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Decision Making Models: 10 Proven Mental Models

mental models

10 Decision Making Models For Life & Business Decisions

Let’s face it, making decisions can be tough. Even worse, the hard decisions usually have the biggest impact on life outcome. I’ve been lucky enough to have success in my business and in my life (with plenty of failures and screwups along the way!).

But, as I’ve “aged gracefully” I’ve come upon 10 Mental Models For Decision Making that really help me live a better life and make better decisions.

Let’s quickly define what a decision making model is, shall we?

Decision making means the process of selecting the best choices among various options.

From Tough Nickel

That’s about as easy as it gets, right? Our goal here is to make the decision making process easier by giving you a model you can follow and use again and again so you don’t have to waste time creating a framework for every decision.

By reading this post and applying these lessons, I believe you can get the results in life you’ve been looking for.

So, let’s go. This post won’t be fluff, just straight to the point about what it takes and how to make decisions.

Decision Making Models: Yes Or No?

The most usual decision we have to make it a yes or a no decision. Do we do the thing or not? This is a binary decision and many of life’s decisions are binary, whether we like it or not.

Do we turn left or right? Do we go back to school now or not? So, the simple formula I like to use now is this one.

I don’t make the decision a YES OR NO, decision. Instead, I ask myself if it’s an EMPHATIC yes or a no. The no is easy. It’s just a no. I don’t want to do that. But there are many things I would like to do that I really don’t have time for.

I run multiple brands so opportunity for me is in excess. I have to keep my options open, but every YES takes away from another area of my life.

That is why when presented with an opportunity, I only say YES if I am truly excited, bursting out the seams, ready to go, etc.

And if it’s not an emphatic yes, it’s a no.

I first heard this idea from Derek Sivers on the Tim Ferriss podcast. Check it out for more on this great decision making model.

Decision Making Models: Ranking On A Scale Of 1-10

We all love the ranking system, right? On a scale of 1 -10, how likely do you want to do something, etc?

It’s a great way for us to gauge our interest in a subject, and crudely, it’s been a way for people to judge the attractiveness of other people. “The guy is a 3 or this woman is a solid 9!”

I’ll use the attractiveness rating scale in order for this to make the most sense, because it’s the easiest to visualize.

The decision making model here is really simple. When rating a person, you can’t give them a 7. 7’s are a copout. That’s basically saying the person is attractive, but not really enough for you to want to ask them out.

Instead, make this the rule. Again, I am talking about attractiveness here, but this can be used to rank school choice, job opportunities, etc.

Get rid of 7 as an option. There are no 7’s… If you think something is a 7, you must instead choose a 6 or an 8.

And think about that in attractiveness. An 8 is WAY different than a 6, right? Use this in conjunction with the emphatic YES concept to make sure you actually make an informed decision.

Read more about this mental model here.

Decision Making Models: The Hard Choice

This is a simple maxim, but it really works. If you are faced with a decision, the right decision is usually the one that is HARDER to do.

Should you go to the gym and workout or stay home and relax on the couch? Which is tougher? Go to the gym!

Should I eat healthily or chow down on bacon cheese fries? Which is harder to do? Eat Healthy!

You really can’t go wrong if you make the harder choice. And here’s the thing. If you don’t make the harder choice now, life will force you to make a harder choice later on, anyway.

If you eat crappy your whole life, you’ll most likely develop diabetes and have heart issues as you get older. Life will force you to cut back on sugar and fats, etc. Make the hard choice now and you’ll never regret it.

Decision Making Models: Delayed Gratification

This goes along with the previous mental model, but whenever possible, delay gratification. Delayed gratification is usually the harder choice as well, but it pays dividends.

You can choose to satisfy yourself now or wait. If you wait, you usually receive compounding benefits.

An easy example is saving money. Sure you can spend money now on things you think you want. But then that money is gone. You have spent it on an item and that item only provides so much value.

If you had invested that money and waited to buy the thing you want, you could have earned enough of a return on your investment for the interest to have paid for the item. In other words, it would be “free” in that sense.

If you get the chance to delay gratification, take it!

Decision Making Models: Time > Money

This is an issue I see in a lot of people. They value their money way more than they do their time. This is because they haven’t looked at how much time they actually have left.

Do yourself a morbid favor. Fill out an actuary table and see when you are statistically most likely to die.

Here’s a good actuary table.

I just did mine again and my life expectancy is 87 years. As of this post, I am 39 years old. If all goes to plan, I have 48 years left. That’s 17,520 days. Not a lot.

If that was all the money you had, wouldn’t you spend it a little wiser? That is why I try to spend my money MORE than I spend my time. I don’t buy cheap stuff that breaks and requires me to replace it often.

I don’t drive all around time looking to save 5 cents per gallon my gas.

I also know that because of my copywriting skills, I can make more money with my time than I can by trying to save money being thrifty.

Remember your time is more valuable than your money.

Decision Making Models: Prioritize Relationships That Matter When You’re 80

This one is simple and one that I have gotten better at as I’ve gotten older. I see this trait in men a lot (including myself). But it’s true for all of us. Many times we get caught up in the busy schedules of life and we prioritize work and “things” over people.

The right decision making model is to prioritize the relationships that will matter the most to you when you’re 80. When you’re 80 years old, your job doesn’t really matter anymore, the PTA doesn’t matter, you often find that most of what you spent your time on was frivolous in many ways.

So, make the choice right now to focus on the people closest to you. Your spouse or significant other, your siblings, children, family, friends, etc. No one gets to their death bed and wishes they worked more.

This also includes focusing and spending time with your parents if they are still around. Even though they most likely won’t’ be there when you’re 80, you’ll have plenty of time to think about them. Make sure you look back on your life knowing you spent as much time with your parents as you possibly could.

Decision Making Models: Family Is More Important Than Opportunity

This goes along with the previous mental model for decision making. When given a choice between family and opportunity, I’ve made the choice to choose family.

Now, this may not be right for you. I haven’t met your family – they could be crazy! But, in general, this goes with my theory that it’s better to prioritize people over profits. Money only does so much and really after a certain amount doesn’t affect your happiness level much.

According to CNBC:

A 2010 study out of Princeton University found that there’s a correlation between happiness and wealth, to a point of about $75,000 per year. When people make more than $75,000 a year, their happiness doesn’t increase, but the lower their income is the worse they feel, the study found.

So, if you have to choose one or the other – choose family. You will be a lot happier in the long run.

