What's the Best Way to Write Notes?  

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My notes/conclusions from this: 1) Minimum viable notes: In lectures, you should write/draw as little as necessary such that you have all of the concepts and crucial details noted but you're also letting your brain do some of the heavy lifting too (by asking questions, critically thinking during the lecture, interacting etc.) 2) Structuring stage: When processing and refining your notes, you work from your domain of knowledge (your schema level) such that all the structures, concept groups and notes written/drawn down are intuitive and drop dead obvious. 3) Relationships between concepts: Zettlekasten is amazing for being creative and having insights into how your domain of knowledge can be used but for the purpose of exams, you don't want everything linked together. Thus, critically think about which relationships have utility, prioritise them, and fully represent what that relationship is in your notes (as opposed to just an arrow, for example). 4) Free-hand intuitive diagrams is king 5) See your learning progression by testing yourself with difficult questions 5a) With difficult questions, pick out the conceptual variables and change them around, switch them out to see how that affects the way you answer that question and it's difficulty. 6) Emotion has a close link with your knowledge. If you are being tested but don't feel confident, it doesn't matter because there can a lack of intuitiveness with the information or a logical gap, we can't know for sure. On the other hand, if you did feel confident but you got a question wrong, the information was intuitive but there was simply a piece of information, perspective or logical link that you missed that you need to look over and fix.

Notes should be intuitive- easier to predict what the next info should be - Notes should not be linear - create meaningful relationships (place info relations in a specific order using infinite canvas) - Think about multiple relationships. For eg. How is C linked with B and if C is removed - how will it effect B?

“Knowledge is nonlinear and it’s relational inherently so everything will end up being related to everything “-dr Justin sign This is making so much sense it explains why I wasn’t able to get into notion or obsidian when trying to use it for making connections that I wanted to remember . Those things work for what you don’t want to remember and want to offload the relations eg HR management schedules etc. glad I could relieve myself of this worry lol.

The secret to a GOOD note taking habit is anchoring what you have learned to your own subjective reality.

Wow I can't believe this 😂 I watched their videos the day before about studying too and I was like "it would be cool if they collaborated with Justin Sung" and this happened 😱

How do you take notes? Who's switching from typed to freehand here? Let me know down below 👇

I have not had an English class in almost 9 years and I still think he gave a better explanation on how to analyze a book than any of my English teachers

The thing you said about intuitive and logical spoke what i couldn't say. I realized I've been relying on the lectures prof give us and not making relationships or making it logical. I will practice this thing from now on. Thanks for that. 谢谢

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 📚 Note-taking aligns information with thinking processes. 01:07 🧠 Good notes reduce mental load and deepen thinking. 02:14 📝 Balance note quantity for effective learning. 03:52 🧠 Higher-order thinking connects concepts. 06:11 🧩 Prioritize meaningful information grouping. 09:35 🖋️ Freehand note-taking aids thought representation. 13:08 💻 Engage higher-level thinking when typing notes. 15:42 👣 Transition consciously to freehand for deeper learning. 17:02 🔍 Evaluate notes for retention and comfort. 20:21 📚 Quality notes blend comfort and manipulation. 21:01 🧐 Gaps in confident answers indicate understanding gaps. 21:42 📚 Overconfidence can lead to missed perspectives. 21:56 🕵️‍♂️ Lack of perspective despite confidence shows thinking gap. 22:38 🤯 Thinking methods are transferable across concepts. 23:05 🔍 Testing reveals thinking methods, not just answers. 23:19 🧩 Missing variables can result from poor information structure. 23:46 🧠 Logical thinking aids in avoiding missing perspectives. Made with HARPA AI

Very helpful tips! I struggle a lot with notetaking, especially in chem classes. I am physically disabled and cannot hold a writing utensil to take notes. I used to love handwriting my notes and it seemed so much more effective. Now, I am going through any software I can try to hopefully recreate that feeling.

This was so mind opening! I’m starting school soon after an 6/7yr break. I’m going to watch all of Justin’s videos before I start. This type of thinking and knowledge is exactly what I’ve seen searching for.

