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How I listen to and take notes on Podcasts

December 3, 2021 by Chris Wilson Leave a Comment

I’ve listened to podcasts for years. Although I’ve changed podcast apps (and the shows I listen to) more times than I care to remember, in the last couple of months my system for how I listen to and take notes on podcasts has undergone the most significant change since I first started 14 years ago.

And it all centres around a new a podcast app and how it works with readwise.

Table of Contents

My old system for listening and taking notes from podcasts

how I used to listen to and take podcast notes

I suspect most people had a similar approach to my podcast listening system.

I used a podcast app on my phone (My weapon of choice was pocket casts as it has a Mac app as well as a phone version)
I listened at 2x speed (I blame Ali Abdaal for this)
If there was an interesting point, I would pause, grab drafts and take a note. Sometimes I would re-listen to make sure I got the important parts (especially if it was a quote).
At the end of the episode (which I might listen to over several days) I moved the note to Obsidian and cleaned it up.

When I take notes from other sources such as reading a book I try to summarise from memory, but with podcasts and audio books, it’s difficult to return to the key point and check the information.

When I heard about a potential solution to my podcast note taking struggles, I was excited.

Enter Airr.

Airr Podcast App

Airr is a podcast app designed for saving key moments from episodes. It provides a large button (or a triple tap of a headphone button) to save an “Airr Quote”. You can tailor how long is saved by default and you can edit any Airr quote later so it matches the moment you wanted to save.

This makes it easy to go back and find key points that you want to remember later. And thanks to Airr, I have a new podcast listening and note taking system.

How I listen to podcasts now

For pure entertainment podcasts, I still use pocket casts, but for informational podcasts, I have moved to Airr. This means I can only listen with my phone, but that’s an acceptable compromise.

I still play episodes at 2x speed (sometimes only 1.5 if it’s very dense on information).
If there’s an interesting quote or point, I either
- Triple tap the button on my Beats flex
- Press the Air Quote button in the app
- or use a Siri shortcut by saying “Hey Siri, take an Airr Quote.”

Once the podcast is over, It’s time to start the note taking process.

How I take notes on podcasts now

With my Airr Quotes, I have a starting point for my notes.

Either immediately or at the end of the day, I start my note taking process.

I go back to each Airr Quote and adjust it to capture the text I want. Then I give each Airr Quote a title.
My Airr Quotes are automatically saved to readwise. This is both my integration layer and resurfaced as my saved notes later.
Thanks to the Readwise sync with Obsidian, these quotes are saved to my Obsidian vault when I reopen the application.
In Obsidian, I review the quotes and make add a summary about the episode I’ve listened to.
Next, I create Atomic notes in Obsidian based on the key points or ideas in the episode.

This new system allows me to enjoy episodes more, take better notes with specific quotes (I can even share the audio if I like) and helps with creating notes. Plus, it works similar to my other note taking processes thanks to Readwise.

However, it is not without faults.

My problems with Airr

I have experienced a couple of frustrating issues with Airr that I haven’t experienced with any other podcast app.

These includes

Airr logging me out randomly so I have to log in multiple times a day
Saving an Airr Quote using the Airr Quote button in the app has caused the episode to end and be marked as played.

The second is certainly not something I experience a lot as I tend to use other methods to take an Airr Quote, however both can be very frustrating.

Alternative podcast note taking options

There are two alternatives that might be worth considering. One is Snipd, another podcast app that also integrates with Readwise and allows you to save clips. I have no experience of this app so I can’t vouch for it.

The alternative is to use a system like Ev Chapman in her video below.

While I would like to try her system, I have been a pocket cast user for a long time which doesn’t include the option to save a clip from an app.

I know this is ironic as I moved to an alternative podcast app anyway, but the built in quote system works very well in my experience and doesn’t have a stop-start process that Ev’s system would be.

What about you?

Have you found a different system to take podcast notes? I’d love to know and see if I could steal some inspiration from it. In the meantime, I’ll stick to using Airr.

Why and How I use Obsidian

May 15, 2021 by Chris Wilson Leave a Comment

In the last few years, there has been an explosion of new note taking apps which only seems to be accelerating. This has been a wonderful blessing to those of us who got fed up with hearing about work chat (and even more fed up with jokes about work chat) and wanted something more than just the default Apple notes or…whatever Android people use.

Table of Contents

Why Obsidian?

