- Dec 2020
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www.zylstra.org www.zylstra.org
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Notions, Notes, Ideas and work notes
My equivalent, as best as I can tell, is:
- Permanent notes (atomic, linked concepts) = Notions
- Temporary notes (half-formed thoughts, links, snippets, etc.) = Notes
- Temporary notes initially, which later become permanent notes = Ideas (see later comment about why)
- Admin notes (projects, tasks, meetings, etc.) = Work notes
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- May 2020
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notes.andymatuschak.org notes.andymatuschak.org
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You should construct evergreen (permanent) notes based on concepts, not related to a source (e.g. a book) or an author.
Your mental models are compression functions. You make them more powerful by trying to use them on new information. Are you able to compress the new information with an already acquired function? Yes, then you've discovered an analogous concept across two different sources. Sort of? Then maybe there's an important difference, or maybe it's a clue that your compression function needs updating. And finally, no? Then perhaps this is an indication that you need to construct a new mental model – a new compression function.
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notes.andymatuschak.org notes.andymatuschak.org
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Instead of having a task like “write an outline of the first chapter,” you have a task like “find notes which seem relevant.” Each step feels doable. This is an executable strategy (see Executable strategy).
Whereas Dr. Sönke Ahrens in How to Make Smart Notes seemed to be saying that the writing of a permanent note (~evergreen note) is a unit of knowledge work with predictable effort & time investment (as well as searching for relevant notes), Andy emphasizes only the note searching activity in this context.
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