I'm trying to help my sibling learn how to take notes in classes that are not standard - I'm already convinced Sung has got this down to the core of learning process and recall, and that it can work for what I need. I'm going to be sticking around here.

I watch everything from you two😊 For academic research and writing, i use excell sheets; it allows me to see 20 papers summerised and in chronological order on one screen. This helps me connect the time and thought processes behind randomised studies. I cannot read my handwriting😅 Every mindmap i make endsup un-reviewable. Thank you for these advices.

Ahhh my two favourite channels!!! I was so excited I've never clicked on a video faster in my life.

Thoughts while watching: What does learning a new class mean? pass the test, depth of understanding, applying to practice... Who decideds what is unneccesary? what does deeper processing mean? - what is processing? bypass learning or consumption of information? Higher order learning is what in practice? Obvious doesn't mean correct, so how do you know what grouping is accurate relative to the question? Writing helps with a process - how do you know if it is or isn't helping? Purposesless for how to take notes - agreed! Relational apps - why pick Notion 😆Obsidian, Remnote, Logseq, Roam.... more words less understanding - if the note taker isn't aware of affordances and constraints of their knowledge why move from typing to handwriting? why not improve their ability to capture information (become a better notetaker) feedback awareness from parctice - seems like that could apply to handwritten or typed notetaking retrieval practice YES not active recall... higher level of learning - or deeper understanding? confidence conversations seems to be shallow overlooking metaignorance Great conversation, would love to have been in that call 😆

Also I’ve been waiting for this collab Since the hints dropped! Loved it

Great conversation! Love this. So many gems.

Justin I was quite critical of your last video. I think you are more articulate and convincing here. The idea that your training should reflect the exam. I totally agree. At uni I only took a few notes and got a first. I was doing all your techniques without realizing. Now I am a teacher which is the most fantastic way to learn anything and I will be starting my 7 year olds with some note taking skills soon. To me, learning is about making the connections in our knowledge meaningful to us as individuals. The more intense the experience the better the learning. Thr experience can be artificially augmented through effective note taking. So notetaking should be experiential or noteworthy! Haha! So thats what that means. In theory one could make an exam that simply tested a kids knowledge by making them map out their knowledge of thr subject and then assessing the notes!

Your videos are a gem, thank you Justin!

11:06 "... if you are typing something verbatim..." - agreed. But one could also paraphrase (taking typed notes) which slows down the process as well. I'm thinking of a combination of taking typed, paraphrased notes with embedded relational links, flash cards (along with other cognitive & social strategies), a knowledge graph, multimodal references from audio, video, & images (as inputs), and multimodal notes (also audio, video, & images) (as outputs) collectively would contribute to one's ability to recall information, IMHO.

I'll definitely be watching your Ted talk Justin, keep up the incredible content, I find any video you make helpful, regardless of whether they're long or short. Take my sub hahahaa

I love you two and both of you guys helped my studying a lot!

lol, I love the "Just record it with a voice recorder". Totally! I've started really thinking about why am I writing things down. Even by hand, why? I'm either writing things down because I don't want to remember it, or I'm trying consolidate all the info I just heard and picking out the important bits ( but that happens after the lecture or meeting).

hey guys, ever since i've started watching you guys, I've got to say, I feel like I've improved on learning but note-taking overall is still a hard skill to acquire but I'm trying my best :)

Honestly, an ipad with the app concepts saved me so much time in uni compared to just plain paper, when you're in a lec or just sitting at your study desk, you can easily hop between notes to fill in gaps that clicked for you as a light bulb moment and you don't have to search around for where you left the paper. You can also easily move and drag around everything and delete stuff to almost perfectly represent how your mind is thinking but on paper.

Good video. It became natural to me to think in ways that consider as many perspectives or factors. Its cool to find out that is a way of thinking that helps with learning. Makes sense, because its like wanting to be right about something so to test the logic against various situations will lead towards being sure of it.

