I am studying engineering in school and also found some business textbooks to read in my free time. I want to take notes for future reference on every subject I learn, because it feels like a waste to just learn once and never touch it again. However I have never heard of a single entrepreneur keeping detailed notes on their knowledge, they just seem to be so brilliant that there's a point where they just take the leap, wing it, and succeed. Is it silly to be so caught up in details?
Is keeping notes on relevant subjects silly?
byu/WesternDeparture1843 inEntrepreneur
Posted by WesternDeparture1843
8 Comments
Do whatever works best for you, who cares what other people do
I used to take a lot of notes for future references and revisions but to be honest never read them once. What works for me is trial and error, and learning by doing.
If i want to learn something and keep it in memory i’ll build it from scratch, it’ll be messy and take a lot of time but it’ll stick for a long time.
The act of taking notes is not to have notes as an artifact but to help retain that knowledge in your head better.
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000169182030545X](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000169182030545X)
I learn through making notes. If I don’t write something down, my brain don’t see it.
I would say intention is very important, so are you doing that because it helps you or because you have a belief in you, that if you don’t do it, all the knowledge will go to waste? You should be honest with yourself.
from personal experience I find it not useful. I tried for a very long time to write all my ideas and thoughts. Every time I would write something new I would read some of the old ones, or from time to time I would just come back and read them, expecting to have some insight or better idea.
The problem is that my idea evolved and my way of thinking would also evolve with time. So all my old ideas seemed really silly. Most of the time my thoughts were “how could I think of that”.
On the other hand there is the benefit of having some sort of diary, so you see how you are evolving with time and improving your ideas. And there is the benefit of just writing things down. When you write, you need to think on how to write and what to write and just by doing that you can have more ideas and improve upon your thoughts.
Writing down is helpful for memory, but be noted that you will never read it again. I am 100% sure. Works all the time.
Not silly at all. Taking notes isn’t about being like an entrepreneur right away, it’s about building your personal system to retain and connect knowledge. Many successful people do track ideas, frameworks, and lessons, even if it’s informal. Writing things down helps you see patterns and prevents forgetting, and it makes future decisions faster. Think of it as creating your own mental toolbox the leap you take later will feel more confident because you have a foundation, not because you winged it completely.
I’m a big fan of taking notes and I have a binder filled with different info.