Note-taking ability is a person's most fundamental "meta-skill."

An excellent note reflects a person's fundamental way of thinking.

So, good note-taking is about cultivating an "ability to put oneself in another's shoes" through notes, enabling one to truly transition from their current state to another.

  Regarding notes, I have a few opinions:

• 
  The information resources we are exposed to every day determine our perspective, which in turn influences our decisions and sets the tone for our destiny. Those who are only repeatedly exposed to the same type of information will not have a chance to stand out, or if they do, it is very slim.
• 
  Most people spend their entire lives busy with "knee-jerk reactions." People are willing to do anything to avoid real thinking.
• 
  The essence of note-taking is the way of thinking. People who are good at solving problems have actually solved them at the initial stage of taking notes.
• 
  True knowledge can certainly be transformed into productive power in reality, and then it can form a dimensional reduction strike on real-world problems.
•   Only what is visualized can be managed.

  Look.

All things under heaven are understood when one is idle and detached, and used appropriately when one is busy.

  The former is called making light of what is heavy, the latter is called making heavy of what is light.

So, during the relatively calm period, you should perceive some things, understand some things, and prepare some things. Then, when the next cycle begins, they will be useful in the midst of the bustle.

  This carrier is notes.

Only by continuously acquiring information, integrating information, analyzing information, filtering information, refining information, and utilizing information can we ultimately form our own unique way of thinking and values, and have the confidence to clearly express our views and influence.

Responding to the world with your own standards and beliefs is itself a very cool thing.

After years of evolution, two main note-taking methods have been accumulated: A symbols and four-color highlighters.

Regarding "A+" notes, the inspiration comes from "Smart People Use Grid Notebooks."

Here, A stands for action (Action), and the sentences that can be converted into actions are marked accordingly. All reading, in the end, should be put into practice, and we “think about problems based on action”.^[1]

Therefore, this sentence must be clear and precise, directly actionable, and operational.

Action-oriented thinking allows us to get to the point faster and clarify actions. Thus, having a clear grasp of the situation, we can act decisively.

  Has the following syntactic features:

•   observable;
•   Specificity and particularity;
•   It can be broken down into several small steps;
•   The first step can be completed within five minutes.

For example, you have a subordinate, and you ask him to "write a summary about something."

  So, this is not called thinking about problems based on actions.

Because no matter how hard the subordinate tries to think according to your requirements, no concrete images or next steps for action will form in his mind.

  If the request is made like this:

Can you find the three main reasons for Company A's sales increase of 20% compared to last month, write them on an A4 paper, and submit them to me by 12 PM tomorrow?

Such a description makes subordinates immediately understand what they need to do and can take action right away.

  Clear goals can liberate us.

  Any time you are in your worst state, it is certainly when you have lost your goal.

  We need to live with goals and missions, full of enthusiasm.

Following the 「A+」notes, with the mindset of OKR, I gradually started to try the 「weekly outline」method of governance from October 2019.

  Each item in the "Weekly Outline" comes from the "A+" notes.

  And, I once specifically listed a goal about the weekly outline:

  Adhere to the weekly guidelines and "comprehensive deliberate practice."

Objective: Goal Management: Adherence to Weekly Guidelines and "Comprehensive Deliberate Practice"

• 
  KR1:"Deliberate Practice in the Weekly Outline" as the final deliverable for reading, ruminate on 1 article from the WeChat public account.
• 
  KR2: Using the 5W+1H syntax (Do what by when where and how many), review past electronic screenshots to form one "deliberate practice" in the "weekly outline."
• 
  KR3: Transform 1 weekly guideline with “specific task scenarios”: (Syntax: If-Then)

...) Here’s an example: When reading the marketing book “Don’t Sell to Me, Tell Me,” the narrative is presented in segments, continuous and linear.

  If transformed into a "program", it would be like this ——

1.9 Objective: Build a personal brand with a storytelling mindset

• 
  KR1:Identify your clear and specific goals for you and your business. We have already learned that as a business owner, your personal story is closely tied to your brand. Therefore, being clear about why you are doing this, what you are doing, what you stand for, and who can benefit the most from your skills and passion, makes it easier to stay consistent with your brand story.^[2]
• 
  KR2: Clarify your theme: State it from your perspective. Don't hesitate to be bold. What benefits can you promise to those who choose to work with you? What can you bring to them? What do you believe in? What will you never give up? What is your promise to the world?
• 
  KR3: A story about rebirth: Rebirth is a narrative that is highly suitable for marketing. It is a story about the protagonist falling into a low point, reaching the most hopeless depths, and then miraculously coming back to life. The protagonist's struggle provides a point of conflict, and the ultimate overcoming of obstacles, phoenix rising from the ashes, is very inspiring. Any personal story about overcoming difficulties or dark moments is a story of rebirth.

Ultimately, you will find that it is our choices, actions, and deliverables that determine who we are

  And you, are nothing more than your weekly deliberate practice list.

Of course, not everything we read can be directly translated into action. Some concepts, when we first encounter them, are difficult to understand and require further digestion.

If the content read cannot be immediately translated into specific actions, but only evokes some feeling, you can write three words next to it — "Understood."

