A Review of "How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking" by Sönke Ahrens
Transform how you capture, organize, and develop ideas.
Sönke Ahrens' How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning, and Thinking (2nd edition, 2022) is a practical guide that introduces the Zettelkasten note-taking method. This system, developed by German sociologist Niklas Luhmann, transforms how we capture, organize, and develop ideas.
As someone who struggles with conventional note-taking approaches, I find this book's approach to knowledge management refreshingly practical. However, its effectiveness relies heavily on consistent implementation.
Summary
Central Thesis
Ahrens argues traditional note-taking methods fail to support authentic learning and idea development. Instead, he advocates for the Zettelkasten (slip-box) method, which focuses on creating permanent, atomic notes that connect in a network of ideas. This facilitates better understanding and creative insights.
Key Themes
The Flaws of Traditional Note-Taking
Ahrens begins by highlighting the limitations of conventional note-taking approaches. Most people collect notes that gather dust or become difficult to retrieve when needed. The notes remain isolated information rather than building blocks for new ideas.
The Zettelkasten Method
The core of the book details Luhmann's Zettelkasten system, which consists of three types of notes.
Fleeting notes: Quick, temporary reminders of ideas
Literature notes: Summaries of what you've read in your own words
Permanent notes: Well-formulated ideas that can stand on their own and connect to your existing knowledge
Workflow Integration
Rather than treat note-taking as a separate activity, Ahrens emphasizes integrating it into your daily workflow. He turns note-taking from a chore into a thinking tool that naturally supports learning and writing.
The Emergence of Ideas
Perhaps most compelling is Ahrens' explanation of how the Zettelkasten method allows new insights to emerge organically. Unexpected patterns and ideas form by connecting notes based on their content rather than categories.
Supporting Evidence
Ahrens supports his arguments with Luhmann's extraordinary productivity (he has published over 60 books and 300 scholarly articles), cognitive science research on how we learn, and examples of how the method facilitates writing projects from start to finish.
Structure and Flow
The book is organized into three main sections.
The problems with conventional note-taking and studying
The Zettelkasten method in detail
How the method aligns with scientific understanding of learning and creativity
Tone and Style
Ahrens writes in an accessible, conversational style that makes complex ideas approachable. He balances theoretical explanations with practical application, making the book intellectually stimulating and immediately actionable.
Analysis and Evaluation
Strengths
Practical Application
Ahrens provides concrete steps for implementing the Zettelkasten method at a conceptual level. The book includes guidelines for creating different note types and building connections, though the practical application in digital environments requires additional adaptation.
Scientific Grounding
Ahrens tells readers what to do and explains why it works. By connecting the method to research on how memory and learning function, he builds a compelling case for this approach.
Transformative Potential
The book offers a genuine paradigm shift in how we think about note-taking. Rather than see notes as a way to store information, Ahrens presents them as thinking tools that actively contribute to intellectual development.
Weaknesses
Limited Empirical Evidence
Ahrens extensively references Luhmann's success and relies heavily on this case study. The lack of broader empirical evidence or diverse success stories raises questions about whether the method works equally well across different disciplines and thinking styles. The book should have included controlled studies comparing the Zettelkasten method to other note-taking systems.
Digital Implementation Challenges
The book adequately explains the conceptual steps of implementation but inadequately addresses the practical challenges of executing the Zettelkasten method in today's digital ecosystem. Specific issues include:
Converting between analog and digital notes when both are needed
Handling multimedia content that doesn't fit neatly into text notes
Managing the technical learning curve of specialized note-taking software
Maintaining the system across multiple devices and platforms
Initial Friction and Consistency Barriers
The method requires significant upfront investment and consistent application to yield benefits. Ahrens doesn't sufficiently address how to overcome the common obstacles that prevent habit formation, such as:
The initial time commitment required to process existing notes
Maintaining momentum when the benefits aren't immediately apparent
Integrating the method into deadline-driven work environments
Adapting the system when facing time constraints
Digital Implementation Options
While Ahrens' book focuses on the conceptual framework of the Zettelkasten method, many readers will immediately wonder about digital tools for implementation. Three popular options deserve consideration:
Obsidian stands out as the most aligned with Zettelkasten principles. Its local markdown-based system and graph view for visualizing connections between notes closely mirror Luhmann's original system in digital form. Obsidian's strengths include:
Robust backlinking and visualization of note connections
Local storage for privacy and longevity
Plugin ecosystem that allows customization for specific workflows
Plain text format ensuring future accessibility
Unfortunately, Obsidian requires a steeper learning curve and lacks native collaboration features.
Logseq offers a compelling alternative with its outliner-based approach. This tool combines the linking capabilities essential for Zettelkasten with a more structured organizational system that may appeal to those who find Obsidian's free-form approach overwhelming. Key advantages include:
Outliner format that encourages hierarchical thinking while still allowing connections
Open-source foundation with active community development
Built-in spaced repetition for learning
Daily notes function that integrates well with fleeting notes capture
Its main limitations involve a less mature mobile experience and occasional performance issues with robust knowledge bases.
Notion represents the most mainstream option, offering a comfortable entry point for beginners. While not explicitly designed for Zettelkasten, it can be adapted creatively using its database and linking features. Notion excels at:
All-in-one workspace combining notes, projects, and databases
Polished user interface with minimal friction
Strong collaboration capabilities
Templates and database views that can organize notes by topic, recency, or connections
Notion's trade-offs include a proprietary storage format, occasional performance issues, and a structure that sometimes encourages categorization over the connection.
For those implementing Ahrens' method, the choice between these options often comes down to personal preference regarding interface, the importance of visualization tools, and whether collaboration features are necessary. Most importantly, any selected tool should fade into the background rather than become another system to manage.
