What are process notes

Until now, writing techniques have been taught without regard to the overall workflow. This book will provide you with the note-taking tools that turned the brewer's son into one of the most productive and respected sociologists of the 20th century. It describes how he incorporated notes into his work so he could honestly say, “I never force myself to do anything I don’t feel like doing. Whenever I get stuck, I switch to something else." A good system allows you to seamlessly transition from one task to another without compromising the organization of the entire process or losing sight of the big picture. nine0003

A good system is something you can rely on. It relieves you of the burden of remembering and keeping track of everything and everything. If you trust the system, you can stop trying to keep everything in your head and focus on what really matters: content, arguments, and ideas. By breaking down an abstract task like “writing an article” into small and clearly separated subtasks, you can focus on one thing, get it done in one sitting, and move on to the next one. A good system provides a certain state in which you are so immersed in your work that you lose track of time and do not even notice that you have stopped making any effort. Something like this does not happen by itself. nine0003

As students, researchers, and nonfiction writers, we have much more freedom than others to choose how we want to spend our time. However, we are often the ones most prone to procrastination and motivation problems. The fault, of course, is not the lack of interesting topics, but the use of unsuccessful tools that confuse us instead of directing the process in the right direction. A good structured workflow gets us back on track and empowers us to do the right thing at the right time. nine0003

Having a clear system to work with is completely different from just planning. When you make a plan, you impose a system on yourself - this deprives you of flexibility. To keep going according to plan, you have to push yourself and use willpower. This is not only demotivating, but it is also not suitable for an open and unpredictable process, such as research, thinking or learning in general. In them, we must adjust the next steps with each new idea, insight or achievement, which ideally appears regularly, and not as an exception. While planning often goes against the very idea of ​​research and learning, this is the mantra of most academic writing textbooks and books. nine0003

How can you plan for a moment of insight that, by definition, cannot be foreseen? It is completely wrong to believe that the only alternative to planning is aimless doing nothing. The challenge is to structure the workflow in a way that allows sudden ideas and moments of inspiration to become the driving force that pushes us forward. We do not need to make ourselves dependent on a plan that fears such surprises.

Unfortunately, even universities try to turn students into planners. Of course, a good plan will help you succeed in your exams if you stick to it. But this does not make you an expert in the art of cognition / writing / note-taking (see 1.3 for research on this topic). Planners are also unlikely to continue their studies after completing their exams. They'd rather be glad it's over. But experts would not even think of voluntarily giving up what has become useful and exciting: learning in a way that develops insight, inventing and accumulating new ideas. The fact that you have purchased this book tells me that you want to be an expert rather than a planner. nine0003

And if you're a student who wants to learn how to write well, chances are you already set high goals for yourself, because usually the best students suffer the most. They fight for a long time with their own proposals, because it is important for them to find the exact expression. They need more time to find a good idea to write about because they know from experience that the first thought is rarely the best and topics don't just fall into their hands.

They spend more time in the library to become more familiar with the literature, they read more, which means they have to manipulate more information. Reading more does not automatically mean having more ideas, especially at the beginning. It just means you'll have even fewer ideas to work with because you know others have already thought of most of them. nine0003

Good students also look beyond the obvious. They peek out from behind the boundaries of their subject - and once they do, they can no longer go back and do the same thing that everyone else is doing. And even if now they have to deal with the most heterogeneous ideas, there are no instructions on how to connect them with each other. All this means that some kind of system is needed to keep track of the ever-increasing amount of information that will allow you to intelligently combine different ideas in order to generate new ones. nine0003

Weak students have none of these problems. As long as they stick to the boundaries of their subject and read only as much as they are told (or less), no serious external system is required, and writing can be done by adhering to the usual formulas "how to write a scientific paper." In fact, weak learners often feel more successful (until they get to the real test) because they rarely doubt themselves. In psychology, this is called the Dunning-Kruger effect.

Weak students lack understanding of their own limitations - for this they would need to learn about the vast amount of knowledge that they do not have in order to see how little they know. This means that those who are not very good at something tend to be overconfident, while those who put in some effort tend to underestimate their abilities. It is also not difficult for weak students to find a topic to write about: they do not doubt their opinion and are sure that they have everything under control. They will also have no problem finding evidence in the literature, as they usually lack the interest and skills to find and work with disproving facts. nine0003

On the other hand, good students constantly raise the bar by focusing on what they haven't learned yet and what they haven't mastered yet. This is why successful people who have achieved a vast amount of knowledge can suffer from what psychologists call the impostor syndrome - the feeling that you are not doing a job when it is quite the opposite [14, 24]. This book is for you good students, ambitious scientists, and curious non-fiction writers who understand that inspiration doesn't come easily and that writing is not only a vehicle for expressing an opinion, but also a major tool for achieving knowledge worth sharing. nine0003

Good solutions are simple and unexpected

There is no need to create a complex system and reorganize what you already have. You can start working and developing ideas right now by making useful notes.