I take hand-writtent notes, because it is a way of kinesthetic learning. And dont forget that writing has a good therapeutic effect, it calms you down and helps you get more immersed in studying. It almost becomes a ritual

15:10 15:55 #1 start with typed note-taking (while you think critically about the information); don't transcribe, apply higher-order thinking #2 start framing concepts on a piece of paper.

I think a combo of both is great. I use RemNote to make flash cards so I kinda have to take my notes digitally, plus some teachers just go too fast for me to have time to make the meaningful connections. Plus I am in computer engineering so writing code by hand is horrible. I’ve found that taking my notes in RemNote during class ends up more linear, but I have the added bonus of flash cards. I then convert those notes to handwritten notes to make the connections rather than writing actual definitions or processes. It works for studying and you have both the understanding and the remembering part

Genial, me encantas ambos!!! muchas gracias por compartir 🙌🤩

I could listen to Justin all day!

Always support you guys !!!

Justin I have a question...Can u pls explain a complete step by step approach and how to know milestones you've reached...it will be very very helpful

ever since I’ve started learning like you advise I’ve started to burn so much more energy and I keep having to eat so much more and its so hard to keep up. I end up being able to learn so much more effectively and I’ve been performing so well in school so it’s worth it.

Hey Justin! Your videos are so interesting. I have been intrigued by them lately and have been thinking about how to apply some of your techniques. One thing I realise though is that some of these concepts seem kind of difficult to apply in the context of language learning. So for example, trying to memorise words or grammatical concepts. These seem to rely more upon just pure rote memorization than anything else. Is that true or is there something I am missing? I have been trying to find whether you perhaps did a video on this at some stage, but no luck yet, so thought it's maybe better to ask. Anyway, thanks for the amazing content!

great video enjoyed listeninging to it while solving questions

감사합니다 선생님들

My most favourite 2 study coaches ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

A great alternative to concepts is nebo! They have notes (infinite canvas) and documents (structured document) with excellent handwriting recognition. I prefer it because as you mention concepts is over featured and for me too difficult and distracting. Another free app that came with the new IPad OS 16.1 is Freeform.

I think we need a deep dive on the discussion regarding intuitive and logical. That is a really interesting perspective and I think you haven't homed in on your point on that here. I feel like you want to say more. Great discussion. 👍

Note-taking is a popular trend, especially with school starting up again. Good note-taking should achieve two objectives: documenting information and facilitating cognitive processes. Note-taking allows you to offload unnecessary mental load so you can focus on deeper thinking. Linear note-taking is ineffective and limits learning. Freehand note-taking is better than typing because it forces you to be stricter with what you write and helps with retention. Transitioning from typing to freehand can be challenging but can be done by starting with keywords and ideas. Confidence and comfort with the information are indicators of good note-taking. Testing yourself with challenging questions and focusing on confidence rather than correctness can help improve note-taking. Confidence can reveal gaps in your knowledge and perspectives. Making information intuitive helps with retention, while making it logical helps with accuracy.

Interesting conversation and very good questions

12:05 Looking forward to apple freeform, seems like the features will align with concepts that has infinite canvas, and you won’t have to pay extra

The exact video i needed wow

This collaboration 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

I love the both of you. One day, I will meet you guys.

I found out about Justin from Kajun Koi and now I'm an ICanStudy student under him

Wow!! this video is amazing you guys hit all the questions I been having such a hard time with. My problem is not being able to retain loads of information quickly enough when listening to lecture which forces me to take a bunch of notes. How can I improve my memory load when listening to lecture so that I can rely less on a bunch of note taking?It’s hard to process the information especially new ones where you have no idea how to organize thoughts while taking on new information without some background knowledge ? Or most importantly how to mind map during a lecture??

Awesome video!

Wondering what the iCanStudy program looks like once you join? Want to know if it’s right for you? Join our next free demo webinar to take control of your learning bit.ly/49Zz8Is

Pen to paper all day everyday. Not even an Apple Pen can duplicate. Active learning. Interesting enough my mind tracked what I wrote esp during an exam.

