Blog · Analog Learning
The Pocket Notebook Method: How to Remember What You Read
I switched to having just a simple pocket notebook to really process all these ideas. These are the three simple habits I use to retain what I read and watch.
Scribble a lot, especially when you're trying to learn something. Once you're done, take the knowledge from all these scribbles and sketches, and summarize it in two minutes or less.
Anything that you're consuming, put it away for a couple minutes. Summarize everything you learned in your own words.
Watch the full video for everything shown on camera.
Best for remembering what you read: active scribbling followed by a short summary from memory. Skip it if you only want somewhere to store information for later.
Why reading more is not enough
One of the things that you need to understand first is that knowledge does not equal power. A lot of the time when we're trying to learn something we have all the input that we bring into our brain and we start filling it up.
We read books, we read articles, and we watch videos. We fill up all the input in our life, but our skills are not getting any of that additional input.
One of the things that I came to realize is that there is a retention wall. If you don't work hard to transfer all the input into your skills and knowledge, you're going to be stuck filling up one side of your knowledge system without applying what you have learned.
One of the things that you need to understand is that there's active learning and there's passive learning. When we do active learning, we're actively engaging with the content that we're reading, listening to, or consuming.
Passive learning is what you do on the couch, sitting back in your chair, watching a video or maybe just reading a book and enjoying the content.
Yes, that is important, but you are not really retaining the information because you're not engaging with the content. The easiest way to go over that retention wall is by actually doing something with your hands, your brain, and your body.
Best for building usable knowledge: do something with the idea before moving to the next source.
The three-step pocket notebook method
I always have a pen with me when I'm studying and some paper if I'm going to be watching a video or trying to understand a new concept. I keep this notebook with me at all times. It's full of notes, scribbles, and things that I can do with my hands as I'm trying to learn something.
| Method | What you do | What happens | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passive consumption | Read or watch without taking action | You keep adding information without processing it | Enjoying the source |
| Active scribbling | Write notes, lists, diagrams, and sketches | Your brain processes the idea before it reaches the paper | Staying engaged |
| Two-minute summary | Close the source and restate what you learned | You test what you can recall in your own words | Remembering and applying ideas |
| Digital storage | Save the source in an app or folder | The information remains available, but may go untouched | Building a searchable archive |
### 1. Scribble while you learn
If I'm watching a video, I'm constantly just writing down notes, bullet points, list, creating diagrams, making sketches.
Something that is going to keep my hands busy while I'm learning, because that creates that connection between the brain and the paper in front of you.
Make sure you have a pen with you. Have some paper.
You're writing things down. You're keeping your hands engaged in the content.
That's going to keep your brain listening for cues of the video, of the book, anything you're reading or watching.
If you put it on paper, your brain is also processing it in your head and then putting it down into paper.
Best for staying engaged: quick notes, rough diagrams, and imperfect sketches.
### 2. Put the source away
Once you're done, the next step is just as important. Sit down, turn your TV off, turn your laptop off, turn your video off, or put your book away.
It doesn't take much. It only takes a couple of minutes, but summarize everything you learned in your own words. This could be a set of bullet points, or it could be an essay that you write in a couple of minutes.
You're not sitting down for half an hour or an hour trying to think about every single detail. You're just putting down the first thing that comes to mind.
Once you're done, you're going to have the full sketches and all your processing during the video or the content you were reading. Then you're going to have a quick summary that you can reference.
I usually try to box it off at the bottom of my notebook page. I know that is the summary where I took a step back for a couple of minutes after consuming, then applied it and put it on paper.
Best for testing recall: close the source before writing the summary.
### 3. Stop treating storage as learning
I used Notion for a long time. I used Obsidian. I used Evernote.
I was hardcore digital, but I was just chucking stuff into folders and notes, and I wasn't really doing anything with it.
All these apps are fantastic. They do a lot of great things. I found that when they're too easy to use, I'm just loading them with information without taking the time to process it or learn more about the content.
I'm just storing it. I'm letting AI summarize it. I'm outsourcing all the thinking to the tools and not creating the systems that are actually going to help me retain the information.
That's one of the reasons I switched to having just a simple pocket notebook to really process all these ideas.
I started to carry a pocket notebook everywhere I went. I started to make more notes, more mental notes and paper notes, understanding how I was going through the day and engaging more with my thoughts and feelings.
Best for processing an idea in the moment: a pocket notebook.
What to write in the two-minute summary
This can be a list of bullet points. It could be a more refined sketch that you write in two minutes if you're a visual person. It could simply be a paragraph summarizing in your own words what you just learned.
You're taking the time to engage with the content, to scribble, to write notes, to maybe contradict and challenge the ideas that you're reading or watching. Your brain is going to start working harder to retain that information because you're actually thinking about it.
Once you're putting it on paper, you're taking action. You're moving your hands and creating those connections in your brain to say, "I'm reading this. I'm processing it in my brain.
Now, I'm going to somehow process it on paper."
These are not hard and fast rules. Take just a couple minutes to grab a pen, grab a pencil, paper, and anything near you.
Best overall method: scribble during the source, close it, and spend two minutes writing what remains.
Related reading
- Best Pocket Notebook for Everyday Carry? I Carry Three Instead
- Pocket Notebook Covers: 7 I Have Carried and What Each Is For
- Best Field Notes Alternatives for Fountain Pen Users
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you use a pocket notebook to remember what you read?
Scribble a lot, especially when you're trying to learn something. Then take the knowledge from all these scribbles and summarize it in two minutes or less.
How long should the summary take?
It's only going to take a couple minutes, but summarize everything you learned in your own words. You're just putting down the first thing that comes to mind.
Are digital notes bad for learning?
All these apps are fantastic. They do a lot of great things. I found that when they're too easy to use, I'm just loading them with information without really taking the time to process it.
What should the summary look like?
This could be a set of bullet points, could be an essay that you write in a couple minutes. It could just simply be a paragraph summarizing in your own words what you just learned.