After exploring a few options I’ve settled* on Obsidian as my note taking/personal knowledge management application (*terms and conditions apply). I present this post not as a case for why everyone should use Obsidian, but why I like Obsidian and have chosen it. There may well be a better option for you (and there’s possibly a better option for me!) so if you want to keep exploring, go for it.

It’s free to start

I have no issue with paying for a good app but the main reason I settled on Obsidian was it’s free entry point. I had been playing with notion but wanted to try one of the new internal linking note taking apps. Roam seemed like the obvious choice but the $15 a month price point was enough to make me wait. As Obsidian was free, I had no barrier to download and play.

Once I started exploring, it soon convinced me to stay thanks in part to it’s strengths over an app like roam.

Interlinked notes works for me

I had previously been exploring Notion which Anne-Laure Le Cunff aptly described as an “architect” style note app. That is, one which requires you to create a structure to organize your notes.
There are some great aspects of a system like this such as tracking a project in a Kanban view or viewing all delivery dates in a calendar view. But, I don’t really need those for my personal notes. In fact, creating those layouts and organizing notes took more time than using those notes.

Interlinked notes is completely different. It’s a bottom up approach where you don’t need to start with a grand structure. Instead you make a note (either just a thought or in reference to a topic) and think about what it might be related to. If you can think of a connection, link to that note (warning, you don’t want to link to everything. Eventually links can get overwhelming).

This approach allows for topics and trends to emerge naturally and even unexpectedly as you follow your curiosity. I suspect this is better for most individuals with eclectic interests whereas something like notion is better for focused organizations but I know there are some people who prefer Notion/Evernotes approaches.

It uses plain text files

Plain text both makes it far easier to move note application in the future (if I so choose) as well as opens up compatibility with other apps. It’s very easy to save notes from drafts to obsidian, or edit and publish this article using iA Writer (I’m currently writing in Obsidian).
I can even easily share these notes to a Jekyll based digital garden if I so wish.

It’s cross platform

Thanks to electron, there are PC, Mac and Linux apps. I was using the PC app for a long time while working on my company provisioned computer. Unlike an app like craft (which is just starting to provide a web client), this means I am not limited to windows or mac.

This was another significant factor in getting me hooked on Obsidian. Now that I can use a Mac for work, I could switch to something like draft, but the assurance that I can move to my work PC whenever I need is persuasive.

You can even use your own sync services

Obsidian provides an end-to-end encrypted, paid sync service at a reasonable cost. But you can use your regular Dropbox or iCloud sync at no additional cost.

The community

I am a real lurker in the Obsidian forums and discord but I am really grateful for the people who are contributing fantastic work there. Some are simple ideas or tips on how to organize notes and sharing ideas they’ve saved. Others have provided really fantastic resources to help and a select few even create community plugins which can add some powerful functionality.

Everyone seems very friendly and I don’t get an arrogance that I feel from some other note taking communities.

What’s not great

Obsidian isn’t without faults and there are certainly some aspects I dislike and envy in other apps including.

it uses electron not a native app
navigating the mobile app is very awkward (thanks electron)
it’s not as attractive as tools like craft
publishing is a pricey addon
you don’t get some of the organizational tools of an app like
you have to keep all your images and files locally (you can’t hide images etc in the cloud)

How

In this section I’ll explore the different ways I use Obsidian and take notes in general.

With Evernote

I still have a paid Evernote plan, in no small part because I have an exceptional ongoing discount as well as a significant backlog of reference notes.

Evernote has become my storage locker for reference notes, pdfs and files (and even Twitter threads). It’s also the place where I may save a copy of a web page (you never know if a website will disappear). Obsidian is where I write notes and reflections on what I have saved.

RRR approach

I want to share about this properly but I came across this approach to help learn and remember a topic called Read, recite, review. The basics theory is the best way to develop knowledge/a skill is to DO that skills, but we often do limited forms of it. So most people just read and reread their notes and never actually practice recalling information. As such, they don’t really take the information in.
This approach involves

reading some material
reciting (or in this case writing a note from memory)
Once (and only when) you have finished writing a note, you go back and review the material.
Add any information you forgot (from memory)

This results in making a personalized note, with only the key information (or information that resonated with you) and helps embed it in your memory.

Book notes

I enjoy reading a wide range of non-fiction but especially christian books. I use a book note template to save my reflections and thoughts.

I will also make individual notes with key points and ideas from a text and link those back to the main book note.

Random ideas

Sometimes I have a random idea or theory and save it as a note to investigate and explore. For example, I came up with the idea of “superhero syndrome” as an alternative to “impostor syndrome”. My vague idea is that we should imagine ourselves as Clark Kent, who seems out of place and an impostor, but really we are superheros who have to hide our true identities.