Personally I use Freeform from Apple that was released a few months after this video. It also has infinite canvas and is shared across all your Apple devices if you're in that ecosystem. Concepts doesn't have a macOS version.

Hey, two questions: 1. how do you organize your canvases created in concepts? 2. have you looked into Obsidian since they added canvas? It is not as free as concepts, but I used the canvas in Obsidian to organize screenshots of my canvases from concepts.

great tips, i freehand lately

Surely notes are there to sure up your auditory memory of the lecture or learning session and to make sure you recall the differences you make and allow better cues for the mental visual processes that you experience in a lecture say about the heart beat and each or the distribution of solar energy. I'm dyslexic so might experience this differently from some. But I never quite got the point of copying off the board in your 'neatest hand writing ' to learn things about history or wild life. Ended up having to copy done else's notes as copying from over heads or black boards impossible any way. Not being able to copy lecturers or teachers notes verbatim doesn't stop learning! Remembering the pictures in your head of what Mary Queen if Scots did or how the lungs work from a description is far easier than copying any way! Always incorporate your own thoughts and images although it can make you feel you are going to miss something if everybody else us apparently copying verbatim,

Hi Justin, Just a question regarding notetaking for Law School. Since, law school deals with a lot of words and rules, what is your recommendation for taking notes for subjects in law school with a lot of pages and words to deal with. Your response is higly appreciated.

What is your opinion on annotate on top of lecture slides. I find this allow me to make these connections while remaining more focused on my professor

very good video

I have always learned, I would guess, by reverse GANTT CHART. Like how does this new info build on the main idea? Like Justin Sung said, it helps me make it intuitive and logical. FASCINATING!!! Below is me learning Spanish from the viewpoint of an insider (native) and as an outsider (pretend outsider to get that objective view): I am no expert in any field. However, I graduated from an associate degree in construction management. I have always fantasized about starting a RU-vid channel where you learn business level Spanish with a funny combination of Roman style, "[M]ens sana in corpore sano," and a Mr Miyagi twist, "sound the sign, sound the floor!" Anyway, I have learned or realized language is like anything else, especially math, where you build from virgin untouched land to a beautiful structure over time. It is always over a stretch of time. It is a managed project. It requires the basic 3: time, resources, and a budget. You see, a building requires: 1. geologically sound ground (mind), 2. equipment (pencils, pens, books, notebooks, computers, etc.), 3. labor (AKA, you), 4. type of "structure" being envisioned to be built (any building, calculus, Spanish, English, arithmetic, German, Japanese, multiplying, division, medicine, etc.) 5. Plans 6. Permit (u can do this if you want to, if you allow yourself, if you simply come to the realization that all it takes is desire to want to do it and stick with the project to forever be learning as lifelong project) 6. How? REVERSE GANTT CHART 7. Components of this language and the interrelations of each one and which one to tackle first that will sinergize the next component For example: -realizing Castillian Spanish(Spain has more than one language) is a mix of Latin, Greek, and Arabic. -like the FBI creates a behavioral profile of the mind behind a criminal, so must you ask all the W's (who, what, when, where, why). Why refers to the significance of what is being learned in relation to whatever matters to you, to the world, whatever... -why does Spanish behave the way it does in relation to, let's say, English (look up Wikipedia and search, "Spanish language."). Why is it, EMBARRASS & EMBARAZAR come from Italy etymologically but have different meanings. 8. Pareto principle-the famous 80-20 rule to establish a schedule of tasks to be completed to more efficiently achieve your goal faster and not slower. Example of activities to complete, but in what order? Good! Now we are engaged: 1. Behavioral Profile 2. Make yourself a promise that everything you learn you will start applying right away. Ask why this and why that? How this and how can this be like this and not that? Who? What? When? Where? Why? -Make a game of what you learn. Make a silly song. Dance to it. -Shopping? Make a list in Spanish and use it often. -Have you ever looked at the chemical periodical table and wondered why is it that way? It uses a lot of Latin. How can I remember all that? AU=aurum or ORO in Spanish. AG=argentum, just Argentina because it has a lot of silver or plata in Spanish. Medical terms -stomach is estomago in Spanish but vientre is the formal term. Can't seem to distinguish ventral vs dorsal. Now you can! In conclusion, get technical in learning, be like a robot at first, get physical, get creative like an artist and use it like a mad person until you push it to an ARTFORM! PLUS ULTRA!!!! 3. Basics- alphabet and how they sound out individually and creating different kinds of syllables and when are accents (tildes) applied and learning how they affect pronunciation and MEANING as well! 4. leave verb conjugations for later and concentrate on very simple tenses at first. 5. Use your mind like an infinite canvas, like AutoCAD, like a 3 dimensional view of how it is coming together. Does it look right? Does it makes sense? Can you mentally create variables? Colors? Texture? Height? Depth? Width? Can you see real world applications so far? Keep pushing! Can you PERCEIVE it from ANY angle? Then, any question your client (AKA, teacher) can come up with, you WILL be able TO ANSWER!!!! 6. Build up from the ground, see the foundations, walls, framing of supporting structures, roof, enclosure of building envelop, how you enter and exit, can you see it? Then go with Sancho Panza and kill that DRAGON!!! 7. AND MORE! I AM DONE. I need to sleep...😂😂