Author's Expertise
As an educator and researcher, Ahrens brings credibility to the subject. His understanding of educational theory and practical application makes him well-qualified to introduce this method to a broader audience.
Comparisons
Zettelkasten vs. The Cornell Method
The Zettelkasten approach differs fundamentally from established note-taking systems like the Cornell Method. While the Cornell Method, developed by Walter Pauk at Cornell University in the 1950s, is widely taught and respected, it serves a different intellectual purpose.
Structure: The Cornell Method employs a structured page format with designated areas for notes, cues/questions, and summaries. Zettelkasten, by contrast, embraces a more organic, non-hierarchical structure in which connections emerge naturally rather than through predetermined organization.
Purpose: Cornell is optimized for efficient review and study of course material, making it excellent for exam preparation and information retention. Zettelkasten aims beyond retention toward insight generation and creative connection-making, serving long-term knowledge development rather than short-term mastery.
Temporality: Cornell notes organize information chronologically by lecture or reading, creating self-contained units tied to specific learning events. Zettelkasten deliberately breaks this chronology, allowing ideas to connect across time and context.
Revision Process: With Cornell, revision means reviewing the same notes repeatedly to strengthen recall. With Zettelkasten, revision means continuously developing the network by adding connections and refining existing notes, enhancing understanding over time.
Scale and Longevity: Cornell works well within the bounded context of a single course or subject. Zettelkasten scales across a lifetime of learning, potentially encompassing thousands of notes across disparate fields.
Zettelkasten vs. Building a Second Brain
Compared to newer systems like Tiago Forte's Building a Second Brain (BASB), Ahrens' approach focuses on developing thinking rather than just organizing information.
While Forte emphasizes capturing and organizing through his CODE methodology (Capture, Organize, Distill, Express), Ahrens prioritizes connection and insight generation through permanent notes. BASB may be more accessible for beginners and offers more guidance on digital implementation. Still, Zettelkasten potentially offers deeper intellectual engagement and emergent creativity by emphasizing connection rather than categorization.
Personal Reflection
Reading this book significantly changed my approach to learning and writing.
The Zettelkasten method helped me move from passively consuming information to actively engaging with information. Ideas now develop more naturally, and writing has become less daunting, as I no longer start from a blank page but build on existing notes.
The book's most significant value lies in its potential to transform note-taking from a chore into an integral part of the thinking process. By focusing on connecting ideas rather than just collecting them, this method fosters creativity and deeper understanding.
I’ll share a concrete example of the Zettelkasten method to illustrate how this transformation plays out in practice.
A Concrete Example of the Method in Practice
I consider how the Zettelkasten method might be applied to research climate change to illustrate its effectiveness in practice.
Read a scientific paper: Create fleeting notes on key statistics and arguments while reading about rising sea levels.
Create literature notes: Write concise summaries of the main points in your own words after finishing.
Develop permanent notes: Create several permanent notes. One note connects sea level rise to Arctic ice melt, another discusses coastal infrastructure vulnerability, and a third explores the economic implications for coastal communities.
Make connections: Link these new notes to existing ones in your slip-box, connecting the coastal infrastructure note to previous notes on urban planning and disaster response.
Discover patterns: Months later, while working on a different topic related to urban development, you discover these connected notes, which lead you to develop a new perspective on climate adaptation strategies that wouldn't have occurred without these connections.
My example demonstrates how the method transforms passive reading into an active knowledge development process that yields unexpected insights over time.
Target Audience Elaboration
Different knowledge workers will implement the Zettelkasten method in distinct ways:
Academic Researchers will benefit from the system's ability to connect theoretical concepts across disciplines and track the evolution of complex arguments. In their permanent notes, they might emphasize literature notes and rigorous citation practices.
Creative Writers could use the method to collect character ideas, plot elements, and thematic explorations. Their connections would focus more on narrative possibilities than logical arguments.
Business Professionals could adapt the system to track industry trends, competitor analyses, and strategic insights. Their implementation might integrate more easily with collaborative tools and emphasize actionable knowledge.
Students would find value in connecting course concepts across different classes. They could use color-coding or tagging systems to distinguish between theoretical knowledge and practical applications.
Contemporary Context
We consume content across multiple platforms at unprecedented rates. The Zettelkasten method addresses several challenges that arise.
Information Overload: This method creates a natural filter against accumulating endless unprocessed content by forcing us to process and reframe information in our own words before storing it.
Digital Distraction: The deliberate nature of creating permanent notes demands focused attention, serving as an antidote to the fragmented thinking fostered by social media and constant notifications.
Knowledge Fragmentation: As we read across different devices and platforms, the Zettelkasten provides a unified system for consolidating insights scattered across various apps and services.
AI and Information Processing: While AI can generate content at scale, the Zettelkasten method emphasizes human curation and connection-making, which remain distinctly human skills.
Conclusion
How to Take Smart Notes offers a compelling alternative to traditional note-taking approaches.
By introducing the Zettelkasten method, Ahrens provides readers with a powerful tool for enhancing learning, thinking, and writing. Despite its limitations in empirical validation and practical digital implementation guidance, the book successfully delivers on its promise to transform how we work with information.
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to improve their intellectual productivity and creativity. However, readers should prepare for a learning curve and implementation challenges.
It's particularly valuable for those engaged in knowledge work drowning in information without extracting meaningful insights. Learning this method pays dividends in improved thinking and writing capabilities. However, it requires a commitment to the system's disciplined approach.
Despite the implementation challenges, the method's conceptual clarity and transformative potential make this book worthy of its high rating.
★★★★½ (4.5/5)