what a difference this has made for me.
I've been waiting for a new post in this series. Since reading the first one, I began using this system ( with 8 subsets! for main areas of work and interest). I find it works well for certain things, and not at all well for others. As a result, I've been making fewer entries than I used to. Specifically, if I'm making notes on a lecture or something I'm studying, it sort of works, except that usually a page isn't enough even to get down the salient points. For some things, like my art journal, it doesn't work at all, as often my notes are just a few words or half a dozen sentences, and it's a total waste of paper to use a 2-page spread for each. I do like the index idea, and the TOC is helpful for some things but not others. I have absolutely no idea how to use this system for a Commonplace Book, so I haven't written down the things that impact me, unless they are art-related, in which case they go into my art book which is the random thing I mentioned earlier. I'd like to see an example of your commonplace book and how you use it.
Thank you for writing these posts (and for no charge, my god!). I was initially frustrated trying to implement your instructions, until I actually just did the damn thing. Now it has become abundantly clear just how much indecision and anxiety had been ham-stringing my ability and willingness to take notes when I wanted. I'm still figuring what works for me and how, which is to be expected for any new method, but simply using the Cornell layout, numbering my pages, having a TOC and index, and linking pages has given me so much more confidence and so much less to think about whenever I have the urge to start jotting.
Thank you!
Thank you. This made me smile!
It really is amazing how much anxiety and indecision and information our minds can process in a split second, and the consequences that follow when we aren’t prepared.
I’ve been waiting for your post, thanks ! For me the TOC has been a fantastic discovery ! I’ve been thinking how many thoughts and notes I have lost because I couldn’t find them. Now I’m happier. I’ve been practicing and will do it more until your next post. Thanks !
Got it !! I think it’s a good idea. I’ll practice and see if it works for me. Thanks a lot!
Andrew, if I may ask, the index tip was to write a word or some words related with the text in the page at the top of the page ? And then make a reference in an index at the end of the notebook (like in books)? Because I find it difficult as there may be many words that describes the subject of the page. Or maybe I am totally wrong and my memory is bad and I should just read your post again. Thanks !
The top of the page is for a title and the index items go at the bottom. I’ve had some pages with over ten words, but they all fit down there because the box you’ve created is about 1/4 of the page, maybe a little less.
So at the top of the page you write the title that will end up in the TOC at the front of the notebook while at the bottom of the page you list words that will end up in the index at the back of the notebook.
Some people call what I am calling the table if contents the index, which I think is a little idiosyncratic, so you’ll want to distinguish toc from index for the system I’m showing.
But do continue to take your time and practice at a pace that works for you!
I bet people calling your TOC "index" are people who've used the bullet journal system. That's what Ryder Carroll calls his TOC.
You’re right, but I didn’t want to sound like I was being critical of any particular people.
Oh I see. That makes sense. By the way I have filled several notebooks since I started with your lessons in February! It's been such an adventure.
Wow! That’s wonderful to hear. I hope it leads you to wisdom and true authority.
Are you also using the index? It’s even more helpful for longer term hunts!
Well not the index yet, I’m going step by step. But I might try !!
Using your system has revolutionized my random ‘journalling’ into locatable notes in many more than three notebooks. I’ve gone through a lot of ink since your first post on this topic. I am grateful! I can have a deeper appreciation for my many thoughts and good ideas because I can find them again! I am still pondering the application of these rich resources to my several projects but that will come as I sort through other issues.
Like @VirginiaNeely notes above, I am unclear about how to incorporate quotations into this system, and look forward to your comments in the future.
And you’re right about digitally induced decision fatigue, which I’ve experienced often without fully appreciating the cost. One example/solution for me might be writing/shaping articles in longhand before retyping them into the publishing program that inevitably throws up technical hurdles that distract my thinking.
A thousand thank you’s; I can’t tell you what a difference this has made for me.
I've been waiting for a new post in this series. Since reading the first one, I began using this system ( with 8 subsets! for main areas of work and interest). I find it works well for certain things, and not at all well for others. As a result, I've been making fewer entries than I used to. Specifically, if I'm making notes on a lecture or something I'm studying, it sort of works, except that usually a page isn't enough even to get down the salient points. For some things, like my art journal, it doesn't work at all, as often my notes are just a few words or half a dozen sentences, and it's a total waste of paper to use a 2-page spread for each. I do like the index idea, and the TOC is helpful for some things but not others. I have absolutely no idea how to use this system for a Commonplace Book, so I haven't written down the things that impact me, unless they are art-related, in which case they go into my art book which is the random thing I mentioned earlier. I'd like to see an example of your commonplace book and how you use it.
Thanks. I’ll try to reply to your frustrations and questions as soon as I can! Quicker I hope.
babe wake up new andrew kern post