I feel as though when I notes sometimes all I can do is take digital notes. Sometimes the professor speaks fast and such information is on the exam so you really can’t process it because you will miss it if you don’t write it down therefore it’s better if you process some things later. The professors that I work with either lack PowerPoints and sometimes don’t post lecture videos either. Even worse the info in class may not even be in the textbook.

How does cause-effect analysis fit into deep processing?

Appealing to the lateral thinking modality of a variety of learning styles whether it be a myth or not, I just have to ask the question about those who are more inclined to think visually if their note taking influenced their ability to visualize words more vividly in a way which sort of corresponds with synesthaesia but a bit more mediocre?

Can you share a link to your paper you mentioned? I've been looking forward to reading it since the first time you mentioned you were going to write it! I can't believe I missed when it was released! Also great Collab! I want to attempt the dabbling idea of having a sheet of paper on the side to make connections before I leap ;)

Well, how do you take notes if you have dyslexia In accounting in the mind mapping work, or the sketch note taking

Where can I watch the full video?

I'm watching these videos to help me find a faster way to learn and retain ECG stuff. I wrote out several notes but I am not going back to reread them. It is a lot. What is the best way to learn this?

cajun koi and justin on the same video😍

when i do mind Maps i get a very good understanding and i see the applications of the information and i remeber a lot!!! However when I get a very detailed question (like which enyzme convert isocitrare to alfa ketoglutarate in the citric acid cycle?) it gets harder. How detailed are your’e mind maps? Do you write down all the nitty gritty detalis in your mind maps? Or what do you do with all the detalis? Could you also do a video of how you revise content? How often? What do you do?

two best brain mentor

Don't understand medical terms not following that. But I will take what I can use in Accounting.

The other guy's energy level is off the charts

I wish i had seen this video when i was 5 years old!!!!!!

Can u explain Wht does it mean taking hands free test

Notes for self: The goal of note-taking is to help you better structure the information in your head so you can more easily recover it later. Notes should strive to be both intuitive and logical, meaning there is a step there that requires understading what you are doing well enough so the next step comes naturally. It helps to take notes in a relational way because it forces you to think about the information in a more critical way (it's also easier to remember something that is related to something else than something that is isolated). Notes should be as short as possible to force you to summarize the content being consumed. Free-hand is preferred because it allows you to deal with relational data more fluidly. The shorter the notes are, the better is the comprehension and retention because you are not just mindlessly copying and pasting information, you are analysing it, and that forces you to engage with it. It seems the bottom line of note-taking is to FORCE you to think.