Decision Making Models: Outsource As Much As Possible

This is a mental model I’ve had for a long time thanks to my natural business-like personality.

OUTSOURCE EVERYTHING!

If you are presented with a task, you should only do that task if at least one of the following is true:

A. You can’t afford to have someone else do it

B. You are the BEST person to do this job.

C. You will learn something valuable that will help you over the long-term.

D. You get immense satisfaction out of performing the task

If you don’t meet at least one of those criteria, then you should outsource it. Give the task to somebody else that likes doing it or that needs the money. You’re creating jobs that way, which has such an incredible impact on people’s lives.

I know that early on you can’t outsource and that’s fine. But, as soon as you can, start getting rid of as many things as you can. This goes with the Time is greater than Money Mental Model as well.

If you haven’t read the 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss, it’s a great place to start learning all about how to outsource.

Decision Making Models: Process Over Outcome

It takes a while to get used to this decision-making model. But it’s so worth it. This is more about how to prioritize what to focus on and for how long.

The gist is this.

Never concern yourself with the outcome, other than to decide what the best outcome would be and make that into a goal. That’s great and very helpful.

But after that, forget about it. You see, we can’t control the final outcome of anything. Our lives are left up to fate and luck in many ways. Yes, with skill and determination we have a great say in what happens.

But never 100%.

So, I have learned to not put pressure on myself to achieve a certain outcome “no matter what”. Instead, focus on the process.

Focus on what you control. Everything else is an illusion that you create in your own mind to give you a false sense of security. The world is a scary place in many ways. We are like a ship at sea in a violent storm.

All we can do is focus on the process. If we are the ship at sea, we can navigate around the rocks, we can hoist the sails, and prepare the boat… plug holes and hire a great crew. But we can’t control the storm. We can’t control if we hit a rock we can’t see.

The important lesson here is to make decisions where you feel like you will enjoy the process no matter what the outcome is. If you would only do the project IF you get the result you want, then don’t do it.

The goal is that by doing the project or task, the process is enjoyable and educational enough that just gaining the experience is rewarding enough.

Decision Making Models: Invest Like A “PIMP”

I’ve saved the most interesting for last. This is one of the criteria I look for when I’m going to invest in a company or project. Or if I decide to take on a consulting project or not. Because I’m a nut for acronyms, I’ve come up with this (maybe now culturally insensitive) word PIMP.

It helps remind me to look at my investment options with a certain order of ranking. The ranking goes like this:

P – People

I – Idea

M – Market Size

P – Product

Here’s my rationale behind this. Firstly, people are everything. If you put 5 smart people in a room and give them a business model, they’ll most likely make it work. Especially if they are smart, experienced people. So, I’ve got to LOVE the people and believe in them 100%

The idea is very important, but again, not as important as the right people. But, it’s # 2 for me. I want to make sure that the idea of the company makes sense and is exciting. I want to see a BIG IDEA that is attempting to solve a big problem.

Because of my marketing background, I also want to see how the marketing idea plays with the company idea. I like ideas that spark multiple campaigns.

Then there’s market size. Some investors look at this as a really big deal. Obviously, I like to see an addressable market to start with, but I don’t always have to see a MASSIVE market. My reasoning for this is simple.

We never really know the market size. Think about Facebook. When it started the market size was Harvard, then other Universities, then basically the world. Very few investors could have ever know the that total addressable market for Facebook was everyone with an internet connection or smartphone.

As a matter of fact, smartphones didn’t even exist when Facebook started up, so no one could have predicted it.

Same with the automobile.

My point is a great product aimed at the right people will eventually find or create a large market. But, I do like to see at least some addressable market so it’s not a complete moon shot.

And finally, we have the product. Why is this last for me? Basically, because the product can always be fixed and updated. Once you start selling into the market, you’ll get lots of customer feedback and they will let you know what they want.

I’ve seen this firsthand with Roam Research. The user community has helped take the product to incredible heights. So, I look for a good product and a good idea, but it doesn’t have to impress me at first.

I know it will get better over time.

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed this post. It’s always important to think about thinking. Become aware. Use these mental models to guide you as you face decisions.

The other benefit to having mental models is found in a test question I’ve seen:

What effect do mental models have on the decision-making process?

Answer: They allow decision makers to maximize the potential of their decision making.

This is key. You want to maximize your decisions always. You can do this by having a chosen framework you use when it comes time to decide. If you know that you always make the harder choice, think about how easy it becomes to make a lot of decisions.

This is how you create habits. Create a system that basically does the work for you. Over time, you won’t even think about it. It will become the way you are.

What sort of decisions are you facing right now? Leave a comment and ask away and we can work together on what decision making models are right for you.

Also please consider sharing this post on social media if you like it. 🙂

Habit Tracker Bullet Journal For Roam Research [Guide]

habits

Many people are looking for a habit tracker bullet journal guide or example. In this post, I’m going to show you how I take the spirit of the bullet journal concept and apply it to Roam Research.

There are many things that can be tracked, but for my example I’m going to show you what I track and how I track it. I’ll also give you the exact “code” I use so you can set this up yourself to create your own habit tracker bullet journal for Roam.

Maybe you’ll make it a habit to take good notes, which I think could be a life-changing habit to add to your life. Beylikdüzü escort

Habit Tracker Bullet Journal Table Of Contents

Why You Should Use A Habit Tracker Bullet Journal In Roam

Famed management guru Peter Drucker said it best.

What gets measured, gets managed.

Peter Drucker

So, if you want to create lasting change in your life, you need to start tracking your habits and becoming “aware”. The truth is you already are relying on habits to run your life. It’s the nature of being human that we rely on habits to reduce our cognitive load.

By becoming conscious of our habits, we can track them and over time get rid of old habits and create new habits. But the key is that we must be aware and we must track. Otherwise, we will slide back into our “old ways” and the change we seek will stop.

What Should I Track With My Habit Tracker Bullet Journal?

There are so many things that you can track, the list is really up to you. However, in general, there are a few areas that most of us should be tracking. I’m going to list out for you now what I am presently tracking. Erotik Film, Erotik Film izle

List Of Habits To Track:

Supplements/Medicines:

Diet & Exercise

Other

  • Brush (I like Quip for this – feels good)
  • Floss
  • Washed Face
  • Fluency Control (this is to help control my stutter)
  • Created Something
  • Listened To Audible Book
  • Read On My Kindle

I track a few other things that I didn’t include, but I wanted to give you a great start on ideas of things you can track.

