Beyond Book Notes

July 19, 2023

There are various ways to take notes from books. Here, I am discussing non-fiction, and I am assuming that you already see the value in writing things down. It is definitely possible to read without writing anything, but I assume you are better than that. So, let's break it down:

The Old-fashioned Way

You can read a physical book, optionally use a highlighter, and manually write down notes and ideas either on the book's margins or on a separate piece of paper.

Pros:

  • Relatively simple
  • Reading directly on paper
  • You feel superior to people using digital methods

Cons:

  • Time-consuming
  • Hard to find ideas later
  • Collecting books requires a lot of physical space.
  • Higher friction to actually write notes, since it requires extra tools (paper, pen, highlighter, desk, etc.).

Kindle

Devices like the Kindle and similar ones (e-readers) have finally made reading digitally a pleasant experience. Otherwise, reading from a bright screen like a phone or computer is less than ideal.

Pros:

  • It saves a lot of physical space that books take up.

Cons:

  • Writing notes inside a Kindle is a pain, due to its terrible digital keyboard.

My Preferred Method

My preferred method is writing digital notes on my phone or computer. The beauty of this method is that you can read in whatever way you prefer, a physical book, Kindle, or my personal favorite… audiobooks (audience gasps)

I write down ideas and concepts that I find meaningful as I go through the book. I don't care about grammar or perfect notes; I just capture the ideas.

Pros:

  • It’s a very flexible method

Cons:

  • The problem is that it’s hard to find the exact sections referenced in the book unless we go through the hassle of taking detailed notes referencing chapters, page numbers, or exact quotes to manually find things later.

AI Now Allows Us To Create Better Workflows

Through AI tools, I’m getting close to solving this problem. Now, I don't worry about writing a page number or chapter. I just write down notes, knowing that I can always find the source material later.

Ultimately, the reason I personally take notes from books is so that later, when I need advice on a specific topic, I am able to retrieve that information, either for my own personal growth or for my business.

Now, when I write original content, I can reference a book or explore an idea further. Even if I didn't take detailed notes, I can still find what I need with my current method.

I plan to talk more about my AI methods for taking book notes. If you can't wait to find out, I'll be sharing this in my community. Otherwise, I'll be sharing snippets of my method soon. Feel free to message me if you're interested in learning more.

‍