I have no idea how realistic this idea is and maybe I need to refine it, but I like the name and I certainly struggle with impostor syndrome, perhaps it will become something in the future.

Meeting notes

I recently started saving my meeting notes in obsidian. I have a simple template that adds a link to my daily note (below) and fills in the topics I plan to discuss and do discuss as well as listing next actions. It helps make sure I prepare for meetings and can check who is responsible for what.

Daily notes using the storyline productivity schedule

I’ve used the Storyline Productivity schedule since about 2013 and Don Miller has updated it for his new book and course; Business made simple.

Everyday I press the button to open the daily note, fill in my primary tasks and answer the question “If I could do today again, I’d…” This simple practice has been fantastic for me.

You can watch a video on how it works here.

Study notes

I’ve taken a few courses recently and I use Obsidian to take notes on readings, tutorials and general ideas. These are all linked back to a central page which keeps track of my module and progress.

Sermon planning

In the last year, I’ve started preaching at my church. Preparing for a sermon takes a lot of research and work to come up with suitable examples, applications and illustrations (and then organize them together). Obsidian works fantastic for putting ideas down, embedding illustrations, and then exporting a finalized PDF that I can preach from.

Want to start with Obsidian?

If you are interested in getting started with Obsidian, I made an Obsidian starter kit that provides an opinionated set of files to help you structure your Obsidian system.

Get Started with Obsidian

How I effectively read online content

March 4, 2021 by Chris Wilson Leave a Comment

Back a hundred years ago there were four options for reading interesting content. Buy a (good) newspaper, buy a magazine or journal, buy a book or borrow a book from a library. The internet changed that. Now we have instant access to the entirety of human knowledge instantly. But how do we find the most relevant online content for ourselves. And once, we’ve found it, how can properly process it?

Today’s blog post is how I find, read and then apply content I read online.

Table of Contents

FOMO: The problem with online content

Fomo affects my reading of online content in two ways.

I worry that I’m not consuming enough,
I fear that there’s some other, new content that would be better for me to read.
I get distracted by notifications and worry that I’m missing out on something else.

Although there are steps I can take to help ensure the quality of what I read as well as reduce distractions, accepting fomo is a key step.

Defeating FOMO with an abundance mindset

The truth is that I (and you) will never know everything or even everything we want to.

We are limited human beings and there’s just too much information. In fact, there will be more great content published today than you have time to read.

At the same time, this is a blessing.

We no longer have to strive to read every great article that is being published, instead we can be selective, knowing that there is more great content out there.

When we accept an abundance mindset, we can cope with not reading everything. We don’t even need to read the best things. Instead, we just need to read something that is beneficial for us.

This pragmatic approach helps us focusing on gaining value from what we do read and defeats the FOMO that can prevent us from actually reading.

Avoiding distractions while reading online content

Many websites are minefields of adverts, push notification popups and email optins. Not to mention the ease of switching browser tabs. To avoid this, I send articles to a read it later service (instapaper in my case). This helps

remove distracting popups
changes the reading process to encourage complition
allows me turn off notifications while reading and stay focused.

I’ll return to this aspect later, but now I want to address the process.

Step 1: Find good things to read (two methods)

The first step in the process is to find something to read. Not finding just anything, that’s easy enough as we’ll soon see, but finding something good to read. When it comes to finding content, there are two methods: Pushed content, and pulled content.

Push content

Push content is content sent to us without our explicit engagement.

Advertisments are push content (we often don’t want to see them) but so are social media feeds. A feed will include content that others users (and the algorithm) believe you will be interested in.

The challenges of pushed content

There are obviously issues with push content. We have limited to no control over what the feed will spew out. If it is time based, then our interesting friend may have decided to push some selfies.

Algorithims will tend to favor easy “pop” content over meaty enriching content. While there is nothing wrong with watching the latest Hollywood block buster, if you only watch big budget movies there is a problem. You are unlikely to advance in areas of knowledge you want to develop.

Push content also tends to interrupt us and be endless. The social media feed is practically never ending and a ping during a focus study hour can ruin the whole time.

Push content can be fantastic, but we need to control it.

Sources of push content

Advertisments
Social media streams
TV channels
YouTube

How to raise the quality of your pushed content

If the content pushed to you doesn’t feel “High-quality” then you need to add some filters and open some new doors. There are some easy ways to do this.

