The Problem With Note-Taking
The Problem With Note-Taking
Section titled “The Problem With Note-Taking”
Metadata
Section titled “Metadata”- Author: Lawrence Yeo
- Full Title: The Problem With Note-Taking
- Category: #articles
- URL: https://moretothat.com/the-problem-with-note-taking
Highlights
Section titled “Highlights”- But fundamentally, note-taking is our attempt to transition the present moment to an imagined, future self. Whenever you take a note, you are giving yourself permission to let go of a piece of information so it could one day be accessible in the future. In other words, you’re trading the present moment for future utility.
- I’m reminded of this dynamic whenever I’m hanging out with my daughter and she does something super adorable. On one hand, I’m simply ecstatic to be a part of the moment. On the other, I feel compelled to take out my phone and record it so I can revisit the moment over and over again.
If I do indeed take out my phone, a paradox emerges. Yes, I’ll have an artifact that I can continuously revisit, but the poignancy of the present moment diminishes. I’m no longer experiencing the moment with my fullest attention; rather, my focus is on how well I’m capturing it for my future self.
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- In the same way that recording the present moment diminishes presence, capturing a flow of information diminishes resonance. A person with thousands of notes views information primarily for its utility, and not for how it moved them when they first came across it.
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- I recognize the importance of note-taking as well. Unsurprisingly, I do it too. But at the same time, I don’t rely on my notes to remind me of what I want to write about or reflect on. My mind is already fine-tuned to be aware of the things that pique my curiosity, and my intuition is what cultivates my sense of style.