Now if you are using a habit tracker bullet journal, this video shows how you to do that:

How to track habits in a bullet journal

But for this blog post, I want to focus on how to create your own habit tracker bullet journal inside of Roam Research.

Habit Tracker Bullet Journal In Roam Research

Now, if you are using Roam Research yet then you need to go sign up. It’s relatively inexpensive and it can absolutely change your life. It’s a sort of note taking tool that really has changed my entire life.

Get a free trial here.

And I also want to say that I didn’t create this idea of Habit Tracking in Roam. I watched a lot of Youtube Videos about this and the ones that were most helpful were Anonym.s and Shu Omi.

Video Walkthrough Of Setting Up Habit Tracking In Roam Research

Here’s a video walkthrough if you prefer learning that way.

What you want to do is to create a table inside of Roam. You can create a table by typing /table and pressing enter.

You will then see something that looks like this:

Underneath the table, you will then want to create the things you want to track. For my sample, I will use my Supplements tracking.

Make sure you tab over one to the right so that you are indented underneath the table (The blank bullet in my screenshot). Press tab to indent.

Start by giving a name to what you will be tracking. In my case, I will type “Supplements”. You should now see this is the top left name of the table.

Now, press enter and tab over one and type out Monday. Press enter, tab again, and type Tuesday. Do this until you have completed the days of the week. Note that you can start on any day of the week you want or you could do this weekly if you wanted like Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, etc.

When done it should look like this:

If you look at your Table now, you will have 8 column titles… starting with Supplements and running all the way through Sunday.

Now that we have the columns, we need to start putting in the rows. To do that, press enter again and use “shift + tab” until your bullet is now even again with “Supplements”. Then type the first thing you want to track. You should keep these all on the same indentation just pressing enter after each one.

In my case I would type:

Testosterone (enter)
DECA (enter)
HCG (enter)
AI Blocker (enter)
Vitamin D (enter)
In Perium (enter)
Collagen (enter)
Fortagen (enter)

At this point you’ll see that you have rows and colums and it should look like this:

If you have any extra rows showing up at this point that’s ok. It should fix itself when we do the final step here which is to add a checkbox so we can mark a field as “complete”.

To do this, we want to go back to the different things we want to track. Let’s start with Testosterone again. Click on the Testosterone line and press enter. Now tab one over. If you had any weird formatting issues, they should be gone now.

What we want do to now is add a checkmark that can be toggled On/Off. Thankfully, this feature is built into Roam Research.

So go ahead and type /todo and this will create a checkbox for you. If you are feeling fancy you can also type the code in directly which is {{[[TODO]]}} or you can hit CMD Enter or CRTL Enter and this will also insert the TO DO box.

Press enter and tab over again. Insert the TODO code. Do this again and again (enter and tab) and you should see the checkboxes being added underneath the day of the week.

It should look like this when done:

And your Table should look like this:

To finish off the table, you will just repeat the same step again underneath each of the things you are tracking.

To make it easier for you, you can “cheat” and use this code below. Although, I recommend doing it yourself a few times so you know how to better tweak it later.

- Supplements
    - {{[[table]]}}
        - Supplements
            - Monday
                - Tuesday
                    - Wednesday
                        - Thursday
                            - Friday
                                - Saturday
                                    - Sunday
        - Test
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - 
        - GACLIV
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - 
                                    - 
        - DECA
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - 
                    - 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - 
                                - 
                                    - 
        - HCG
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - 
        - AI Blocker
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - 
                                    - 
        - Vitamin D
            - 
                - 
                    - 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - 
                                - 
                                    - 
        - In Perium
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - 
        - Collagen
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - 
        - Fortagen
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
- Diet & Exercise
    - {{[[table]]}}
        - Diet & Exercise
            - Monday
                - Tuesday
                    - Wednesday
                        - Thursday
                            - Friday
                                - Saturday
                                    - Sunday
        - 16/8 Fasting
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
        - Kept It Lower Carb
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
        - X3
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - 
        - Walked 10,000 steps
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
        - Meditation
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
        - Breathing
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 

        - Sauna
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
        - Cold Shower
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
        - Oxygen Restriction
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
- Other
    - {{[[table]]}}
        - Other
            - Monday
                - Tuesday
                    - Wednesday
                        - Thursday
                            - Friday
                                - Saturday
                                    - Sunday
        - Brush
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
        - Floss
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
        - Washed Face
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
        - Fluency Control
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - {{[[TODO]]}} 
        - Created Something
            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                    {{[[TODO]]}} 
                        - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                            - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                - {{[[TODO]]}} 
                                    - {{[[TODO]]}}

When you paste that into Roam you should be good to go.

A Few Advanced Tweaks For Your Habit Tracker Bullet Journal

Here’s a few more things I do to make it easy on myself.

First, save your habit tables on a page called either Metadata or Templates. That way you can always grab or edit the code as needed.

My Metadata setup looks like this:

Those are different types of metadata that I track in Roam Research. Let’s look closer at the Habit Tracking section by opening up that bullet.

If you were to open up each of those 3 bullets, you would see the full table code as I shared above.

Now, here’s one more cool thing and this feature just came out.

How To Replicate Your Habit Tracker In Just A Click

Next to the word Habit Tracking I added another page called roam/templates. To create that page you would just type [[roam/templates]].

This allows you to turn all the sub-bullets into a template that can be used anywhere you want it.

To do this, just make sure you’ve added [[roam/templates]] next to the Habit Tracking Bullet. All the sub-bullets underneath the Habit Tracking bullet (nested bullets) will be copied over when you load the template.

How do you load the template? It’s actually really easy.

Put your mouse where you want the Habit Tracker template to go. Type the following:

;;

That’s 2 semi-colons. Now a pop-up will appear and you can just choose the Habit Tracker page and like magic, your template appears.

Pretty cool and this is gonna save so much time for me going forward.

Final Thoughts

What I do is daily or every few days I go in and I check off the habits that I follow through on. The goal is to get as many habits per day that you can. And ultimately you don’t want to break the chain.

I also don’t track every habit for every day. Some are weekly. Like my Vitamin D. In those instances, I just leave those days of the week blank. You do this by hitting enter and moving on to the next tab.

Another advanced thing you could try (which I don’t do yet) is you could track other things besides a YES/NO. For example, for my Wim Hof breathing, I track how long I hold my breath. I could insert that time as a number in order to see how I’m progressing instead of the checkbox.

