[the notes from the book were retrieved with kobogarden, with the purpose of aiding to create a map of the ideas the book left me. The full list of book highlights can be found here.]

This is the book that brought the notion of second-brain to my understanding; Ahrens is motivated by letting us know how to manage, and thrive in, the enormous amounts of information and knowledge stimuli, with an approach that is directly influenced by Zettelkasten, of which Luhmann's example is explored with more detail.

It is not just a set of instructions on how to do Zettelkasten; it also touches on adjacent theories of psychology and productivity — my most dear Flow is mentioned, for example, as well as David Allen's Get Things Done —, there's passages about self-control and willpower, and, maybe the overall point, the later supersedes raw intelligence as a predictor for success of the good students, whom also have many problems of their own.

Make permanent notes. Now turn to your slip-box. Go through the notes you made in step one or two (ideally once a day and before you forget what you meant) and think about how they relate to what is relevant for your own research, thinking or interests. This can soon be done by looking into the slip-box – it only contains what interests you anyway. The idea is not to collect, but to develop ideas, arguments and discussions. Does the new information contradict, correct, support or add to what you already have (in the slip-box or on your mind)? Can you combine ideas to generate something new? What questions are triggered by them? Write exactly one note for each idea and write as if you were writing for someone else: Use full sentences, disclose your sources, make references and try to be as precise, clear and brief as possible.

There is ample emphasis on the importance of having a clear, unambiguous procedure to create and store notes (of which there are only three kinds); when such a procedure is effortlessy summoned on daily work, even will-power will not suffer so big challenges to keep the motivation for work afloat.

But then — it is also clear that having good notes is not just about storing them: there must also be an active dialogue with its content. Even cognitive bias