# How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens
Author:: Shortform
## Highlights
> Specifically, Ahrens recommends taking three types of notes: temporary notes, literature notes, and evergreen notes. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/668b89ed-31e7-49cd-a935-189cbdf0c9c1))
> Step 3: Link Notes to Your Index ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/20f49189-00bb-44e9-a764-51de1caefa5f))
> Once you have notes in your slip-box, the next step is to link them to your index. This is any document with a list of topics with references to the notes on which those topics are mentioned. You use it to navigate the collection of notes in your slip-box so that you can find the right idea when you need it. You can link your evergreen notes to your index in one of two ways.
> 1. Create a new index entry whenever you notice that several evergreen notes in your slip-box all revolve around a single topic ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/d3658cfa-9454-4f16-b9fd-800539209820))
> Alternatively, link your evergreen note to an existing note (that’s listed in the index) instead of to the index itself. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/be3b6c05-5fc3-416b-ab86-e90881272f45))
> Ahrens’s index differs from traditional indexes: It’s designed to help you find the high-level topics within your slip-box, whereas a traditional index would help you find every idea within your slip-box. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/d098bacd-f2ae-4e82-8217-9d1e2a4b8261))
> While Luhmann used an analog system, Ahrens recommends a digital one. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/f2e85408-6d02-48a2-a321-381fadc23a61))
> If you go the digital route, Ahrens recommends Daniel Lüdecke’s Zettelkasten: It’s free, user-friendly, and works across multiple platforms ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/9859c882-397f-43ba-b6a7-87c4e7d5b935))
> Whether you use a digital or a physical version of the slip-box itself, Ahrens urges you to keep your reference system at least partly digital: Even if you create your literature notes by hand, you should have their bibliographic information in a digital format because most academics and nonfiction writers draft their work on a computer. By using plugins like Zotero, you can easily collect bibliographical information with just a few clicks. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/c6ab8ebe-7503-4a3e-8cf4-45300454604f))
> (Shortform note: Adding visual representations, such as diagrams, to your notes may further enhance this ability: Our brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than text.) ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/4de1705d-1346-4f64-876e-450b65083dcd))
> Ahrens never explicitly defines deliberate practice—perhaps because, upon further examination, the slip-box system does not constitute a form of deliberate practice. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/5acdc9ca-bc02-4174-b3f1-33fe02a5f911))
- Note: I can't disagree more. Writing IS the practice as well as the product.
> However, none of these skills can be measured objectively—and so the slip-box system does not constitute deliberate practice. In fact, Ericsson himself wrote that knowledge work cannot constitute deliberate practice for that exact reason. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/a82f5b58-fe7f-4ce7-941c-ed9bc0fc64bc))
> Ahrens adds that most creative insights result from thinking a lot about a particular topic, then connecting those ideas to something new in an original way.
> (Shortform note: This is why, in Learning How to Learn, Barbara Oakley and Terrence Sejnowski recommend that experts regularly study new topics: If you are constantly focused on the same field, you’ll get stuck in a rut—but if you study a new topic, you’ll naturally relate new concepts to what you already know and gain new, creative insights.) ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/865656f3-77f7-4563-90c4-b5547a70a0d3))
---
Title: How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens
Author: Shortform
Tags: readwise, books
date: 2024-01-30
---
# How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens
Author:: Shortform
## AI-Generated Summary
None
## Highlights
> Specifically, Ahrens recommends taking three types of notes: temporary notes, literature notes, and evergreen notes. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/668b89ed-31e7-49cd-a935-189cbdf0c9c1))
> Step 3: Link Notes to Your Index ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/20f49189-00bb-44e9-a764-51de1caefa5f))
> Once you have notes in your slip-box, the next step is to link them to your index. This is any document with a list of topics with references to the notes on which those topics are mentioned. You use it to navigate the collection of notes in your slip-box so that you can find the right idea when you need it. You can link your evergreen notes to your index in one of two ways.
> 1. Create a new index entry whenever you notice that several evergreen notes in your slip-box all revolve around a single topic ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/d3658cfa-9454-4f16-b9fd-800539209820))
> Alternatively, link your evergreen note to an existing note (that’s listed in the index) instead of to the index itself. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/be3b6c05-5fc3-416b-ab86-e90881272f45))
> Ahrens’s index differs from traditional indexes: It’s designed to help you find the high-level topics within your slip-box, whereas a traditional index would help you find every idea within your slip-box. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/d098bacd-f2ae-4e82-8217-9d1e2a4b8261))
> While Luhmann used an analog system, Ahrens recommends a digital one. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/f2e85408-6d02-48a2-a321-381fadc23a61))
> If you go the digital route, Ahrens recommends Daniel Lüdecke’s Zettelkasten: It’s free, user-friendly, and works across multiple platforms ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/9859c882-397f-43ba-b6a7-87c4e7d5b935))
> Whether you use a digital or a physical version of the slip-box itself, Ahrens urges you to keep your reference system at least partly digital: Even if you create your literature notes by hand, you should have their bibliographic information in a digital format because most academics and nonfiction writers draft their work on a computer. By using plugins like Zotero, you can easily collect bibliographical information with just a few clicks. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/c6ab8ebe-7503-4a3e-8cf4-45300454604f))
> (Shortform note: Adding visual representations, such as diagrams, to your notes may further enhance this ability: Our brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than text.) ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/4de1705d-1346-4f64-876e-450b65083dcd))
> Ahrens never explicitly defines deliberate practice—perhaps because, upon further examination, the slip-box system does not constitute a form of deliberate practice. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/5acdc9ca-bc02-4174-b3f1-33fe02a5f911))
Note: I can't disagree more. Writing IS the practice as well as the product.
> However, none of these skills can be measured objectively—and so the slip-box system does not constitute deliberate practice. In fact, Ericsson himself wrote that knowledge work cannot constitute deliberate practice for that exact reason. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/a82f5b58-fe7f-4ce7-941c-ed9bc0fc64bc))
> Ahrens adds that most creative insights result from thinking a lot about a particular topic, then connecting those ideas to something new in an original way.
> (Shortform note: This is why, in Learning How to Learn, Barbara Oakley and Terrence Sejnowski recommend that experts regularly study new topics: If you are constantly focused on the same field, you’ll get stuck in a rut—but if you study a new topic, you’ll naturally relate new concepts to what you already know and gain new, creative insights.) ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/865656f3-77f7-4563-90c4-b5547a70a0d3))