However, it's all about complexity. Even if your goal is not to develop a grand theory, but simply to keep track of what you read, organize your notes and be able to develop thoughts, you will have to deal with more and more complex content, especially since we will not just be talking about collecting thoughts. but about establishing a system of connections that would ignite all new ideas. Most people try to make things easier by sorting what they have into smaller piles, stacks, or individual folders. They organize their notes into topics and subtopics, and now the notes look less complicated, but at the same time become very confusing. In addition, it reduces the likelihood of building and discovering unexpected relationships between the notes themselves, and this already means a trade-off between usability and usefulness. nine0003

Fortunately, we don't have to choose between usability and usefulness. On the contrary, the best way to deal with complexity is to keep things as simple as possible and follow a few basic principles. The simplicity of the system allows us to create complexity where we want it: at the level of content. There is a fairly extensive empirical and scientific study of this phenomenon. Taking useful notes is as easy as it gets.

Another piece of good news is how much time and effort you have to put into getting started. Although you will significantly change the way you read, take notes, and write, it will take almost no time to prepare (other than understanding the principle and installing one or two programs if you are going to act digitally). This is not about redoing everything you did before, but about what will change in work from now on. In fact, there is no need to reorganize what is already there. It’s just that now you will begin to approach things differently that you would have done anyway. nine0003

And some more good news. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. It is enough to combine two well-known and proven ideas. This book is based on the first idea, the simple note box technique. I will explain the principle of this system in the next chapter and show how it can be applied in everyday life. Fortunately, the applications and programs we need for all major operating systems already exist, but you can use pen and paper if you wish. In terms of performance and simplicity, you still easily outperform those who take not-very-useful notes. nine0003

The second idea is equally important. Even the best tool won't improve your productivity if you don't change the daily routine that the tool is built into, just like the fastest car can't help you if there aren't roads to suit it. Like any change in behavior, changing work habits means going through a phase where you will be drawn to old habits. At first, the new way of working may seem artificial and very different from what you would intuitively do. This is fine. But once you get into the habit of taking helpful notes, it becomes so natural that you'll wonder how you could have done it differently before. Routine operations require simple, repeatable tasks that can be automated and fit together like puzzle pieces. When this becomes part of an overarching and interconnected process that eliminates dangerous spots, only then can significant change occur (which is why none of the typical "10 Mind-blowing Tools to Boost Your Productivity" that you can find on the Internet will ever work). nine0003

The importance of a shared workflow is a great idea from David Allen's Getting Things Done. Few serious knowledge workers have not heard of the David Allen Principle, and for good reason: it works. It is about gathering everything that needs to be done in one place and dealing with it in one standard way. We don't necessarily have to actually do everything we've ever set out to do in one go, but this method forces us to make clear choices and check regularly to see if our tasks fit into the big picture. Only if we know that we have put everything in order, from the important to the mundane, can we stop thinking about them and focus on what is right in front of us. Only if nothing dangles in our working memory and takes away valuable mental resources can we experience what Allen calls "mind like water" - a state in which focusing on exactly the work that you are doing now does not distracted by unnecessary thoughts. The principle is simple, but holistic. It's not a quick fix just to patch things up, it's not a loud but empty name. nine0003

This principle does not work for you. But it does provide a system for day-to-day work that helps deal with the fact that most distractions come not so much from our environment as from our own minds.

Unfortunately, David Allen's technique cannot simply be transferred to useful notes. The first reason is that his principle rests on well-defined ends, while ideas cannot be such in principle. We usually start with rather vague ideas that are destined to change and become clearer as we explore. Therefore, writing aimed at generating an idea should be organized much more flexibly. Another reason is that the Allen principle requires projects to be broken down into small, specific “next steps.” Of course, whether you write down a thought that suddenly came to you or write a scientific work, you also go through a number of stages, but most often they are too small to be worth fixing (search for a footnote, reread a chapter, write a paragraph), or too grandiose to be able to finish in one go. In addition, it is difficult to predict what step to take next. You may have noticed a footnote that needs to be checked. You are trying to understand a paragraph and you need to dig into books for clarification. You take a note, go back to reading, and then jump up and down to write down the sentence that suddenly formed in your head. nine0003

