“Are you taking in new knowledge and sort of attaching it to knowledge you have? For me, taking notes helps make sure that I’m really thinking hard about what’s in there.” — Bill Gates

Psychologist Stanislas Dehaene notes that writing activates a unique neural circuit thanks to the recognition of the gestures we use to create written words on paper.

digital notes are much easier to revisit. A simple Ctrl + F lets you search for and find a single keyword or phrase.

The biggest drawback I’ve found with audio notes is transcribing them later. This may not be much of an issue if yours are quick blurbs, but if you’re expounding on a topic or idea, it may take you a while to record your audio notes.

“Note-taking becomes note-making: an active involvement in making sense and meaning for later reflection, study or sharing of notes to compare understanding with lab partners or classmates.” –Hetty Roessingh, University of Calgary professor

As Shane Parrish of Farnam Street says, “If you’re reading fast you’re not thinking and challenging what you’re reading. You’re not being critical. You’re not making connections with existing knowledge.”

Glasp and the Glasp browser extension lets you highlight and take notes on almost any website. Best of all, your notes and highlights (and links to each article) are collected on your Glasp profile. You can even view others’ notes for inspiration — or add them to your own collection.

Best of all, Notion works with Glasp to keep your reading list and notes database organized.

My only gripe is that it costs $5 a month. You’ll need to upgrade to the $8 a month plan if you want to add tags or notes to your highlights or export them to other apps like Notion.