June 30-day Challenge: Smart Notes

I'm a life-long learner, but I tend to consume content superficially without taking the time to digest it at a deeper level. This month, I will apply the Smart Notes methodology to remedy that.

First, thank you to everyone who bought and provided feedback on my new book, Save Your Startup. I've already received critiques on improving it and heard from others who were inspired to write their own books or kick off that project they've been sitting on. It's just beginning to make the impact I hoped for when I started writing it.

Second, May's 30-day challenge ended well. I have now made it a daily habit to leverage AI search over traditional search. This one gain alone has been a game-changer in terms of how fast I've learned new topics.

For the month of June, I have decided to strengthen my use of Smart Notes methodology as discussed by Sönke Ahrens in his book How To Take Smart Notes. The motivation was simple. While I consume content all day long on social media, Podcasts, and audio books, I've developed the habit of staying at the superficial level. I hear it, but I don't internalize and apply it.

This is a shame because I've learned some great things over the years. However, given that I learned them in a semi-distracted state without any follow-up, most of these insights were forgotten as fast as I experienced them.

I miss the experience I had in college working on my PhD, where I would go deep down various rabbit holes until I knew a subject cold. Even 15 years later, I can remember the exact scientific paper and location where I referenced a particular fact.

So, for June, I will read and process a chapter daily. I may skip from book to book, but I will practice taking my time to create permanent notes in my knowledge graph (using Roam Research) to ensure I internalize what I'm learning. I plan to apply this to all types of content I consume, but I'll start small and strengthen this muscle.