Writing is not a linear process. We constantly have to switch between different tasks. It is pointless to try to manage yourself at this level. If we look at this process more broadly, that doesn't help either, because then you move on to the next steps, such as "write the page." This does not help at all to figure out what needs to be done to write a page. Often this is a whole set of other actions that can take an hour or a month. And you have to navigate mainly by eye. These are probably the reasons why Allen's principle has never been widely accepted in scientific circles, although it is very successful in business and enjoys a good reputation among businessmen. nine0003

We can learn from Allen's book an important insight that the secret to successful organization lies in a holistic perspective. Every thing needs to be taken care of, otherwise, neglected and forgotten, they will draw energy from you until they suddenly become urgent and you take care of them. Even the best tools won't make much difference if used in isolation. Tools can only show their strengths if they are built into a well-designed workflow. And what's the point of them if they don't fit together? nine0003

When it comes to the writing process, everything from information retrieval to proofreading is intimately connected. All small steps should follow each other in such a way that you can seamlessly move from one task to another, but at the same time remain independent enough to be able to flexibly change what needs to be done in a particular situation. And this is another David Allen concept: if you trust your system, only if you really know that everything will go smoothly, your brain will relax and allow you to focus on the current task. nine0003

That's why we need a system as comprehensive as Allen's, but one that is suitable for such a flexible process of writing, learning and thinking. And here the note box will help us.

Note box

Sixties somewhere in Germany. Among the employees of the German administration is the son of a brewer. His name is Niklas Luhmann. He went to law school but decided to become a civil servant because he didn't like the idea of ​​working for several clients at once. Fully aware that he is not suitable for a career in administration, as it requires interaction with a large number of people, every day after the work shift from nine to five, Luman goes home and does what he really likes: reading and devoting himself to his various interests in philosophy, organization theory and sociology. Every time he came across something particularly interesting or had an idea about what he had read, he made a note. Now many people read in the evenings and do something interesting, and some even take notes. But for very few people this path will lead to the same unusual result that Luhmann came to. nine0003

For a while, Luhmann collected notes in the same manner that most people do: writing in the margins or arranging them by topic. And then he realized that this was going nowhere, so he turned the organization of the notes on its head. Instead of adding notes to pre-existing categories or related texts, he wrote each note on a separate little piece of paper, put a number in the corner, and collected them all in one place: a note box.

Luhmann soon developed new categories for these notes. He realized that one idea, one note is as valuable as its context, but it is not necessarily the one from which it is taken. So Luhmann began to think about how one idea could relate to different contexts and contribute to their development. Simply accumulating notes in one place would not lead to anything, so he began to collect his notes in a certain way. The box became his dialogue partner, main idea generator, and productivity engine. This helped him structure and develop his thoughts. And the box was interesting to work with - because it really worked. nine0003

And brought Luhmann to the scientific world. One day he compiled some of his thoughts into a manuscript and handed it over to Helmut Schelsky, one of Germany's most influential sociologists. Shchelsky took the manuscript home, read what an outsider of the scientific world had written, and contacted Luhmann. He invited him to become a professor of sociology at the newly founded Bielefeld University. As attractive and prestigious as this position was, Luhmann was not a sociologist. He did not even have the formal qualifications to become an assistant professor of sociology in Germany. He did not go through the process of obtaining habilitation, the highest academic qualification in many European countries (a degree that follows a doctoral degree. - Approx. Per.), which consists in preparing a second post-doctoral scientific qualification work. He did not have a doctorate or even a degree in sociology. Most people would take this offer as a very flattering compliment, but they would not be able to accept it and continue to live their lives. nine0003

But not Luhmann. He returned to his box and with its help, in less than a year, achieved all the necessary conditions. Shortly thereafter, in 1968, he became professor of sociology at the University of Bielefeld, a position he would hold for the rest of his life. In Germany, a professor traditionally begins with a public lecture at which he presents his projects, and when Luhmann was asked what he would devote his research to, his answer became famous all over the world. He succinctly stated: “My project: the theory of society. Duration: 30 years. Costs: nil. In sociology, "theory of society" is the mother of all projects. nine0003

Twenty-nine years later, he completed the last chapter of a two-volume book entitled "The Society of Society" (1997), which shook the scientific community. It was a radical new theory that not only changed sociology, but also sparked heated discussions in philosophy, education, political theory, and psychology. However, not everyone was able to follow these discussions. What Luhmann was doing was extraordinarily complex and touched on a variety of topics at many different levels. The chapters were self-published, each book discussing one social system. He wrote about law, politics, economics, communication, art, education, epistemology, and even love. nine0003

Over 30 years, Luhmann published 58 books and hundreds of articles, not counting translations. Many have become classics in their fields. Even after his death, about half a dozen more books were published on various topics such as religion, education, and politics, written from near-finished manuscripts that lay in his office. I know many colleagues who would give a lot to be as productive during their lifetime as Luhmann after his death.

