For knowledge workers, notes are our most valuable assets. As Tiago Forte says in Building a Second Brain, notes are the “knowledge building blocks” of our work. They are the tangible form of our knowledge.

Once you realize the importance of note-taking, the problem of not taking notes is solved. But a new challenge appears: the problem of over-noting. Soon, you might find yourself overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things you feel you should be taking notes on. I’ve been there, and in this post, I’m sharing how I faced this overwhelm and found a solution.

The Problem: The Pressure of the “Perfect” Note

My issue with over-noting came from a desire to be systematic. Inspired by the Zettelkasten method, I created detailed templates for different notes, such as a “Literature Note Template” and a “Permanent Note Template.” For example, my template for literature notes for research article had fields for short summary, summary, introduction, methods, results, main findings, and more. My goal was to fill this out for every single article I read to keep my system consistent.

The problem emerged quickly: I couldn’t keep up. I didn’t have enough time to digest every article and fill out every field in my template. My note-taking system became a long, stressful list of incomplete items.

The Turning Point: A Shift in Mindset

“Every change in how we use technology also requires a change in how we think.” (Tiago Forte, Building a Second Brain)

This quote resonated deeply as I searched for a solution to my over-noting problem. I realized the issue wasn’t my system, but my mindset. I was so focused on my old goal of systematically collecting and organizing knowledge that I had forgotten the true purpose of my notes.

Our notes are things to use, not things to collect. By devoting too much energy to managing and standardizing my system, I had lost sight of its ultimate goal: creation.

The Solution: Value-Driven Note-Taking

This led to my second key realization: “value is not evenly distributed.” (Tiago Forte, Building a Second Brain). Not every article deserves the same amount of note-taking effort. Some articles are valuable for their methods, others for their discussion, and some just spark a single insight with their logic. I don’t need to document every part of every article.

I’ve since improved my note-taking process:

• First, I still fill out the basic information needed to retrieve the article later: title, author, year, journal, and link.
• Next, I only fill out the parts that are immediately useful to me. If an article offers just one interesting point, that’s all I capture.
• If an article is truly important, I will revisit it and add more detail later. A note doesn’t have to be perfect the first time, it can grow and improve over time.

Final Thoughts

These two simple mindset shifts relieved my note-taking overwhelm and helped me find joy in my system again:

• Notes are for creating, not just for collecting.
• Value is not evenly distributed, so focus your effort where it matters most.