You should write a book..that would be great

Three things to change if I were to go back to school: 1) Mind maps (connecting branches and processes around topics and subtopics) 2) ALL office hours meetings (want to or not, I'll learn something new every time) 3) Asking in group chat to meet over assignments/exams in person or on video to help explain material (leaving no stone unturned) Best part? I could do whatever I want with my time so time management would be the very least of my worries

Do you mean we cannot make few mistakes comparing to whole knowledge? Thanks,

Really curious as to what Justin thinks of pseudoscientific theories regarding cognitive process of individuals: wheter he discards them of considers they have some merits.

Good.

I have an issue, I studied my business economics degree in third language,swedish which I learnt 3 years ago. I passed all my courses even thesis. Except I failed one course 5 times managerial accounting. I know knowledge, info and perception of the subject. In the exam, afterward I realized I dont percieve the exam written sentences as they are meant to be

How many of you'll are addicted to Justin videos, i am

I like these videos , but, I still feel they have fairly limited application to learning a foreign language from scratch , which I why I keep watching from time to time. Especially when a different alphabet is involved , it actually is important to be linear, left to right , down the page, to put things in a logical order, to have ideas that aren't jibberish, to attempt to make sentences that a native speaker could comprehend. I wish one of these videos would explore this topic.

Note "retrieval" from your PKM is *much* *much* more important than "taking" cognitive- and thought- process in writing. Hardly any "experts" look at this element - note retrieval!

are tablet good for note taking? and if so why ?

Is Obsidian or Notion a good tool to connect these notes in order to learn better in the long term?

can someone translate what he say and say and make it simple and with few words ?

The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way... Proverbs 14:8

didn't see this coming

When you said "Facilitating the right cognitive process, because your brain can only take so much. Note-taking should offset the unnecessary load so your brain can focus on the important for creating good learning." So my question is, What are those unnecessary load? (Guessing that those are the why's)

How do we master organic chemistry 😩😩

Never had a studying technique to begin with so I don’t have to unlearn anything lmao

Wait so using RemNote to study is a waist of time? What do I do instead?

13:20

The overwhelming, confusion state is normal I have experienced it now

Is taking notes necessary?

I am autistic and was shown to type in 3rd grade...how can I do this for success.

Examiners use deep level thinking to create exams 19:22

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 📚 *Note-taking is a popular trend, especially with the start of the school season.* 00:39 💡 *Note-taking is more about aligning your thoughts with what you write down rather than following a rigid technique.* 01:21 🎯 *Effective note-taking aims to document information for later review and facilitate cognitive processes.* 01:59 🧠 *Note-taking helps manage cognitive load, allowing the brain to focus on deeper learning.* 03:38 🤔 *Higher order thinking in note-taking involves comparing ideas, finding similarities and differences, and categorizing information intuitively.* 07:35 ⚠️ *Linear note-taking is limited as knowledge is inherently non-linear.* 08:59 🖊️ *Handwritten notes are generally preferred over typed ones for deeper engagement and understanding.* 11:30 📱 *Using a stylus and infinite canvas for note-taking can more accurately reflect thought processes.* 14:05 🚀 *Transitioning from typed to handwritten notes can enhance learning quality, though it may require guidance or self-motivation.* 17:02 🎓 *Identifying the point of frustration with typed notes can motivate a shift towards more effective note-taking methods.* 17:44 🔄 *Recognizing success in note-taking can be challenging for beginners without seeing results or receiving feedback.* 18:12 🧠 *Improved retention, confidence, and fluidity in handling information indicate effective note-taking.* 18:56 📝 *Engaging in retrieval practice with challenging questions can test higher levels of learning and preparedness for exams.* 20:06 🎓 *Mastery in note-taking is shown by the ability to integrate knowledge and handle complex, variable-driven questions.* 21:01 ✔️ *Confidence in answering questions is a more significant indicator of knowledge than merely getting answers right.* 22:11 🤔 *Missing perspectives or variables in an answer suggests a need to rethink and deepen understanding of the topic.* 23:19 🧐 *Identifying gaps in logical or intuitive connections within notes can highlight areas for improvementin understanding and memory retention.* Made with HARPA AI

It won't be possible to note down or draw every thing you think in a lecture anyway unless your capable if slowingbyour brain down I.e. are a sen master. Pericardium vs plura