Alright, if you found this helpful, please consider following me on Twitter where I share more stuff like this. Also, my Youtube Channel.

And if you’re in marketing or need to write better ad copy to sell your stuff, check out Copywriter Brain where I teach how I use Roam Research and a slew of tools to write killer copy faster and easier than ever.

HOW TO SET GOALS FOR 2021 AND BEYOND: 7 Proven Steps 

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HOW TO SET GOALS FOR 2021 AND BEYOND 

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 Is 2020 over yet? This is one of the most popular questions being asked by many of us these days!   

Background, 2020, Christmas, Bokeh, Blue, Silver

 

2020, without a doubt, is a year like no other. The word unprecedented has become synonymous with this year and over-used repeatedly and often times ad nauseum. But, it rings true! 2020 has been beyond unprecedented. Hell, it’s almost seemed apocalyptic at times.   

 

From global pandemics to Presidential elections to natural disasters, there’s no need to re-hash all of the craziness that has happened this year. But, hopefully, in between the stress, anxiety, fear, sadness, hardship, loss, turmoil, and resentment, each and every one of you have been able to see a small glimmer of the silver lining. 

It is important to find something, anything to be thankful for – no matter how difficult 2020 may have been for you. Perhaps, you’ve learned to appreciate the small things in life that you took for granted in years past, like a roll of toilet paper or a walk outside in the fresh air.   

 

Toilet Paper, Role, Happy Role, Smilies, Emotions

A new year brings hope, and we all need some hope right about now.  There are a myriad of things to feel bitter about as 2020 did not go as many of us planned, but it’s almost over. We have a new year and a new beginning to look forward to and a chance to try this again, a do over if you will.  

 

Before we begin, let’s all just take a deep breath. Inhale all that is good and exhale all the bad air and negativity. Breathe in … Breathe out! 

 

Now bring on 2021!  

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New Year, 2021, Moon, New Year'S Eve, Man, Silhouette

 

And, don’t look back. Let’s just consider 2020 done and let’s forge ahead. You may not be ready to set goals for 2021, but you have to start somewhere. There is no better time than right now whether you believe it or not because I believe in you, and I’m here to support you.  

 

The hardest part is knowing where to begin so here are a few tips to get you started.  

 

The first piece of advice I have for you is do not set New Year’s Resolutions. The very term sets you up for failure and in 2021 we are not going to fail. In fact, “the statistics on how many people actually follow through and accomplish their New Year’s resolutions are rather grim.

Studies have shown that less than 25% of people actually stay committed to their resolutions after just 30 days, and only 8% accomplish them. Don’t be part of that statistic. This year, set goals instead of resolutions.”1 

 

There are a number of ideas and different types of goals to set in 2021. The whole process can seem overwhelming, but to get the juices flowing, you need to start visualizing the goals. Here are some ideas for 2021 and beyond:   

 

❖Reading and Educational Goals  
❖Couple Goals   
❖Family Goals    
❖Financial Goals
❖Business Goals 
❖Exercise and Fitness Goals  
❖Health and Eating Goals   
❖Spiritual Goals  
❖Career Goals 
❖Social Goals  

 

Now let’s get started!  

 

HOW TO SET GOALS FOR 2021 & BEYOND – STEP #1: FREE YOUR MIND  

 

Write everything down. It seems daunting but unless it’s on paper and formed into existence it won’t happen. Your goals need to be set in stone (or paper in this case), and your 2021 goals need to be actionable and based in reality.  Write your 2021 goals down. Do a data dump. Whatever comes to mind just write it down. It doesn’t have to be grammatically correct or formatted perfectly, just get all of your thoughts down and get them out of your mind.  

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Goals, Setting, Office, Work, Note, Hand Writting

 

HOW TO SET GOALS FOR 2021 & BEYOND – STEP #2:  START ORGANIZING

 

Once you have created a broad list with all of your ideas – start breaking it down into smaller pieces and drill them down into more actionable and doable items. It’s time to create a to-do list, but don’t be overwhelmed. Just start making the list. The most important thing to remember is a to-do without a when will never happen. Once the list is a bit more organized, you can start assigning definitive dates and times.  

  

 HOW TO SET GOALS FOR 2021 & BEYOND – STEP #3:  GET INSPIRED

 

Setting goals should be fun. It should be an event that brings you joy and the hope and promise of something to look forward to and achieve in 2021. So, splurge a little. Invest in a planner or themed calendar that will inspire you. Purchase an app that is designed to help do the planning for you and will keep you organized. This is your life and your life goals so make an investment in you!  

 

HOW TO SET GOALS FOR 2021 & BEYOND – STEP #4:  ENSURE GOALS ARE MEASURABLE  

 

Make sure your 2021 goals are measurable. For example, save $100 more per month by skipping that morning run to the coffee shop and invest in a Roth IRA instead. Goals that are measurable can be crossed off a list and provide a sense of accomplishment. If a goal seems too large or unattainable, break it down into smaller parts that can be measured, like losing 2 pounds per week to reach that 20-pound goal.   

Small wins matter so take the win and keep striving to achieve those 2021 goals.

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Hourglass, Clock, Time, Deadline, Hour, Rush, Hurry

 

HOW TO SET GOALS FOR 2021 & BEYOND – STEP #5: ESTABLISH AND STICK TO DEADLINES   

 

The best intentions of establishing 2021 goals mean nothing if you set them and forget them. Remember, a to-do that is not connected to a when will never get done. A timeline and a deadline should be tied to each goal. Goals should be reviewed and assessed on a regular basis whether it be weekly, monthly or quarterly, but holding yourself accountable is vital to accomplishing your goals.

 

HOW TO SET GOALS FOR 2021 & BEYOND – STEP #6:  FIND YOUR GOAL PEOPLE

 

Setting goals and staying focused is hard and that is why it’s always easier when you have a strong support system. Find a friend, family member, co-worker … anyone. Create a positive network and find the people that will help to hold you accountable. Whether it be couple goals, fitness goals, or reading goals, find the people that will help you reach your goals for 2021.  

 

HOW TO SET GOALS FOR 2021 & BEYOND – STEP #7:  BELIEVE IN YOUR GOALS

 

Believe in your goals and believe in yourself! If your friend wants to work on fitness goals by running every day, but you despise running … then don’t commit to that goal. Setting yourself up for failure is not an option. When setting goals for 2021 and beyond, you must, I repeat MUST, believe in the goals you have created or else the whole process will not work.  