While some career-oriented scientists try to squeeze as many publications out of one idea as possible, Luhmann seems to be doing the opposite. He constantly generated more ideas than he could write down. His texts read as if he is trying to squeeze as many thoughts and ideas as possible into one post. When asked if he regrets anything in his life, Luhmann replied: “If there is anything I wish it was for me to have more time. The only thing that annoys me is the lack of time.” And while some scientists let their assistants do the bulk of the work, or have a whole team write papers to which they add their names, Luhmann rarely needed help. The last assistant who worked for him sincerely swore that what he was doing was looking for a few typos in his manuscripts. Luhmann's only real help was a housekeeper who cooked for him and his children for a week, which isn't all that unusual considering he had to raise three children on his own after his wife's death. Of course, five hot meals a week does not explain the creation of about 60 important books and countless articles. nine0003

After extensive research into Luhmann's workflow, the German sociologist Johannes F. C. Schmidt concluded that his productivity can only be explained by his unique way of working. This method has never been a secret - Luhmann has always spoken openly about it. He regularly cited a drawer of notes as a source of his productivity. Ever since 1985, his standard response to the question of how someone can be so productive has been, “I certainly don't think of everything myself. Mostly it happens inside the box.” But few people paid due attention to the box of notes and how Luhmann worked with it, dismissing such an explanation as an understatement of genius. nine0003

His productivity is certainly impressive. But what's even more impressive is that he seemed to accomplish all of this with little to no effort. He not only emphasized that he never forced himself to do what he did not want, but even said: “I only do what is easy. I write only when I immediately know how. If I hesitate for a moment, I put the matter aside and do something else."

Until recently, almost no one believed this. We are so used to the idea that it takes a lot of effort to achieve meaningful results that we tend not to believe that simply changing our work schedule can not only make us more productive, but also make our work more fun. But is it really hard to believe that all this impressive volume was made precisely because Luhmann did not force himself to do what he did not want? Even hard work can be enjoyable if it is in line with our inner goals and we feel we are in control. Problems arise when we ourselves set up work in such an inflexible way that we cannot rearrange it when things change, and we get stuck in a process that seems to take on a life of its own. nine0003

The best way to maintain a sense of control is to be in control. And in order not to lose control, it is better to leave options open in the process of writing, and not limit yourself to the original idea. The nature of writing, especially idea-driven writing, is that the questions change and the material we work with starts to be very different from what we imagined, or new ideas come up that can change our view of what we are writing. Only if the work is set up flexible enough to allow for these small constant adjustments can we keep our interest, motivation, and work aligned, which is a prerequisite for working almost effortlessly. nine0003

Luhmann could focus on the important things right in front of him, quickly pick up where he left off, and maintain control of the process because the structure of his work allowed him to do so. If we work in an environment that is flexible enough to accommodate our work rhythm, we don't have to fight resistance. Studies of highly successful people have proven time and time again that success is not the result of strong willpower and the ability to overcome resistance, but rather the result of a smart work environment that avoids resistance in the first place. Instead of fighting against adverse dynamics, high performers dodge resistance like judo champions. It's not just about the right mindset, it's also about the right workflow. It was the way Luhmann worked with the box that allowed him to move freely and flexibly between different tasks and levels of thought. It's about having the right tools and knowing how to use them - and very few realize that you need both. nine0003

People are still looking for Luhmann's "secret", attributing amazing results to his genius, or even thinking they only need his note box. Of course, you need to be smart to be successful in your studies and writing, but if you don't have an external system for thinking and organizing your thoughts, ideas, and collected facts, or if you don't know how to build it into your overall workflow, the damage will be so unimaginable that it is simply impossible to compensate for it with a high IQ. nine0003

When it comes to technology, there is no secret. He has been gone for over three decades. So why doesn't everyone start using note boxes and go straight to success? Because it's too hard? Of course not. It's pretty simple. The reasons are much more prosaic.

