Issue 44.1 / April 5, 2021

Learning

"Incubation is a legitimate phase in the creative process, alongside preparation, illumination, and implementation." - Shay Bocks 

Big Ideas From Daydreaming

Idleness may be the perfect time to cultivate an idea. And thanks to Laura Vanderkam, I recently learned the term 'scatterfocus' which is "the act of purposefully letting the mind wander."

Chris Bailey coined that term and authored the book Hyperfocus: How to Manage Your Attention in a World of Distraction. So it's fine, do nothing for a little while. During your short daydream, you may discover your next big idea along with many flashes of brilliance!

Read to Write

Reading a lot can help when it comes to writing. According to Morgan Housel, "Good storytelling usually wins when it comes to writing for an audience."

Note-taking vs Note-making

Taking notes can be done in two ways, note-taking and note-making, there's a difference. But let's focus on note-making since it, "...is more common while reading; it consists in deliberately crafting our own version so we can learn and create better." That explanation is according to Anne-Laure Le Cunff.

I feel like like the note-making process I use can vastly improve. I know of other note-taking or note-making systems because I've read and studied them in detail, but I just can't make the transition.

I primarily take notes on my laptop. When I'm capturing thoughts and ideas, it's usually a combination of using the Windows desktop application Notepad and the cloud-based Google Docs. On the computer, I use the OneTab browser extension, Feedly, and Pocket. And I frequently email myself articles to read or reference when learning something new, writing for The Weekly Summary, or tweeting on my Twitter account.

Aside from checking on banking, cryptocurrency, and financial accounts, tracking my fitness, or playing the occasional Pokemon GO game, I don't really like to use my phone much. I'm a light mobile phone user. I prefer to use my laptop when it comes to researching, reading, writing and composing tweets.

How do you make (or take) notes? Physically on paper? Computer or laptop? Phone? Is there a particular app you use?

Planting Idea Seeds

By taking "scattered and inconsistent thoughts," Josh Spector is making me realize how an idea farm is similar to the process I use to build The Weekly Summary short-form posts. Ryan Law has a template on building that idea garden so you're gathering all those ideas to produce consistent quality writing.

Continue Learning With Me

You've read the learning edition from The Weekly Summary 44.0. I also blog about cryptocurrency, investing, personal finance, entrepreneurship, and free stock giveaways.

Disclaimer

Ideas and information presented in my articles are for educational purposes only and not intended to be investment advice. Investments in the stock market and cryptocurrency could be speculative and volatile and result in money loss. Always conduct your own research. You may want to obtain independent legal, financial, taxation, and/or other professional advice with respect to any information from this content. I may mention products or services and some of those products are affiliate links that reward me.