 

MAKING YOUR 2021 GOALS A REALITY

 

If Frank Sinatra were re-writing one of his most popular songs today, he would most definitely say if we can make it here, we can make it anywhere. If you’re reading this article – you did it – you survived 2020. We are in the home stretch and can start to look forward to the promise of a new year!

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Road, New Year, 2021, City, Buildings, Skyscrapers

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If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to go with the flow, learn to adapt, realize that things may not go as planned. And, most importantly to always have plan b through z in your back pocket. Utilizing these strategies will help you get thru 2021 and beyond, but sometimes we could all use a little help. Whether you want to launch a new career in 2021, lose weight in 2021, or improve body, mind and spirit in 2021 …

I’m here for you! My name is Mike Giannulis and I want to help you get there and start working towards and accomplishing your goals for 2021 and beyond. We don’t know what lies ahead or where the road may take us but setting a clearer path will help. So, let’s rip off the 2020 band-aid and get started today! Contact me to start your 2021 journey. 

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1.(2018) Forbes. This Year, Don’t Set New Year’s Resolutions available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashiraprossack1/2018/12/31/goals-not-resolutions/?sh=72da90963879 accessed on 14 December 2020.

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How To Write A Nonfiction Book In 21 Simple Steps

Writing

If you want to know how to write a nonfiction book, you’ve come to the right place.

We are going to focus on 21 simple steps to help you learn how to write a nonfiction book. This post is not meant to have much fluff and it’s going to focus on a 21 step process I have used to write my first nonfiction book which is coming out soon.

The truth is, you can learn how to write a nonfiction book fast IF you have all of your notes ready to go from the start. That’s the real secret to writing nonfiction books in 30 days.

The key is you don’t want to start from scratch. You want, instead, to pull from notes that already exist that you’ve made along the way.

You can check out this video by Ryan Holiday to see the process in action:

How To Write a Nonfiction Book Fast (The 21 Steps)

Table Of Contents

  1. Intention
  2. Destination
  3. Compensation
  4. Collection
  5. Inspection
  6. Rejection
  7. Selection
  8. Injection
  9. Extraction
  10. Education
  11. Reflection
  12. Connection
  13. Question
  14. Consolidation
  15. Formation
  16. Summation
  17. Citation
  18. Fortification
  19. Production
  20. Publication
  21. Distribution

If you like this content I may come back and flesh these sections out into more individual posts. Let me know by leaving a comment or contacting me.

Step 1 – Intention

You have to choose what it is you want to learn or create. So, if your goal is to write a nonfiction book fast then you want to sent the intention. Decide what you want to write about so you can start looking for materials.

Step 2 – Destination

Begin with the end in mind, as Dr. Covey so famously said. Create a specific goal or place you want to end up going with this project. What’s the “end game”? This is a real key to the whole process if you are serious about learning how to write a nonfiction book.

Step 3 – Compensation

Decide what’s in it for you. How will you get paid for this knowledge you are creating? And this doesn’t always mean money either. You can get paid in awareness, attention, brand building, getting leads, getting practice, building your authority, for SEO ranking, and even just as a way to demonstrate your skills.

It’s important to decide on your compensation early because that will affect how much time and effort goes into the project.

Step 4 – Collection

This is a very important step. It’s now time to start looking for materials that you can draw inspiration from. I recommend at least 4-5 books on similar topics, multiple blog posts, twitter feeds, podcasts, and audio books. You want as much material as you can get your hands on.

Step 5 – Inspection

Go crazy. Dig in. Read way more than you should. Most of what you read won’t be directly useful but will indirectly help you by helping you make connections later on. This is the step that really turns you into an expert.

There’s no way around it, you’ve got to inspect a lot of material at this stage. You want to expose yourself to the top-down structure of existing knowledge that already exists.

Step 6 – Rejection

Here’s a fun step! If the material isn’t right, get rid of it. While it’s important to read as much as you can, don’t waste time on material that doesn’t resonate with your or your book topic.

Rejection can be very therapeutic.

Step 7 – Selection

The time has come. You’ve done a lot of research and now you want to pick your dream time of material that you are really gonna dive into for ideas and help. Basically in this step you are just picking out the best material you’ve found so you can do a deep dive on it.

Step 8 – Injection

My favorite step! This is when you READ READ READ or LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN. You will be reviewing the material you chose in step 7 with wild abandon. Go through everything and don’t hold back.

Feel free to add more material as well as you go. You will often find references to other material in the books you are reading. You can never read to much when you are focused on how to write a nonfiction book.

Step 9 – Extraction

This is my favorite step. You want to extract as much knowledge from the material you are reading as you possibly can. Make sure it resonates with you. You want to highlight, bold, and of course takes notes in your own words.

That’s key too, Take notes in your own words and you can’t go wrong. If you want to get better at taking notes, may I suggest my 5 post series on How To Take Good Notes?

Step 10 – Education

This is a step added to make sure you are thinking like an educator. When you are writing a nonfiction book fast especially, it’s very important to keep the mindset of an educator. Everything you read or listen to… do so with a teachers mindset.

Being a teacher means learning with the intent to share the knowledge with others. Always look for how you can better explain a concept or problem.

Step 11 – Reflection

Now that you’ve read a ton of materials, it’s time to take a break. Let your subconscious mind go on a hiatus where it will work hard for you to make sense of all the material you’ve been learning.

Feel free to think about it if you want, but you really don’t have to. Just set intentions before you go to bed at night or ask yourself questions. You’ll be amazed at what your subconscious mind can do.

Step 12 – Connection

Now it’s time to start connecting the dots. Write out or speak out interesting connections from this new material or even from old material. This is where creativity starts to happen.

Your brain should start firing on all cylinders and you should have lots of notes that you made in the “Extraction” stage. As you go through those notes, look for connections that others may have missed.

Step 13 – Question

As you are making connections, one of the most powerful things you can do is start asking questions. Write out the questions that you just don’t know the answer to. Here’s an easy way to come up with questions.

Start explaining your ideas to a child. See what questions they ask. If you can’t explain it to a 10 year old, then you probably don’t really understand.

See this video of a lecture of Richard Feynman to learn the difference between knowing and understanding

Step 14 – Consolidation

Now we’re getting somewhere! You’ve made connections, you asked questions (and hopefully answered them), and you’ve spent a LOT of time reading, listening, and contemplating on what your nonfiction book is going to be about.

