This is the second, revised and expanded edition. The first edition was published under the slightly longer title "How to Take Smart Notes. One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking - for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers".
The key to good and efficient writing lies in the intelligent organisation of ideas and notes. This book helps students, academics and other knowledge workers to get more done, write intelligent texts and learn for the long run. It teaches you how to take smart notes and ensure they bring you and your projects forward.
The Take Smart Notes principle is based on established psychological insight and draws from a tried and tested note-taking technique: the Zettelkasten. This is the first comprehensive guide and description of this system in English, and not only does it explain how it works, but also why. It suits students and academics in the social …
This is the second, revised and expanded edition. The first edition was published under the slightly longer title "How to Take Smart Notes. One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking - for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers".
The key to good and efficient writing lies in the intelligent organisation of ideas and notes. This book helps students, academics and other knowledge workers to get more done, write intelligent texts and learn for the long run. It teaches you how to take smart notes and ensure they bring you and your projects forward.
The Take Smart Notes principle is based on established psychological insight and draws from a tried and tested note-taking technique: the Zettelkasten. This is the first comprehensive guide and description of this system in English, and not only does it explain how it works, but also why. It suits students and academics in the social sciences and humanities, nonfiction writers and others who are in the business of reading, thinking and writing.
Instead of wasting your time searching for your notes, quotes or references, you can focus on what really counts: thinking, understanding and developing new ideas in writing.
Dr. Sönke Ahrens is a writer and researcher in the field of education and social science. He is the author of the award-winning book “Experiment and Exploration: Forms of World Disclosure” (Springer).
Since its first publication, How to Take Smart Notes has sold more than 100,000 copies and has been translated into seven languages.
Inspiring, but the process description lacks clarity
4 stars
I found this book very inspiring, but when I actually tried to start using the Zettelkasten method, I found that I needed to find other resources to get enough clarity to get started. If you need to be sold on the merits of the method or want inspiration , this book may be helpful for you. If you just want to learn to use the Zettelkasten method, the abundance of freely available resources online is probably a better place to start.
Excellent reference of Luhmann's zettlekasten system
4 stars
The subtitle describes the book well, in that the book is aimed to students, academics, and book writers. While a great source of knowledge around Luhmann's zettlekasten and the theory around it, it does spend a lot of time focusing on the academic side of the system.
Dr. Ahrens breaks down the key parts of Luhmann's system, how to implement it yourself, and points out new starter pitfalls by directing you to understand that it is a system of note-taking, not a component part that you can easily integrate.
Worthy of a read if you're interested in PKM, knowledge management, and note taking.