Curate your twitter feed – remove some people you follow, add some new people.
Make some twitter lists – you don’t have to follow people, you can start a list instead.
Get recommendations – ask people you know for good sources to follow.
Adopt a more critical view – be careful about clickbaitey titles. Ask yourself if it would be better to read something from your pull list than the latest item pushed to you.
Adopt more in-between sources – some content is half push half pull. A journal, blog, or newsletter is still technically pushed but is more often curated around a single topic. This makes it more likely to be relevant to you. Increase your sources of these content over pure push content.

Pull content

Pull content is content we bring to ourselves.

Debatably this would be exclusively articles and books we search for and find but In practice I also include heavily curated sources. These still push content, but you choose to have this topic enter your list.

The advantages of pull content is that you set the bounds and you are unlikely to get added distractions or off-topic pieces. It’s a great way to dive deeper into a certain field. But there are limits.

One issue with pull content is the lack of serendipity. After an initial exploration of a topic, you are likely to be going deeper and learning the details of a topic. You are more likely to find the same names repeating and the same ideas and issues. This is especially true of reading the same writers and sources.

The joy of suddenly encountering a radical new idea that challenges many of your assumptions can be lost from pull content.

Sources of Pull content

Google searches
Books
RSS feeds
Curated newsletters
Searching through bibliographies

Balancing pull and push content

I don’t (yet) have a perfect formula for how much push and pull content is right. I do, however, have a rule of thumb.

Reduce push, increase pull.

Most of us don’t have an issue with push content. The real issue is limiting the low quality push content and finding the gems. This stems from our FOMO over content. The truth is that we are more likely to miss out on great content from pull content than push content.

By filtering the content pushed to us, we can pull more content and raise the overall quality of reading materials.

Step 2: Send it to read later

Instead of reading content there and then, I send it to instapaper. There are many read it later services including pocket or note taking applications like Evernote, notion and roam research.

This might seem like an unneccasery step for some, but there is a reason I use instapaper.

Instapaper removes distracting elements and allows me to highlight and annotate key parts that resonate with me. It also provides me with an additional step before reading.

That extra delay helps me prioritise high-quality content.

The only exception is for short content. Think of it as the David Allen “2 minute rule” but for reading.

Step 3: Triage to manage content

With a list of interesting articles in Instapaper, I can now browse and select the items that most appeal to me. I read an article or two this every evening after my daughter has gone to bed and whenever I take a commute (althought that is not so common now).

I don’t go through from oldest to newest or the reverse, but I skim what I can see and pick the most interesting articles to me at the time. Sometimes, I don’t bother reading an article but archive it as I realise that it isn’t that interesting to me.

Step 4: Read, Highlight, Annotate

As I read, I highlight the most interesting and relevant parts for me.

Admittedly, I also highlight quotable parts that might be good to share, but I seek to find the parts that are relevant to my interests. I also add notes with questions and comparisons to other ideas.

Step 5: Sumarize from memory

Next I turn to the applications Drafts and write notes on the individual ideas within the article that resonated with me.

I do this from memory and then return to the article to check any points I’ve missed. Critically I do not look at the article until I’ve finished making a note so that I push my memory.

The aim is to test my memory and help entrench those points in my mind using a method similar to read, recite, review.

I also look for actionable takeaways and ideas. Something which I could do today or start doing that would make a difference. If it is a one time task, I add it to my todo list application. Meanwhile I send my plain text notes to Obsidian.

Step 6: Archive

Once I finish reading an article and made my notes, I archive it from instapaper and save my highlights. Previously I did this manually by sending from instapaper to Evernote, but now I can use readwise (more later). The main point is to remove it from the to be read list and save the key points.

Step 7: Review and find connections

The processes of reviewing and connecting ideas helps me both remember what I read, identify how to apply it to my life and find interesting connections with other ideas.

Now I connect my notes to the highlights that I’ve taken so that I have the original text or inspiration indexed with my own notes.

Later that day or at the end o the week, I start looking for themes and connections with other ideas and notes.

I’ll start a note saying with a comment about either the connections or similarities between ideas, or the differences and contradictions between ideas. These notes focus on:

Points of agreement (both people think this)
Similar analogies or expressions (Some times people in the same or different fields say something in different ways)
Points of contradiction (X disagrees with Y about Z because…)
Questions (sometimes it’s not clear. Is this about the same thing or something different? Does this apply here? Does something explain something else.)

The aim with these patterns is not to write a final version with definitive conclusions them but to start thinking and let the subconscious mind take over.