Now it’s time to start consolidating all the knowledge in your head and start breaking it down. Focus on breaking down big ideas breaking them down into smaller chunks of information.

You can do this in a simple bullet point format. But the key here is to think in First Principles. This means that instead of reasoning from analogy (this is LIKE that) reason from the fundamental truths.

If X is true, then what does that mean for Y. This is how you get really good at thinking and ultimatley creating more breakthrough ideas.

Here this concept best explained by Elon Musk:

Step 15 – Formation

This is my favorite step. You now take all your discoveries and aha moments and begin to convert this new knowledge into a system that others can easily grasp. This is also an exercise in branding.

Think of many great nonfiction books, they all have a “Big idea” that explains the book in just a few simple words. Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss is a great example. Or 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.

For my own book, my writing partner and I settled on “Scaling The 7 C’s” a play on words and also encapsulates the idea which is the 7 C’s that companies need to focus on in order to scale and grow.

So, think through everything you’ve written and learned so far. Can you turn these principles into a system? Acronyms work great. Big promises work well too. The key is to make something unique that hasn’t been said before in that way.

This is the secret sauce you must learn if you really want to know how to write a nonfiction book.

Step 16 – Summation

You’ve got all your ideas mapped out now. You’ve created your unique system. What’s next? It’s time to sum it all up. For this, I personally like to use Roam Research. I love the bulleted format and I just brain dump everything I possibly can into it.

You also should use this summation to serve as a nonfiction book outline. Try to organize your material into chapters. For most nonfiction books you’ll want around 10 chapters. The first and last chapter are intro and outro.

The in-between chapters are where the meat is. You also want lots of stories. As you layout your chapter ideas, try to jot down a note with a link to a story you read or liked, or better yet if you have one from your own life use that.

Step 17 – Citation

Lest we get accused of plagiarism or making stuff up, make sure you write down and accurately track all your sources of information. You never want to be in a position where your nonfiction book makes a claim you can’t back up.

Citations can be pretty boring, so don’t be afraid to get some help here. You may have a friend who loves this kind of stuff. I do , and I go to him when I need help.

Step 18 – Fortification

You came here cause you wanted to learn how to write a nonfiction book fast, but I want to stress the importance of this step. Don’t skip it. During this step, write down a list of FAQ’s and do your best to answer them.

Think of what questions your darkest meanest critic would say, then answer their questions. This material can then be weaved into your nonfiction book so you come out looking like a champ.

There are always critics who love tearing down creators, don’t give them the chance. Fortify!

See what writing instructor David Perell says about how he does this:

Step 19 – Production

This is it! You have everything now. You have your outline, you’ve become your own worst critic. You have TONS of notes to draw from. You have a unique system that you created and you can explain all the concepts to a 10 year old.

This is where you actually start writing your nonfiction book. If you’ve been wondering how to write a nonfiction book in 30 days, this is how. All you have to do is spend a few months beforehand doing all the prep work!

I hope now you can see that the writing part is the easy part. It’s just taking all your ideas and putting it into words. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. The hardest part is taking the time to sit and write it out everyday.

Your nonfiction book outline is your guide. Your main job is to just type!

Step 20 – Publication

YES! You did it you have your book. As part of the Production process, you will want to have edited the book at least a few times. You also should have a 3rd party editor read it if at all possible.

Once you’ve done that (and gotten your book cover designed) then it’s time to publish your nonfiction book. Obviously, I can’t go into detail on that side in this post, but it’s a very happy day when you see a book that you wrote on Amazon or even better in a book store.

Step 21 – Distribution

Sadly, publication doesn’t mean sales. Now that your book is published you’ve got to find ways to promote it and get it out there. I recommend trying lots of free strategies like Twitter and Facebook groups and talking to your target market.

You can also give away a free chapter of your book (make it the best one) and build an email list up.

If you’re a first time self-published author it will be slow growth, but that’s ok. If you want to really crank it up, you will need to explore paid ads, but that’s another topic all together.

Final Thoughts On How To Write A Nonfiction Book

Well, there you have it. The 21 step process to go from 0 to a completed and selling nonfiction book. You now know what it takes to get a nonfiction book written. You know how to make a nonfiction book outline, and most importantly you know that it’s gonna take some work to get your book done.

And that’s ok! Yes, you can write your nonfiction book in 30 days… after you’ve done all the pre-work required to get there.

If I had to sum up the most important step, it’s coming up with a unique, brandable angle for your book. There are hundreds of thousands of nonfiction books written and you have to stand out.

That’s why gathering and reviewing as much material as you can will give you the brain juice to come up with something creative.

If you’ve found this blog post helpful, please consider giving me a follow on Twitter.

How I Use Readwise To Save & Store My Notes

technology

Using Readwise To Save All My Notes

After my recent series on note-taking, I’ve had a lot of interest in the technical aspect of how I actually take notes. In this article, I will lay out the technical means by which I take notes.

I feature this process prominently in my upcoming Copywriting Research and Process course called CopywriterBrain.com. Here’s the order of how I take notes and how it all ends up going into Readwise.io.(aff link).

Give Readwise.io A Try

If you’re not a user already, use my affiliate link below and get 60 days of Readwise absolutely FREE. Try it out and see if it isn’t the best product ever!

Try Readwise For 60 Days (Free)

Table Of Contents:

Full Tech Stack
Books (Medium)
Books (Technology)
Audio Books & Podcasts (Medium)
Audio Books & Podcasts (Technology)
Websites/Articles/Online Sources (Medium)
Websites/Articles/Online Sources (Technology)
Email (Medium)
Email (Technology)
Social Media Sites (Medium)
Social Media Sites (Technology)
PDF (Medium)
PDF (Technology)
YouTube & Video Sites (Medium)
YouTube & Video Sites (Technology)
Final Thoughts

Different Types Of Material To Take Notes From

There are different mediums by which we consume information, obviously. Each method calls for different tools and/or techniques to take notes.

Here’s a breakdown of the main mediums that I use to collect information:

Books

This includes things like Ebooks and Print Books. Books are one of the most prominent ways to collect information.

Audio Books & Podcasts

I separate out audio books from the books category because you can’t really take notes in the way. Where phyiscal and ebooks you can hightlight actual text you can’t actually do that with audio books or podcasts (more on what you can do with podcasts soon though).

Websites/Articles/Online Sources

This is where an absolute wealth of information lies. These sources make up most of the content we consume on a day to day basis. I’m talking about websites like wikipedia, news articles, articles on Medium.com and of course many scientific papers and studies on sites like Pub Med and Science Daily.

