How to Cure Your Distracted Mind with Smart Notes

Do you struggle to focus on your tasks, goals, or projects? Do you find yourself constantly distracted by social media, news, or entertainment? Do you feel like your mind is always wandering, comparing, or worrying about things that are not relevant to your present situation?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are not alone. Many people today suffer from what I call a “distracted mind"—an inability to concentrate on what matters most. A distracted mind can ruin our productivity, our relationships, our work, and our well-being.

But what if I told you that there is a way to cure your distracted mind? A way to train your brain to focus on what you want, when you want, and for as long as you want? Is there a way to create a network of your knowledge that will help you learn faster, think deeper, and remember better?

It sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it’s not. It’s actually a simple and effective method that anyone can use. It’s called taking smart notes.

What are smart notes?

Smart notes are a way of taking notes that allows you to link your ideas together, create connections between your past and present thoughts, and discover new insights and relationships. Smart notes are not just a way of storing information, but a way of processing, organizing, and generating information.

Smart notes are based on the principles of the Zettelkasten method, which was developed by the German sociologist Niklas Luhmann. Luhmann was one of the most prolific and influential scholars of the 20th century, producing over 70 books and 400 articles on a wide range of topics. He attributed his remarkable productivity and creativity to his system of taking smart notes, which he called his “second brain.”.

The idea behind smart notes is simple: instead of taking notes in a linear, hierarchical, or chronological way, you take notes in a networked, associative, and dynamic way. You create notes that are atomic, meaning they contain one idea or piece of information. You link these notes together by using references, tags, or keywords. You review and revise these notes regularly, adding new ones, deleting old ones, or modifying existing ones. You use these notes as a source of inspiration, exploration, and creation.

How to take smart notes with RemNote

There are many tools and apps that you can use to take smart notes, but one of my favorites is RemNote. RemNote is a free app that combines the features of a note-taking app, a flashcard app, and a wiki app. It allows you to create smart notes easily, quickly, and intuitively.

To demonstrate how to take smart notes with RemNote, I’m going to use an example that I’m sure many of you can relate to: Spider-Man. Because I’m a nerd.

Let’s say I want to take some notes on Spider-Man, his origin story, his powers, his enemies, and his movies. How would I do that with RemNote?

First, I would create a new blank document in RemNote and type in my main topic: Spider-Man. This is my first smart note. Every note in RemNote is a smart note, indicated by a little bullet in front of it. If I click on this bullet, it will take me into that note, where I can see the title and the content of the note.

Next, I would add some more notes below this one, related to Spider-Man. For example, I could write:

• Spider-Man is the alter ego of Peter Parker, a teenager who was bitten by a radioactive spider and gained superpowers.
• Spider-Man’s powers include super strength, agility, reflexes, spider-sense, and web-shooting.
• Spider-Man is a superhero who fights crime in New York City, often facing villains such as Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Venom, and Vulture.
• Spider-Man has appeared in several movies, both animated and live-action, with different actors playing the roless.

Now, I have four more smart notes under my main note. But these notes are not just plain text. They are actually individual pages that I can access and edit. To make a page out of a word or phrase in RemNote, I just need to highlight it and press the open bracket key. For example, I can make a page for Spider-Man, Peter Parker, superheroeses, and so on. This way, I can jump into these pages and add more information or link them to other notes.

For example, if I double-click on the Spider-Man page, I can see all the notes that I have linked to it. I can also see all the other times that I have mentioned Spider-Man in the past, in other documents or notes. This is a great way to discover new connections and insights between my thoughts.

I can also link notes together using tags. Tags are like keywords that I can use to categorize or group my notes. To create a tag, I just need to type the hashtag symbol twice and then type the name of the page that I want to link to. For example, I can tag this note with Spider-Man, even though the word Spider-Man is not in the sentence. This way, I can add this note to the Spider-Man page without changing the text.

Another cool feature of RemNote is that I can use emojis as pages or tags. Every emoji in RemNote is also a smart note that I can link to. For example, I can use the spider emoji to tag all my notes related to spiders, Spider-Man, or anything else. This is a fun and visual way to organize my notes and make them more memorable.

How to use smart notes to cure your distracted mind

So, how does taking smart notes help me cure my distracted mind? Well, there are four main benefits that I have experienced from using this method.

First, taking smart notes helps me preoccupy my mind with purpose. One of the reasons why I get distracted is because I have an idle mind that tends to wander, worry, or compare. By adding more responsibilities, opportunities, or challenges to my life, I can give my mind something meaningful and interesting to focus on. For example, when I decided to become an EMT, I enrolled in a program, got a job, and learned a lot of new skills. This gave me a sense of empowerment, control, and focus.

Second, taking smart notes helps me schedule in silence. Another reason why I get distracted is because I don’t give my mind enough time to process, reflect, or relax. By setting aside some time every day to meditate, journal, or just be still, I can let my mind wander in a safe and productive way. I can observe and understand my thoughts and emotions without judging or suppressing them. This helps me release and manage my stress, anxiety, or negativity.

Third, taking smart notes helps me cleanse my digital communities. A third reason why I get distracted is because I expose myself to too much information, stimulation, or comparison. By limiting and curating my social media, news, and entertainment consumption, I can reduce the noise and clutter in my mind. I can unfollow, mute, or delete anything or anyone that does not serve me, inspire me, or educate me. I can also set a time limit for how much I use these platforms and focus on quality over quantity.

Fourth, taking smart notes helps me express and decompress. A fourth reason why I get distracted is because I don’t express, create, or share my thoughts and feelings. By using my notes as a source of inspiration, exploration, and creation, I can transform my mental baggage into something valuable and enjoyable. I can write, draw, sing, code, or do anything else that allows me to capture and distill my ideas into something tangible. This helps me close the loop, move on, and grow.

Bonus Material:

• Explore the "How to Take Smart Notes" book by Sönke Ahrens for a deeper dive into this powerful learning and thinking technique.
  (available on amazon)
• Remember, consistency is key! Implement these strategies gradually and stick with them to see lasting results.

Conclusion

Taking smart notes is not just a way of taking notes, but a way of living, learning, and thinking. It’s a way of curing your distracted mind and enhancing your focused mind. It’s a way of building your second brain and unleashing your first brain.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post, and I hope it helps you cure your distracted mind. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one.