Note-Taking
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Note-Taking
I recently read two pieces that cover a quibble I have with some of the productivity tools that've arisen over the past decade or so, mostly intent on making things that should be cheap or free, expensive, and in some cases making simple things complicated.
This is addressed through the practice of note-taking: a habit some people love and swear by and even romanticize (or fetishize), while others (like myself) don't really get it.
There's a tendency (among some) to make note-taking the point, rather than a means of an end. The habit becomes more about the notes, the jotting and organizing of them, rather than the utilization of what's on those notes.
I've tried many methods of note-taking over the years, but have always returned (even after exploring some of the more neat-looking and complex permutations of this concept) to simple methods and freebie approaches.
I keep track of deadlines in Google Calendar, keep track of notes in Simplenote, outline essays and podcast scripts using indents, and organize longer writing projects in Scrivener. Sometimes I jot to-dos on a physical sticky note.
If you're keen to try your hand at more elaborate approaches (I find I remember more of what I read when I pause to think periodically, rather than jotting main points down on a note, but your brain may work differently than mine in this regard), there are ideas about how to do so, here: https://herbertlui.net/the-tyranny-of-the-note-taking-industrial-complex-and-other-notes-on-notes/
And here's a fairly vehement anti-note essay: https://www.mysupersecretdiary.com/p/dont-take-notes
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