TL: DR; This blog post discusses the problem of “notes debt,” when you have so many unprocessed notes that they become a burden to sort through. I offer advice on managing your notes better, so they are more valuable. This includes being selective about which notes you take, adding context to your notes, as well as reviewing them regularly.
What is “Notes Debt”?
I’m sure you’ve all been there before – you jot down a quick note intending to come back to it later, but somehow, life manages to get in the way, as it always does, so you rarely get around to it, an issue we all face from time to time.
I work with many clients who have difficulty dealing with the sheer volume of information they have to process on a daily basis. So the moment they get out of “Notes Debt,” they see things clearly and begin connecting to their purpose.
“Notes debt” refers to the problem of not having a system to process the information you gather over time. This can lead to taking excessive or irrelevant notes, which can then pile up, making it difficult to make sense of them.
As notes accumulate, they lose value like fruit that rots.
If you have difficulty processing the notes you take, this blog post is for you. Read on to learn how to design “Rich Notes.”
What are Notes?
Taking notes can support your memory by providing a way to review the information later. Additionally, notes can help deepen your understanding of the material by synthesizing information as you write. They can be a valuable form of communication with yourself and others.
In a broad sense, there are two types of notes: those that are actionable and those that are not.
Actionable notes are those that you can do something with. For example, if you need to ‘Clean the bathtub,’ you would write it as a note on your to-do list.
Non-actionable notes are simply for reference. For example, you might bookmark a youtube video about cleaning efficiently to watch later as a non-actionable note.
Most people get into “Debt” by saving the less actionable type of notes for later consumption. Over time, the backlog can feel overwhelming, making it difficult to catch up. If you find yourself in this situation, it’s essential to take some time to prioritize your notes to take action on the most important ones.
How to get out of “Notes Debt”?
It happens to the best of us, feeling swamped by trying to juggle all the moving pieces of our lives until we reach our breaking point, declaring information bankruptcy.
Information bankruptcy is when you get so overstimulated by the mountain of notes that you want to start over. This means deleting or hiding everything that’s not relevant, such as saved articles, or archiving all emails or files in the downloads folder.
It’s a tough decision to make, but sometimes it’s necessary to preserve our sanity. So if you feel like you’re about to reach your breaking point, don’t be afraid to declare information bankruptcy to start fresh.
The first step I needed to take to get out of “Notes Debt” was evaluating why I was gathering notes in the first place.
I realized that I was taking notes as a way to procrastinate on doing the work. I would gather notes on a topic, but I wouldn’t read or use them. I decided that I needed to find a way to take notes that would be useful to me.
The reality is that it is impossible to catch up with all the information. We live in an age of abundance. Now that we are entering the age of AI, we are swimming in a sea of knowledge that’s about to flourish.
It’s vital to take a step back to figure out what’s essential. This can administer your priorities, time, and energy to ensure you’re working on the things that matter most.
The reality is that there’s always a reason why you want to save a particular piece of information.
How to Make “Rich Notes”?
My mission when designing a knowledge management system with clients is always to empower them to achieve whatever they want. I often encourage them to keep a review system to process notes so that it doesn’t lead to clutter.
Making your notes worth returning to can be challenging, but ensuring that your notes are valuable and worth your time is also crucial. Here are a few tips to help you make your notes worth returning to:
- Make sure your notes are well organized. This will make it easier to find the information you need when you need it.
- Use keywords and tags so you can find your notes later. This will make it easier to search for specific topics.
- Use visual aids to help you remember key points. This could include using pictures, diagrams, or charts.
- Highlight resonant points. This will make it easier to review the information later.
By following these tips, you can make your notes worth returning to. Taking the time to make your notes valuable will pay off in the long run, so it’s worth the effort!
Four ways to make your “Rich Notes.”
Be selective about which notes you take.
Only keep the most relevant, precious, surprising or hard-earned notes. This will enable you to focus on the most resonant information.
The pickier you are about what goes in your Second Brain, the less you’ll need to review. You’re not being fair to yourself by taking more notes than you can reasonably review.
Add context to your notes.
If you want your notes to be “Rich,” they need context. Otherwise, you might be collecting digital garbage.
When you take a note, ask yourself: “What is the context surrounding this information?”
Make sure to include enough information in your notes so that you can understand them later on.
The more you can add to notes through action items or links to other thoughts, the more valuable your notes library will be.
Organize your notes by actionability.
There are a few ways to organize information so that you can be easily retrieved it in the future.
Most of the time, I process notes with a Project I’m managing or an Area I’m developing in mind.
To make notes actionable, ask yourself, “Is there something I want to create with it?” If we follow the cleaning youtube video example, “Make bathroom feel like a spa” could be a page to add to your Projects database in Notion.
You could also keep notes together based on who created them or even based on your subject of interest. This can be practical if you need to retrieve information on a particular topic. This allows to maintain the integrity of the data.
To start small, contextualize the notes from the past day or two and organize them in a way that prompts your action.
Process your notes regularly.
To make your notes come to life, you need to review them regularly. Set a review date for non-actionable notes to keep your system fresh.
To learn about Weekly Review, click here.
Creating an inbox system for notes can improve the note-taking process. It can be as simple as having a folder or tag in the app you use to clean out every week.
Process your notes one at a time by asking yourself if it has actionable tasks that will help you make progress. If yes, move it out of the inbox and add it to your project page.
Having a designated place for your ideas can help you track them, making it easier to process information.
Non-actionable notes will continue to be useful as long as you use them from time to time.
If you have a lot of unprocessed notes, it is beneficial to take some time to go through them and figure out what is important. Create a system for organizing your notes so you can easily access them later. Lastly, become selective about which information is worth saving for your future self to discover.
Are you tired of feeling overpowered by the clutter of your digital notes? Do you need assistance organizing them? Let’s talk! I’m a professional note declutterer who can aid you get your life back in order.