I return and revisit these notes later on to see if I have discovered something new or thought of a new insight.

Bonus: Reminders from Readwise

I use Readwise, a service which saves highlights from a wide range of sources and automatically saves them into your note taking application. As Obsidian is locally based an not a SaaS solution with API, this isn’t automatic for me at the moment.

Readwise does, however, resurface highlights in its daily summary which provides me with a reminder of old highlights that may have a new meaning now.

What to do when reading an article online

Personally, I choose to highlight as I read through an article. I think this comes from experience editing work and appreciating well worded phrases as well as habit.

According to a study (Karpicke, Jeffrey D., Butler, Andrew C. and Roediger III, Henry L.(2009)’ Metacognitive strategies in student learning: Do students practice retrieval when they study on their own?’, Memory,17:4,471 — 479) Highlighting appears to be a nearly useless endeavor for remembering a text. With that acknowledged, I still find it useful when retracing my steps to find a section.

Perhaps that is just a cargo cult excuse though.

How to read more

Reading more articles online requires an approach similar to reading more books. You need to create an environment where it’s easy to read articles and avoid distractions. It’s also good to set regular times for reading and have a collection to read.

Paper books naturally work this way. They are a single purpose device. They don’t have notifications or other easy to reach distractions.

Reading online articles are the opposite, especially on the web.

Action Plan

Pick a note taking application (I use evernote and obsidian.)
Pick a method to save things to read later. (I use Instapaper)
Install any browser extentions that can help you save content for later.
Clean up your social media feeds.
Find some relevant newsletter and websites you can visit.
Set a time when you will read

How I read 3x more books this year

December 2, 2020 by Chris Wilson Leave a Comment

Growing up, I struggled with reading. As someone diagnosed with Dyslexia, that is hardly surprising. Last year I set my self a modest goal to read more books.

My target was a book every month for 2019. I did it, so I decided to set a more ambitious reading goal. Read two books every month for 2020. Well, currently I have read 36 books this year and will probably read a few more before the year-end. Here’s how I tripled the number of books I read in 2020.

Table of Contents

Sketchnote of how to read more

Principles for reading more

Every action I took conformed to one of a few principles. While you may choose different actions, I suspect the principles will help inform your actions.

Want to read more books
Momentum is key
Create an encouraging reading environment
Cheat (you’ll see)

Start with Why

The first step was to start with the reason why. There are so many goals that are born out of ideas of what we ought to do and not whether we want to. This can lead to feelings of guilt and failure rather than motivation.

My motivation started two years ago when I revisited my intention to read more timeless books and fewer temporary articles and social media posts. Last year I started a reading habit, but I was inconsistent. I knew that I could read more by making it a regular part of my week.

That small success gave me a taste of the benefits of a consistent reading habit:

Learning about important entrepreneurial insights
Discovering fascinating new developments in different fields
Stretching my imagination by entering a new fictional world
Learning lessons from the lives of those who have gone before us.
Knowing interesting ideas to share in conversations
Having a break from a screen
Gaining ideas to blog about

All these benefits provided the inspiration and motivation I needed to read more.

Set yourself a goal

The first practical step I took was to set a goal. I knew I wanted to read more than last year. I also knew my rate of reading thanks to tracking my reading in goodreads.

When I really applied myself, I could read a short book in a week (with some other reading on the side). I decided to aim for two books a month. This gave me a bit of leeway if I came across a heavier book or if life got in the way. In the end I have managed three books a month.

Form a book collective

I have never formally joined a book club, but they certainly help many readers. Instead, I have taken part in reading groups and found an informal association of like minded readers.

Some examples include the roam research book club and finding fellow readers on MicroBlog and the ness labs community.

These book groups help find recommendations for good books and can help identify parts you might miss when reading.

You can also share what you’ve read which helps practice summarizing and recontextualising information: both practices which help to understand and remember key information.

Creating a positive reading environment

Create a positive reading environment to read more books

One of the core ideas from Atomic habits is to focus on creating a habitat that encourages a certain activity (and prevents distractions). This is more effective than seeking to increasing or exercise your willpower.

Here are some practical points on how I created a positive reading environment.

1. Always have something to read

There are two aspects to this idea:

Keep a collection of books that you can start reading as soon as you finish one book.
Keep a book with you at all times.

These two aspects means you always have an option to read. So you never find yourself in the situation of wanting to read, but not having anything. I save books that sound interesting to a list in my task manager and knowledge management system — Obsidian.