1. Until the first results of the Luhmann storage system study were published (and this happened very recently), there were some serious misunderstandings about how it actually worked, and this led to disappointing results for many who tried adopt his system. The main misunderstanding was related to the increased attention to the note box and the lack of attention to how it is built into the workflow. nine0003

2. Almost all publications about the storage system were only available in German and were mostly discussed by a small group of sociologists who specialized in Luhmann's theory of social systems, a group that could attract attention.

3. Perhaps the most important reason is that it is simple. Intuitively, most people don't expect much from simple actions. They believe that impressive results must be achieved by equally impressive means. nine0003

Henry Ford's contemporaries did not understand why something as simple as a conveyor belt was destined to become so revolutionary. What difference does it make whether the machine passes from worker to worker, or whether workers pass from machine to machine? I wouldn't be surprised if some of them even considered Ford to be a simpleton and a little obsessed with such minor changes in the organization of work. The magnitude of the merits of this small change became apparent to everyone only in retrospect. I wonder how long it will be before the advantages of the note box and Luhmann's mode of operation become obvious to everyone. By then everyone will probably take it for granted. Whatever the reasons, the information has seen the light, and I would not be surprised if it quickly spread around the world. nine0003

Note box. Manual

How does the note box work?

Strictly speaking, Luhmann had two of them: the bibliographic one, which contained references and brief notes on the content of the literature, and the main one, in which he collected and generated his ideas, mostly in response to what he read. Entries were made on index cards and kept in wooden boxes.

Whenever he read something, he wrote down the bibliographic information on one side of the card and made brief notes about the content on the other. These entries ended up in a bibliographic box. nine0003

In the second step, Luhmann reviewed the brief notes and thought about their implications in relation to his own reflections and notes. He then turned to the main note box and wrote down his ideas, comments, and thoughts on new pieces of paper, using one for each and limiting himself to one side of the sheet so that they could be read without removing them from the box. He usually kept them short enough to fit one idea on one sheet, but sometimes he added an extra note to develop the thought. nine0003

Luhmann usually wrote his notes based on existing entries in the drawer. And although the notes to the literature were brief, he wrote them with a thoroughness not much different from his style in the final manuscript: in full sentences and with direct references to the literature from which he drew materials. Most often, a new note immediately followed another and became part of a long chain of entries. He then added links to notes somewhere else in the drawer, some close by, others in completely different areas and contexts. Some were directly related and looked more like comments, others contained less obvious connections. Rarely did a note remain isolated. nine0003

Luhmann not only copied ideas or quotations from the texts he read, but also made it possible to move from one context to another. It was very much like a translation in which you use different generalized words suitable for different contexts, but at the same time strive to preserve the original meaning as truthfully as possible. For example, writing in general terms “In this chapter the author tries to justify his method” may be a much more adequate description of the content of this chapter than any quotation from the text itself (this, of course, will require explanation). nine0003

The trick was that he organized his notes not by topic, but rather abstractly, giving them fixed numbers. The numbers had no meaning and were only used to permanently identify each note. If a new note was related to or directly related to an already existing note, such as a comment, correction, or addition, Luhmann put it directly after the previous note. If the existing card had the number 22, the new card would become 23. If 23 already existed, he called the new note 22a. Alternating between numbers and letters, with slashes and commas between them, he could make as many chains of thoughts as he wanted. For example, the note on causality and systems theory was numbered 21/3d7a7 after the note numbered 21/3d7a6. nine0003

Each time he added a note, Luhmann checked his inbox for other relevant notes to see if there were any links between them. Adding a note directly after another is just one way to do this. Another way is to add a link to this and / or other note, which can be located anywhere in the system. Of course, this is very similar to how we use hyperlinks on the Internet. But, as I will explain later, these are completely different ways, and it would be quite misleading to think of a note box as a personal Wikipedia or paper database. There are obviously similarities, but subtle differences make this system unique. nine0003

By creating links between notes, Luhmann was able to add the same note to different contexts. Whereas other systems start with a predetermined thematic order, Luhmann developed the topics from the bottom up and then added another note to his drawer, from which he made a selection of topics by iterating over the subject references of other relevant notes.

The last element of his file system was an index in which he could refer to one or two notes, which served as a kind of starting point, starting a chain of thought or a specific topic. Notes with a sorted set of links are, of course, a good starting point. nine0003

That's it. In fact, it's even easier, because we now have software that can take care of the technical side of things: we don't have to manually add numbers to notes or reuse paper, as Luhmann had to.

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