The 4 Notetaking Styles: How to Choose a Digital Notes App as Your Second Brain

Unlock the power of your 'second brain' by choosing the right digital notes app. Explore the four distinct notetaking styles and understand how they can revolutionize your productivity, creativity, and information management. Let's delve into the world of digital notetaking.

A “Second Brain” is a system for knowledge management

A trusted place outside your head to preserve and protect your most valuable knowledge

• Digital notes apps are the centerpiece of your Second Brain
• You don’t choose the right app – a notes app chooses you
• Try to force yourself to use a piece of software that isn’t compatible with your temperament, style, and personality

The Four Notetaking Styles

There are four common styles of notetaking: Architect, The Gardener, The Librarian, The Student

The Student: Acquiring Knowledge

The Student is the most common kind of notetaker, and it is what we default to when we’re short on time or energy.

• They value ease of use above all else – something quick, easy, and accessible on different devices.

The Architect: Building Systems

Architects want to fit all their information into an all-encompassing “ultimate system” with a clear hierarchy

• They use a single overarching goal as the driving force in their knowledge collection
• Need for consistency often leads Architects to plan their system upfront
• If their needs change, the system needs to be rearchitected from scratch at significant cost

Which style resonates with you?

Which of the above descriptions most resonated with your approach to taking notes? Which one felt the most natural and familiar

• As your confidence builds you can always learn to master the other styles as well.
• Choose a notes app that aligns with how your brain works

The Gardener: Cultivating

Think in a bottom-up way, cultivating many kinds of ideas and possibilities at the same time

• Create space for them to emerge, to cross-pollinate promising ideas, and harvest them once they’ve matured
• Succeed by following your spontaneous interests and curiosities

The Librarian: Researching for Projects

Librarians have a fundamentally practical relationship to information, valuing books and ideas for their own sake but also seeking to organize information for specific purposes.

• They have a deep desire to find and save the most useful, interesting knowledge to be able to retrieve it as needed.

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