I also frequently buy books for kindle even while I’m still reading a book, so I have a library ready for later. Admittedly, sometimes I don’t ever read these books as they don’t seem interesting later, but It still helps create the right reading environment

2. Set times to read

Initially, my reading time was at least one evening a week and during commutes. The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns ended that habit and caused a blip in my reading routine.

I adapted. I soon found the time after I gave my daughter a bath was the perfect time to get in a chapter or two. Plus, reading in the evening felt an even better way to relax after a day of non-stop screens.

3. Read good books

This feels stupid to say as it’s so obvious but it’s easier to read good books than bad books. That doesn’t mean you should only read light and easy books, while avoiding intellectually challenging material. Instead, pick books you want to read, not feel obliged to read.

That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try some books that are outside your comfort zone. You may find that you enjoy them! Just don’t try to keep up with the latest “must reads” out of social pressure. You should read books that you want to.

Also, you can always…

4. Quit bad books

Some books just aren’t for you. That’s okay. If you find yourself somewhere into a book and decided that it isn’t for you. Quit. It’s okay.

The faster you quit your bad book, the sooner you can start reading another good one. You can even come back to the book later if you wish.

5. Use external motivators

Intrinsic motivation (motivation for the process of an action) trump extrinsic motivation (motivation for the product or reward). While most of the points here have address intrinsic motivation (as it’s more powerful), it’s also okay to use some external motivators too.

Early, I mentioned that I set a goal. I put my target number of books in Goodreads, so I could track my progress. Every finished book was another step on the way. I also used Streaks to encourage myself to read something every day. These little motivators can help get into a state where intrinsic motivation takes over.

At the same time, you need to be careful with external motivators, they can supplant and kill your intrinsic motivation.

A nudge is good, but make sure you revisit your why.

6. Avoid distractions

It’s easy to disappear down the internet rabbit hole of Wikipedia articles, twitter threads, non-stop news and YouTube autoplays. These forms of content can be interesting, relevant and even edifying. But they are more likely distrations. They are a form of pushed content that often gets in the way of what you actually want to read. It’s good to set up some barriers against these distractions like:

limiting access to social media on your phone
reducing notifications
setting timers for certain activities.

The following points are controversial and may not work for you. They do, however, work for me.

Read different genres

You might have a favorite style or type of book, but variety is the spice of life. Sometimes reading books of the same genre can get tiresome. By switching from fiction to non-fiction or from thriller to biography, you can have a fresh change and boost your motivation.

This can work well with using different book formats.

Use different formats of books

Read different formats and genres of books

I read both e-books and paper books (as well as listen to audiobooks). This is partially out of necessity (I can’t always get a paper book in Poland) but also for variety. Ebooks, whether on kindle or a phone/tablet and app, are great for travel as they don’t take up so much space. Paper books are great at home. And audiobooks are great when your hands are occupied.

I also find certain types of books are better suited to different formats.

Fiction works well in paper (the experience) and audiobook (for long car journeys)
Non-fiction business works well in e-book (highlighting) and audio (2x speed!)
Books where you want to jump around are better in paper

You may find that you prefer paper books for highlighting (and writing notes in the side). That’s fine. It’s important to work out what type of books works best for you in which format. Some of my preference is determined by using the service Scribd (a kind o Netflix for books) which has e-books and audiobooks.

Have multiple books on the go at once

Some people prefer to read one book at a time, so they can focus on it and get through each book quicker. I, however, prefer to read several books at once.

By using different formats, I can have multiple books on the go at once with clear distinctions for when to read each one. This also helps provide some variety when you don’t feel like reading a certain book today. You can switch to a different book. Some possible options include…

Have a paper fiction book on the go if you tend to read non-fiction on a Kindle
Have an audiobook as an alternative to your paper book
Read a biography as a break from the theoretical book.
Have a book on a topic “for fun” as a break for the book “for work”

It’s really up to you, and you should experiment and find the right book combinations for you.

Cheat 1 – use faster playback with audiobooks

Most audiobook players can have faster playback speeds. I resisted this idea for a long time. 2x speed felt against the spirit of audiobooks. I also worried about not taking notes at key moments.

That was a misplaced fear.

Pausing is easy enough to do and it’s possible to rewind a few second (or re-listen). This also helps practice the “read, recite, review” process that helps remember information better.

You can try speeding up to just 1.1 or 1.2x and then slowly increase from there.

I sometime feel a bit anxious when I listen at 2x but 1.5x is always comfortable for me now. In fact, 1x feels strangely slow.

