# [[How real people process notes]] <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6Bbj7xYj3Bc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> ## Thumbnail ![[How real people process notes.png]] ### Inspiration ![[studytee-how-i-take-notes.png]] ## Title 1. How to process notes 2. ==How real people process notes== ## Hook Pretty much every productivity system acknowledges that the first real bottleneck is processing notes. GTD has weekly reviews where you're supposed to sort through tasks that have fallen through the cracks. Zettelkasten talks about turning fleeting notes into permanent ones, Agile in software development has a product backlog, Kanban moves cards from In Progress to Done, and even the digital garden system takes notes from creatively named categories like "seedling" to "blossom" or whatever it is. Yet, frustratingly, none of them addresses the reality: Ain't nobody got time for that! Note-taking is supposed to supplement your life, not be a part-time job. In this video, I'm going to talk about practical tips for processing notes without feeling like you have to take a break from life to keep up with all the notes ABOUT your life. ## Structure - David McMeekin: Inbox Zero is a myth - Andy Matuschak: [[An inbox is only useful if we trust that it will be drained]] - Tips - **1. Narrow the top of the funnel.** Be picky about your sources. - Delay instead of reading/consuming right away-- or let yourself off the hook if you don't. - Send to a read-it-later service (I use Readwise). - **2. Regularly declare inbox bankruptcy.** - conditionally. - ex: remove meetings not yet processed - What if you need it later? Get good at search. - Search - Obsidian queries can be embedded - Dataview - Link to unprocessed notes in topical pages. - Go through your graph - **3. Sort.** and process by descending date order and practicality. What's actually most relevant for you CREATING something in the next week? month? - **4. Let your interest determine your effort.** When processing, let yourself work on only two other notes per idea. The second that you start to feel weary, remove the inbox tag. It'll be there when you look it up next. - **5. Let yourself forget.** ## Outro Sometimes it feels like what passes for productivity has actually become a way for already high-functioning people to push themselves harder. Note-taking is supposed to be fun. If you're not losing yourself in the act of writing, then maybe you should question whether you're taking notes on the right thing. Earlier, I talked about using Dataview as a way to search for ideas that didn't make it all the way through the information pipeline. For more about what that is and how to use it, check out this video. If you'd like to support me, considering signing up for my Patreon. Thanks for watching! Dankon al vi ĉiuj! ## Related videos and resources ## Timestamps 0:00 Intro 01:18 Narrow the top of the information funnel 02:24 Regularly declare inbox bankruptcy 07:04 Sort notes you want to process 08:27 Let your interest determine effort 08:59 Let yourself forget ## Pre-production - [x] Create captions using Rev, then edit them. - [x] Take a thumbnail photo and create one for YouTube (1280 x 720). - [ ] Add description. - [x] Include the title and any keywords in the first few sentences, but in a natural way. - [x] Add related videos and resources as links. - [x] Add end screen. - [x] Add cards if necessary. - [ ] Add video to relevant playlist(s), or create a playlist if necessary. - [x] Add chapters for YouTube if longer than 5 minutes. - [x] Add mid-roll ads/check monetization settings. - [ ] Schedule on YouTube. ## Post-production - [ ] Promote on personal social media. - [ ] Twitter - [ ] LinkedIn - [ ] Create a blog post on [site](https://nicolevanderhoeven.com). - [ ] Add to weekly newsletter.