Email

This is an overlooked area of information. For me personally, I get 3-5 email newsletters per day, most of which I don’t have time to read at the moment they come in. So, we need a good way of saving these emails (outside of the inbox) so they can be read when we are ready to consume them.

Social Media Sites

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit, Forums… these are all social media style sites that provide content that many of us consume daily. Some of it is more worthwhile than others, but we need a way to store save the information that floats above the rest.

PDF Documents

These could be considered books but I separate them out because they come with their own technical issues that make them a little difficult to deal with. PDF’s are a great way to consume content, you just have to have your note taking process dialed in.

Youtube & Other Video Sites

This is very similar to podcasts, but the visual method adds another element. I consume a TON of info on Youtube at 2X speed. It’s practically become one of my new favorite sites.

While you’re thinking about it, check out my youtube channel: Michael Giannulis Youtube

The Software/Tech I Use To Collect All Material To Pass Into Readwise

Now, let’s look at each medium again, but this time I’ll share the tools I use to grab info and get it over into Readwise.

But first, here’s a quick look at a screenshot of my readwise flow including all the tools I use:

readwise collection system
A look at all the tools that I use… most of these feed into Readwise but a few feed directly into Roam which is where I process data.

Here’s a Quick Look At All My Tools For Note Taking

  • Hypothes.is – Great for grabbing highlights and annotations in real-time. Very easy and simple to use and ties directly into Readwise.
  • Helium 10 (used for grabbing Amazon Reviews)
  • Eloquent (in beta, I use this to take notes in real-time on a site, but they are formatted for direct input into Roam Research
  • DIY – Take notes however I want… could be into Google Keep or Evernote then I manually either upload these into Readwise or Roam. Also includes old note-taking staples like notepad, apple notes, Word, and even Google Docs!
  • Roam Research – I use this for processing writing knowledge, but also take notes directly into Roam as needed or when convenient.
  • Airr.co – Take notes as you listen to podcasts, I can’t use this yet cause I’m still waiting for the Android version of the app. Ties directly into readwise.
  • Otter.ai – If I record a zoom call, I can use Otter to make a transcription then I dump directly into Roam.
  • Instapaper – For anything I don’t want to read right now, I add it to my Instapaper. I then read it when I want and can easily highlight and annotate and take notes.
  • Readwise – The ultimate app where everything ends up. They make it so easy to connect to both inputs and outputs (like Roam, Evernote, and Notion) it really is the most important app in the data collection arsenal.

Ok with that out of the way, let’s look at how you can use these tools to get data from your different mediums.

Books

For print books you have two options. You can manually take notes in your favorite note taking app then import these into readwise using the manual import feature. Or if you are using Apple, you can use the readwise app to take photos of each page of highlights and actually import the highlights as text. Pretty awesome! Hopefully they are coming out with an Android version soon.

For Ebooks, its’ really easy. Use Amazon Kindle and connect to Readwise. All the highlights and annotations are either automatically or manually (your choice) sent into Readwise for you. It’s the best.

Audio Books & Podcasts

For audio books, right now we are still stuck on manual mode. I take voice notes using Google Keep then manually add them into Roam Research or Readwise and clean them up.

I like adding notes to Readwise because I love their daily email that shows me old notes I took. I actually use those to write my Tweets. If you want to see how I do that, watch this video:

Websites/Articles/Online Sources

When it comes to grabbing notes online, there are two options. You have the “now” option and the later option.

If you want to take notes in real time as you read articles, then I recommend Hypothes.is. It’s free and you can just highlight words and it is automatically saved for you. You can also annotate and add your own thoughts. Best part is this connects directly into Readwise so you don’t have to mess with anything. Your notes are saved and passed onto readwise and wherever else you may want them to end up (Like Roam cough cough).

The other “now” option is to use Eloquent if you plan on putting your notes directly into Roam. I am still hoping this software comes out of Beta and gets some more love. The idea is great, but it’s been a little buggy for me.

Then, you have the later option. Any site, blog post, articles, etc that you want to read later should be sent to Instapaper. You can then read these whenever you want and highlight and annotate. And! Instapaper connects directly to Readwise so again, seamless integration.

If you’re so inclined, I think you can use Pocket for this as well, but I have never tried it.

Email

Similar to the web. You can take real time notes using Hypothes.is or you an save for later using Instapaper. You actually forward the email to your instapaper email address. Then you can read it later and take your notes.

Social Media Sites

For all sites except Twitter, you can use Hypothes.is to highlight and annotate your notes. Just make sure it’s working properly as sometimes logged in sites give hypothes.is trouble. You can always just manually copy paste to a text file then upload to readwise as well if needed.

For Twitter, Readwise has a great Readwise to Twitter integration. You just connect your Twitter account to Readwise in your Readwise account. Then, when you’re on Twitter you have two easy ways to save Tweets.

You can save an individual tweet by either Direct Messaging (DM) the Tweet to Readwise.io or leaving a comment under the Tweet. In both cases, all you need to say is @readwiseio Save.

If you wish to save the whole thread, you can follow the same protocol just write @readwiseio Save Thread.

I think for common courtesy, we should use the DM version of this as I hate reading through 20 comments saying @readwise save then @readwise responding DONE!

And of course, these Tweets are added to Readwise automatically and then can be directed wherever you want them.

PDF Documents

To take notes on PDF documents, you need to open the document in Adobe reader. There’s a highlight icon you can click on to highlight any of the text you want to save. If you then right click on the highlighted words, you can add your own commentary.

When done (and during) save the document. When it is all saved, you can email the document directly to Readwise. Readwise will go through the document and attempt to extract the highlights and your comments.

You just need to send the PDF as an attachment to add@readwise.io from the email address you used when you creating your readwise account. Pretty easy.

Youtube & Other Video Sites

And finally there’s Youtube or video sites. This is currently a Do It Yourself option. I have taken to putting the videos into Roam Research directly and watching the video in there while taking notes below.

Then you can always grab those notes and manually add them to readwise if you want to. Other options include note taking directly into legacy note taking apps or using Eloquent.

Using Readwise Final Comments

Ok, this article has covered a lot of ground and I have pointed out my system and flow using Readwise.

Any system is only as good as you make it. By that I mean, if you won’t use it, then it has no value. So, make your system around what you will actually use.

This includes assessing need as well.

I love using Readwise because it makes my life so much easier. I save TONS of time and love getting my daily newsletter from Readwise where I can review random notes and tweets they found for me.