Cheat 2 – Finishing what I started last year

One trick I’ve employed to boost my numbers in this final month is returning to some books I quit this year and last year. These range from 25-75% finished, but they’ve helped me rack up my numbers in these final two months.

I didn’t force myself to read these books, they were all books I wanted to read. For one reason or another — another book came along or a section felt less relevant/interesting — but I wanted to return to them.

This helped grease the figures but I still read more than previous years.

My goals and ideas for next year

I’ve set my sight on 45 books for next year. Not quite one a week, but getting closer. I’m planning on using all the same tactics as before and some new ones including.

Getting a kindle or similar ereader

While using a tablet it great and has some advantages. A dedicate ereading device is less distracting. I’ve heard many other writers like Ali Abdaal recommend getting a kindle to read more.

Writing more books summaries

While I have created some book summaries this year, I want to make more. Doing so can provide some extra external motivation. There is a risk that this will prove to be a distraction, so we’ll see how this experiment goes.

What’s your advice how to read more books in a year?

I’ll admit that what worked for me, might not work for you and there may be some ideas or practices that I am missing. I’d love to know how you have been able to increase the number of books you read in a year. Leave a comment with your advice.

The Best Way to Save Twitter Threads to Evernote

November 2, 2020 by Chris Wilson 2 Comments

Recently, I found myself wanting to save a tweet storm to Evernote but I wasn’t sure how. Would the standard web clipper produce the results that I wanted? Or should I use a different service first to get a simplified view. After some investigation, I came upon the best way to save twitter threads to Evernote.

Table of Contents

What are Tweetstorms and why should you save them?

Tweet storms (or twitter threads) are a form of publishing where you write a longer item of content by connecting tweets together. Each thought is limited to 280 characters but by grouping them together, you can write a much longer message.

This provides some of the brevity of Twitter (each part is constrained to 280) while also allowing a larger thought to be expressed.

Skilled practitioners can turn it into an art form, where the reader enjoys moving from tweet to tweet. They may imploy Gifs and images to highlight emotions, or end tweets with unresolved questions, inviting you to contiune reading.

With the decline in personal blogging, tweet storms have become a common way to share written content. Even bloggers may condense a long post into a more direct thread with a link back to the blog.

It’s no wonder I, like many others, would want to save a tweet storm for later.

The issue with saving tweet threads to Evernote

The only issue is, each tweet is separate.

While Twitter does a good job of grouping tweet storms together, This isn’t always recognized by third-party services. Twitter also often includes responses from other users at the end of the thread. Sometimes these can be valuable, but often they either agree with or attack the writer.

This can lead to you to either save notes that are only a link to the thread or only save the first tweet from the thread. In some cases you may have a note that contains a mixture of different users tweets.

So what is the best way to save a thread from twitter that keeps the content you want, without the scruff. Let’s look at some options.

The Evernote web clipper

Evernote provides two default tools to help you save items from the web into files and notes. The first is the Evernote web clipper, a browser extension for PC and Macs. The second is the mobile extension for iOS and Android.

Saving twitter threads with the desktop Evernote web clipper

There are several options to save a note using the Evernote browser web clipper.

Article: Saves the HTML version of only the tweets but the layout is… strange.
Simplified article: saves a note about the cookie notice.
Full page: saves the whole web page including replies.
Bookmark: saves the URL with a preview of the content.
Screenshot: saves a screenshot

As I’m sure you can agree, none of these are really perfect. They either include aspects you might not want or they are so minimal that they don’t include aspects you want.

An example of a twitter thread saved using the desktop web clipper

Saving Twitter threads with the Evernote iOS Share Sheet

Unlike the desktop browser extension, the Evernote iOS Share sheet doesn’t provide you with a selection of options. Instead, it simply shares a web clip with only the first tweet selected. Admittedly, this includes a link so you can check out the rest of the thread. But you don’t get the full tweet storm in your Evernote cup.

A twitter thread saved into evernote using the IOS share sheet

What about using the Android Share Sheet?

I’m afraid I don’t currently have an android phone, so I can’t say what if any difference there is with the android share sheet.

If you are an android user, perhaps you can test it out and let me know.

Saving Tweetstorms using an app like Threader

Apps like threader or threads provide services to save threads for later reading with only the content from the post’s writer.

A twitter thread saved into the the threader app

For some people, a service like this would be enough. Threader removes distractions and allows you to save threads to read later. It also features collections of popular threads from other users.

If, however, you like to bring everything into one place, then these services can be a temporary storage, and triage on your journey.