  The hard pen version is written like this:

  The effect of writing with a brush pen is this style:

  Or something like this:

The invention of this "acknowledged" annotation method belongs to the Qing Dynasty emperor.

When they see the ministers' memorials and don't know what to write, they will seriously and perfunctorily write three words —— "acknowledged."

Humans are visual creatures. By assigning different meanings to colors, it is more helpful for categorizing information.

Among various color differentiation methods, Professor Shintaro Saito from Meiji University in Japan proposed the "three-color method," assigning different meanings to the 3 colors red, blue, and green:

• 
  In terms of the itinerary, red represents "most important to-do items," blue represents "general to-do items," and green represents "personal matters."
• 
  In information management, red indicates "information heard from others" or "more subjective information," blue indicates "secondary information," and green indicates "one's own thoughts."

Everyone may have different definitions of colors, but by establishing personal color usage rules, one can quickly and intuitively identify items of concern when browsing through notes or calendars in the future, greatly improving work efficiency.

  For example, I like to use four-color highlighters for annotations.

This idea comes from reading Gui Youguang's five-color circle commentary on the "Records of the Grand Historian" in a 2011 research article.

Marginal comments and annotations, originally a form of literary criticism that developed from the end of the Song Dynasty.

By adding marginal comments, side notes, and interlinear annotations to the text, and using different symbols such as circles, dots, lines, and deletions to leave reading marks.

Regarding Gui Youguang's method, «Gui's Commentary on the Records of the Grand Historian» provides the following explanation for the "five-color circle" symbols:

The beginning of the «Records of the Grand Historian» comes with a fierce momentum; the circles and dots should be made with a gentle touch, but one must see the necessity of circling and dotting. The red circles and dots always indicate the best parts of the meaning and narrative, while the yellow circles and dots always indicate the flow of the text. There are also places where a yellow circle is used for a turn, yet the story continues. Ink marks are used for places that go against reason, blue marks for places that are not crucial, red marks for crucial places, and yellow marks for the most important parts of the text.^[3]

The four colors of the highlighters I use for reading are red, green, yellow, and blue. They correspond to two main marking objects, namely “meaningful sentences and narrative benefits” and “qi pulse” cues.

  1、red is used to mark the central sentence.

2、green is used to mark “contextual cues,” such as transitions, contrasts, and summaries, which are logical connectives.

For example: "The key point of this matter is..."; "The conclusion is as follows..."; "This is because..."; "The key points are as follows..."; "Based on these facts..."; "It can be explained as..."; "Such measures need to be taken..."

Through these "landmarks" to understand the writing techniques of “smooth and reverse, positive and negative, hidden and obvious, discontinuous and continuous, open and close, echo and response”.

3、yellow is used to record “proper nouns”.

4、blue is used to record counterarguments, which are sentences that negate or contrast.

  In addition, key words and phrases can be highlighted with boxes.

For example, in Zeng Guofan's 批牍, reading the four characters «deep, steady, clear, and decisive», I can't help but admire them.

  Thus, the method is defined as follows:

  "Reading" books, this commonly accepted practice, is too superficial and one-sided.

  So I created a unique Chinese character based on my own note-taking method.

  It is written like this:

  This character is pronounced: tāng (same as 趟).

The process of learning is actually a process of feeling one's way.

So, we don’t read books; we tāng books. Every moment of hesitation, fear of conflict, and inability to refuse is a moment for us to break through our psychological comfort zones and boldly advance towards the “new frontiers” of cognition.

• 
  「扌」 means: Taking notes requires the use of hands, and it involves breaking down creative activities into mechanical tasks. Bit by bit, with calloused hands and feet. When others are trying to take shortcuts, your solid and steady work is the best shortcut.
• 
  “尺” means: notes require a ruler, searching high and low, moving hands and feet to find things. True extraordinary men are essentially farmers: simple, calm, immersed in their own fields, whether it be music, painting, books, or a player, a mobile phone.
• 
  The "heart" below represents: the process of taking notes while reading requires our established beliefs to be challenged. It needs to be a process of deep contemplation where one cannot easily find answers.

A focused and interesting person has a magical power to distort reality, creating their own world that draws you in to appreciate it, bringing you unique and unexpected surprises.

  Thinking through notes is just the first step to stepping out of your "comfort zone."

The process of textualization and visualization is also a process of continuous exploration, continuous reasoning, and continuous experimentation.

No one knows what lies ahead, no one gives you clear immediate rewards, no one can give you the meaning of the output. "The vast unknown is uncertain, we do our best, regardless of success or failure."

We should do what we are supposed to do, and leave the rest to fate. This is the attitude we should have when doing things.

  Reference

1. 
   ^Smart people use grid notebooks Author: [JP] Masahiko Takahashi Publisher: Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House; Translator: Xiaoya Yuan; Publication Year: 2015-6-1; ISBN: 9787540471644
2. 
   ^Greg Kihn. Don't sell me, tell me (The "Storytelling in Business" Practical Trilogy) (Kindle Locations 526-528). Renmin University of China Press. Kindle Edition.
3. 
   ^ Research on Gui Youguang's Commentary on "The Records of the Grand Historian" - Chinese Literature Research - Issue 2, 2005