I hope this article gets you started in the right direction when it comes to using Readwise and all these other note-taking tools. Please leave a comment with any questions, I’m happy to answer.

If you are interested in learning more about Roam Research, here’s a video I did walking through my Roam Research Setup:

How To Apply What You Learn (Part 5 In Note Taking Series)

notes, mental models, metalearning, productivity

We have finally reached the end of this series on how to take good notes. The final edition of this series will focus on how to apply what you have learned and notated during the previous four steps.

I will attempt to keep this post shorter if I can, however, I am not known for brevity.

Here’s a quick reference guide to take you back to the first 4 parts in case you missed those:

Part 1 – The META Method
Part 2 – The 6 Areas Of Knowledge Extraction
Part 3 – Reflection During & After The Note Taking Process
Part 4 – How To Take Evergreen Notes

How To Apply What You Learn

The main focus on this article is on application. The previous articles have prepared you for the note taking process in general. Now, we’re going to talk about how to actually use the knowledge you have gained through your note taking skills.

In essence there are three areas you are going to focus on now that you have completed the reading, study, and note taking process.

Here’s the three areas you will want to focus on to actually apply what you learn:

Let’s look at each of these 3 steps in greater detail so you can put them to immediate use.

How To Apply What You Learn: Practice

You probably have a lot of new information in your mind now. You may have created some Anki cards, you may have even created evergreen notes for yourself. All that is great, but it really isn’t using the information in the “real world”.

That is where practice comes into play.

You want to focus on 3 different areas of Practice:

  • Form
  • Retention
  • Understanding

Form applies more to physical skills you are learning such as dancing or karate, for example. You want to practice the movements over and over again. Repitition is the key to creating muscle memory and therefore your ability to use your skills in real life situations.

Form also applies outside of the physical realm. For example, you can conduct thought experiments every day for 30 days about the new topic you are learning. Here’s a video to learn more about how to conduct thought experiments

When you conduct these thought experiments you want to really focus on thinking through all the possible outcomes that may occur and both ask questions and answer those questions.

This is such a powerful way to grow your mental ability to think through problems and really apply what you are learning.

If you want a great read on Mental Models, check out the book by Shane Parrish.

Next we’ll look again at Retention. Retention isn’t really the problem. Most of what you have read or watched or listened to is actually in your brain. The problem is that you have to recall it.

It’s sort of like we know we saved the file somewhere on our hard drive, but we just can’t remember what folder it’s in. The solution here is to store the data in a way that you are most likely to retrieve it.

This means linking, thinking, shrinking and winking.

Link together ideas. Bind them. Compare them to other things you have learned.

Think through abstract ideas and turn them into as tangible of a concept as you possibly can. This means creating metaphors, similies, and stories that help you easier recall information.

Shrink means to minimize the amount of information or data you are trying to remember and use to it’s bare essence. It’s easier to remember one person, one date, one historical fact then it is to remember 20 in one “chunk”. So, you want to shrink down the size of the chunks into memorable pieces.

This is also where story and emotion come into play. The stronger the emotional appeal, ht more likely you are to recall it. I call this ‘winking” because you want to make it playful. Also, think about flirting. You are much more likely to remember a flirty conversation than a business talk. By winking to yourself, you increase the odds of being able to later recall what you have learned.

Finally, let’s look at Understanding. This is a pretty simple aspect of Practice. You want to make sure to practice your newfound knowledge on other people. Talk to them and teach them what you have learned. You will quickly find gaps of knowledge and that’s good.

Now you can go back and study those areas and come back and teach again to see if you finally fully understand the full topic.

How To Apply What You Learn: Analysis

An analysis is the continued study of material you have learned or acquired. You want to always be analyzing what you have read and learned previously.

One reason for this is that a lot of informaiton is unreliable. Unfortunately, we are fed data from the internet, from wikipedia, from friends, and books that may not be accurate. We can achieve a higher rate of data accuracy by consuming more information.

This, of course, isn’t easy and takes up more time. But it is very important. The more data you have at your fingertips, the more you can analyze and decipher.

Another core component to analysis is to continue to break down all theories or hypothesizes to their bare essentials. You ultimately want to be able to focus on one aspect of an idea… the core idea or main belief you are to add to your belief backlog.

This goes well with the Practice step as well. You want to convert large ideological chunks into malleable pieces and blocks of knowledge. Knowledge blocks are easier to contain, control, and confirm.

And they are much easier to build upon. Here’s a great read on knowledge building blocks by Tiago Forte.

How To Apply What You Learn: Synthesis

And that brings us to the final step to apply what you learn. The great and powerful synthesis. Here’s a good working definition of syntheses from Google:

The combination of ideas to form a theory or system.

Defintion of Synthesis

I love that defintion because that is what must be done to turn knowledge into application. In this step, the goal is to take what you have learned from your continued analysis and start combining it into other ideas or concepts you have learned or created.

It is literally the act of creating new knowledge from old knowledge. The interesting part is you don’t have to necessarily even create or discover anything new. Rather, you are putting together different areas of knowledge that perhaps haven’t been connected yet.

As an example, I have created a series of 5 blog posts on How To Take Good Notes and there really isn’t anything “new” I have added other than coming up with interesting words and phrases to explain ideas first discovered or shared by others. From the META Method to Practice, Analysis, Synthesis... these ideas are not my own, but the branding is.

It’s equivalent to white labeling a product. You can modify the product slightly, but mostly you are creating new packaging and new marketing. Call it White Labeling Ideas. By adding multiple ideas together and explaining it in a new way, you have in essence creating a new product by white labeling the ideas of others.

Here’s a quick description of white labeling from SmartyAds:

“White labeling is producing the products and services and their further rebranding and advertising under another brand’s name. The aim of it is increasing customer loyalty and trust, saving resources and time necessary for new the new solution development and deployment.”

Of course, also give contribution to where your ideas came from. There are entire books that are nothing more than the white labeling of other people’s ideas.

And by this art of synthesis, you will also end up creating your own unique ideas, theories, and systems, but that’s just a side benefit. In the end, your ability to speak clearly on a wide range of topics, your ability to write and explain your thoughts with clarity, and the amount of knowledge you can apply to your life is worth all the effort you have put in.

I hope you have enjoyed this series as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. As always, please leave comments below and also make sure you follow me on Twitter for more info around notes, productivity, business, and more.

My Twitter –> Michael Giannulis