Slow notes are better notes

I used to collect notes as if the act of saving something was a form of understanding. A highlighted sentence, a bookmarked article, and a folder full of links gave me the pleasant feeling of being prepared.

But captured information is not yet a note. A note begins when it has been placed in your own words and connected to a question you actually have.

Now I try to make fewer notes, but make each one do a little more work. A good note contains the source, the idea, my response, and one possible use. That last part matters because it turns storage into a conversation with a future self.

The goal is not a perfect system. It is to leave behind a trail of thinking that I would be glad to meet again.