What you will be able to do
- Set up a single capture inbox and quick capture habits across phone, computer and paper
- Organise notes into projects, areas, resources and an archive, and decide when search and a few tags are enough
- Write notes in your own words, keep them atomic and link them so that ideas can be found and combined
- Use progressive summarisation to make key notes quick to review, and turn notes into drafts, decisions and presentations
- Run a 30-minute weekly review and choose a notes tool using portability, search, sync and privacy criteria
Who it is for
- Knowledge workers, students and freelancers whose notes are scattered across several apps and notebooks
- People who have tried elaborate note-taking systems before and abandoned them
- Managers and specialists who want their reading and meetings to feed directly into their work
Before you start
- Any notes app, or a folder of plain text files on your computer
- One or two current projects to apply the lessons to
Curriculum
4 modules · 12 lessons · 3h 36m
Module 1Start Simple and Capture3 lessons · 48 min
Understand what a personal knowledge system is for, set up a minimal structure in any tool, and build quick capture habits that feed one inbox.
- What a personal knowledge system is forSee notes as raw material for work rather than a collection, and learn the four-stage loop that the rest of the course builds on.14 min · free preview · worked example · exercise
- A minimal setup in a plain folder or any notes appCreate the five top-level places your system needs and a naming convention that works in any tool, so that you can start today.16 min · worked example · exercise
- One inbox and quick capture habitsRoute every idea, note and task into a single inbox within seconds, decide what is worth capturing, and empty the inbox on a schedule.18 min · worked example · exercise
- Module quiz4 questions with explanations
Module 2Organise for Action3 lessons · 52 min
Sort notes by how soon you will use them, find them again with search and a few deliberate tags, and keep organising to the minimum that works.
- Organising by actionability: projects, areas, resources, archiveSort every note by how soon you will act on it, using four categories that fit any profession and any tool.20 min · worked example · exercise
- Search and tagging strategiesRely on search first, add a small set of deliberate tags where search falls short, and write notes so that they are easy to find.18 min · worked example · exercise
- Avoiding over-organisingSpot the signs that maintaining your system has replaced using it, and apply simple limits that keep organising light.14 min · worked example · exercise
- Module quiz4 questions with explanations
Module 3Write Notes Worth Keeping3 lessons · 56 min
Write notes in your own words, keep each one focused on a single idea, link them so that ideas connect, and summarise in layers so that they are quick to use later.
- Writing notes in your own wordsRewrite what you read and hear in your own words, with your reasoning and the source, so that the note is useful to your future self.18 min · worked example · exercise
- Atomic notes and linkingKeep each note to one idea, give it a title that states the idea, and link related notes so that you can follow and combine them later.20 min · worked example · exercise
- Progressive summarisationSummarise notes in layers, only when you use them, so that the key points of any important note can be reviewed in seconds.18 min · worked example · exercise
- Module quiz4 questions with explanations
Module 4Turn Notes into Work3 lessons · 1h
Use your notes to produce drafts, decisions and presentations, keep the system healthy with a 30-minute weekly review, and choose a tool you can keep for years.
- Turning notes into drafts, decisions and presentationsAssemble existing notes into a first draft, a decision record or a presentation outline, so that you rarely start from a blank page.22 min · worked example · exercise
- The weekly reviewSpend 30 minutes a week emptying your inboxes, updating projects and choosing what to work on, so that you can trust the system.18 min · worked example · exercise
- Choosing a tool you can keepJudge notes tools on export and portability, search, sync, privacy and cost, and switch tools only for a clear reason.20 min · worked example · exercise
- Module quiz4 questions with explanations