Once saved to threader, you can access it on the desktop and use the Evernote web clipper browser extension. This gives you the same options as before with article, full page and simplified article saving the whole thread. In this case, the whole thread will be saved and visible in Evernote.

A twitter thread saved to evernote from Threader app using the desktop web clipper

If you use the iOS share sheet extension from the iOS threader app, it will only take the start of the thread. You won’t get the whole thread.

A tweetstorm saved to evernote using the iOS threader app and iOS share sheet

Personally, I am surprised that saving to Evernote, notion or roam research isn’t one of the premium features. However, the fact that Threader is an indie project powered by two developers might explain this omission.

Regardless, adding this functionality would be a great idea.

Trurn a thread into markdown with The.Rip

The rip promises to turn twitter threads into markdown, so they are easily imported into Evernote, Notion or Roam.

Unfortunately I was unable to get the rip to work. Whenever I tried to log in to the site, it revealed an error message.

Error message from The.Rip when trying to log in.

This was a real shame as it seemed like a great, flexible solution.

Saving twitter threads with Readwise

Readwise is a service that helps you save highlights, review what you’ve saved, and then share or store your highlights. It includes features like automatic import for Kindle book highlights and has export functionality for Evernote with Notion and Roam Research in beta.

Readwise can also save tweets and twitter threads. All you need to do is reply to (or better DM) @readwise and say “save” (to save a tweet). Alternatively you can message “Save thread” to save a thread. You can read more details on the readwise help page.

Now, the tweet or thread is saved to your readwise highlights to review and it can be automatically or manually exported to Evernote. This is by far the simplest way to save threads and you can still review items you save before you export them.

Saving Tweets with IFTTT

IFTTT is an internet service that connects multiple services. It follows simple programming logic of “If This, then that”. One common actions is to save tweets you star to Evernote (or another service). You can even set a specific notebook and tags with static and dynamic characteristics.

Unfortunately, IFTTT only works with the first tweet, so it can’t save a whole thread. IFTTT will, however, save a link to the thread. Not an ideal solution, but certainly easy to use.

What is the best way to save Twitter threads to Evernote?

It really depends on your needs but personally, I’m sticking with readwise. I already use it to save and review other highlights and notes so applying it to twitter threads makes sense.

The easy, universal nature of its functionality is another plus. As long as I’m logged in to my twitter account, I can save a thread easily.

If you’ve settled on a different choice or found an alternative method, I’d love you to leave a comment, so I can know why.

Sketchnotes vs Mindmaps: What’s the difference?

June 29, 2020 by Chris Wilson Leave a Comment

In many fields of life, there are terms that can be confusing. Sketchnoting is no exception. There are related ideas that emerged independently that seems to be talking about the same thing. Today we’ll look at two of those ideas. Sketchnotes vs Mindmaps.

What Is a Sketchnote?

A sketchnote is a form of visual note taking that embracing taking notes with visual elements in addition to text. These include using graphical layouts, icons and drawings, arrows, containers and fancy typefaces. Here’s an example sketchnote.

Sketchnotes were coined by Mike Rohde in 2006 when he created a new note taking system to help him take better notes in conferences. These included certain restrictions including, using pen not pencil, using an a5 pocket notebook, and without writing everything down.

You can learn more about what sketchnotes are and why you should use them in this post.

What is a Mind Map?

A Mind Map is a way to visual display information showing the relationship between points, connected to a central topic. Mind Maps can be hand made, or made using mind mapping software such as Mindnode and iThoughts.

Mind Maps have been around for much longer time than sketchnotes with Tony Buzar, a vocal advocate in the 1970s.

Can a sketchnote be a mindmap?

One of the common sketchnote layouts is the “radial” layout. This uses a central point with spokes coming off. This is how mind map are laid out and shows a relationship to a central point. So, in this case, a sketchnote could be a mind map as well (while optionally using the additional elements sketchnotes are known for).

It is, however, possible to make a radial sketchnote layout that isn’t a mind map. A mind map should show relationships with lines and have some hierarchy with sub points, a sketchnote could have single items coming off that are all grouped together.

Does it matter?

Perhaps this distinction is straining the point. While it can be useful to define terms, from a practical point of view it should affect what notes you take. You should do what works for you. If you like mind mapping with some elements of sketchnotes, that’s great. If you like sketchnoting in a mind map format, that’s cool too. If you just do one and not the other, then that’s fine as well. As long as you find the note taking and idea generating system that works best for you.