How to Take Smart Notes with Annote

How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens introduced many to the Zettelkasten method—a system for turning reading into thinking, and thinking into writing. This guide shows you how to implement Ahrens’ methodology using Annote.

The Core Problem

Most note-taking systems fail because they:

Ahrens’ solution: A workflow that makes thinking the bottleneck, not note-taking.

The Three Types of Notes

Ahrens describes three distinct types of notes, each serving a different purpose:

1. Fleeting Notes

Purpose: Quick captures while reading. Temporary reminders.

Characteristics:

In Annote: Use quick highlights as you read. Don’t worry about perfection. Just capture what catches your attention. The yellow highlight itself is your fleeting note—a marker that says “this is interesting.”

2. Literature Notes

Purpose: Your thoughts about what you’re reading, written in your own words.

Characteristics:

In Annote: Add notes to your highlights. When you highlight something, immediately add a note explaining:

Don’t just quote—paraphrase. If you can’t explain it in your own words, you don’t understand it yet.

3. Permanent Notes

Purpose: Standalone ideas for your knowledge base. The building blocks of your thinking.

Characteristics:

In Annote: Create new notes in the dashboard. These are your permanent notes—the ones that will compound over time. Write them as if explaining to someone else. Include context, connections, and implications.

The Daily Workflow

Ahrens emphasizes a daily workflow, not a weekly or monthly one. Here’s how to implement it with Annote:

Morning: Read and Capture

  1. Read with intent—not just to consume, but to understand
  2. Highlight selectively—only what’s truly interesting or useful
  3. Add quick notes—your immediate thoughts (fleeting notes)

In Annote: As you read, highlight and add quick notes. Don’t overthink—just capture. The goal is to maintain reading flow while capturing ideas.

Evening: Process and Connect

  1. Review your highlights from the day
  2. Expand fleeting notes into literature notes—explain ideas in your own words
  3. Create permanent notes from the best literature notes
  4. Link everything—connect new notes to existing ones

In Annote:

Weekly: Review and Refine

  1. Review your permanent notes—are they still accurate?
  2. Strengthen connections—add more links between related ideas
  3. Identify gaps—what questions remain unanswered?
  4. Archive or delete—remove notes that didn’t pan out

In Annote: Use the graph view to see your knowledge structure. Look for isolated notes that should be connected. Find clusters that suggest deeper themes.

Principles for Effective Notes

Write for Understanding

Don’t copy. Don’t quote without context. Explain the idea in your own words. If you can’t explain it, you don’t understand it—and that’s valuable information. It means you need to read more or think more.

In Annote: Every note should include your interpretation, not just the source material. Use quotes sparingly, and always add context.

One Idea, One Note

Keep notes atomic. Each note should stand alone. This makes connections more powerful because you can link ideas, not just documents.

In Annote: If a note contains multiple ideas, split it. Create separate notes for each idea, then link them together.

Connect notes when you create them. Every link is a potential insight. Don’t wait for the “perfect” connection—if two notes seem related, link them.

In Annote:

Use Your Own Words

Paraphrasing forces comprehension. Quotes are fine, but they should be the exception, not the rule. Your notes should reflect your understanding, not just your reading.

In Annote: When you add a note to a highlight, rewrite the idea in your own words. If you’re quoting, explain why the quote matters.

Add Context

Why did you save this? What does it connect to? What questions does it raise? Context makes notes useful months later.

In Annote: Every permanent note should include:

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Mistake 1: Collecting Without Processing

Problem: Thousands of highlights, no understanding. A digital hoard that never becomes knowledge.

Solution: Process daily. Turn fleeting notes into literature notes, and literature notes into permanent notes. If you’re not processing, stop collecting.

In Annote: Set a daily reminder to process your highlights. Spend 15 minutes each evening expanding your fleeting notes into literature notes.

Mistake 2: Organizing by Source

Problem: Notes trapped in their original context. Can’t find ideas because they’re buried in “Book Notes” or “Article Highlights.”

Solution: Tag by topic, not by source. Link by idea, not by document. Think in concepts, not books.

In Annote: Use tags for topics and themes, not sources. Link notes by idea. Use the graph view to see connections between ideas, not just documents.

Mistake 3: Waiting for Perfect Organization

Problem: Analysis paralysis. Never finishing because the system isn’t perfect.

Solution: Start messy. Connections emerge over time. Your note-taking system should evolve as you use it.

In Annote: Don’t worry about perfect tags or categories. Start linking notes. The structure will emerge naturally as you build connections.

Mistake 4: Not Linking Notes

Problem: Isolated ideas. No compounding. Notes that exist in isolation don’t create knowledge.

Solution: Always ask “What does this relate to?” Link as you go. Every new note should connect to at least one existing note.

In Annote: When creating a permanent note, immediately link it to at least one existing note. Use AI suggestions to find connections you might have missed.

Mistake 5: Writing Notes for Storage

Problem: Notes that are just copies of source material. No thinking, no understanding, no value.

Solution: Write notes for understanding. Write as if explaining to your future self. Include your thoughts, not just the source’s words.

In Annote: Every note should include your interpretation. Don’t just highlight and quote—explain what it means and why it matters.

How Annote Supports This Workflow

Quick Capture

Annote’s highlight-and-note system lets you capture ideas in seconds without breaking your reading flow. The yellow highlight is your fleeting note—a marker that says “this is interesting.” The note you add is your literature note—your thoughts about the idea.

Easy Processing

Review your recent highlights, expand the good ones into full notes, and create permanent notes from the best ideas. Annote’s dashboard makes it easy to process your captures daily.

Automatic Connections

Annote’s AI suggestions help you find related notes you might have forgotten. This is crucial for the Zettelkasten method—connections are where insights emerge.

Visual Graph

See your knowledge structure. Find gaps and clusters. Discover non-obvious relationships. The graph view helps you understand your knowledge base as a whole, not just individual notes.

Flexible Linking

Use [[ to create links as you write. Follow backlinks to explore connections. The linking system makes it easy to build a web of connected ideas.

The Compounding Effect

Every note you take makes future notes more valuable. Connections multiply. Patterns emerge. Ideas compound.

The system works. You just have to use it consistently.

Getting Started Today

  1. Install Annote if you haven’t already
  2. Read something interesting—an article, a chapter, a blog post
  3. Highlight and note as you go—capture fleeting notes
  4. Process before bed—turn fleeting notes into literature notes
  5. Create permanent notes from the best ideas
  6. Link everything—connect new notes to existing ones
  7. Repeat daily

Start small. Process five highlights tonight. Create two permanent notes. Link them to each other. Tomorrow, do it again. The system compounds over time.

Further Reading

Questions?

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