Remember What You Read: My Current Setup

Are you tired of forgetting the valuable lessons you learn from books shortly after reading them? Join the conversation on efficient note-taking methods for readers seeking to retain and apply key insights from their favorite books.

Reading offers so many benefits for us. But what good is it if we do not remember what we read? Especially when reading books that we are meant to apply to our lives, such as: How to Win Friends and Influence People, Atomic Habits, The Courage to be Disliked, etc. We read these books, and try to apply them for a little while, only for a few months to pass and the core teachings disappear from our minds. This is a problem I often encountered, so I sought an efficient way to be able to take notes on what I read.

At first, I found myself reading with a physical book, highlighting and writing notes in a journal. I quickly discovered that this method was tedious for me, and I was starting to lose the joy of reading.

So, after some research, I now have a new setup that I have been using for months!

My Current Setup

As I have said in previous posts, I use Notion for all my notetaking needs. I have everything from daily planners, notes, journals, and so much more all organized in a way that is custom to me. I highly recommend everyone to try this app out as it is free and can be used across all platforms. Naturally, I wanted notes from books I have read to be stored in my Notion pages and found an app called Readwise. I was inspired by Ali Abdaal’s video, which I will link below.

Essentially, after investing in a Kindle, Readwise uploads anything you highlight and sends it automatically to a dedicated page within Notion. This also works with a plethora of other apps, and highlights from other platforms such as news websites or Twitter can be made to have the same function. This has allowed me to quickly view direct quotes from books, each on its page, and write down any additional thoughts I had on the topic. It saves me a tremendous amount of time and has brought the joy of reading back to me.

Is the Investment Worth it?

While Notion is free, both the Kindle and Readwise require some money. I will link a video to reviews of each different type of Kindle and which one would be the best fit for you. Readwise is a subscription-based payment. Having both of these will be a bit of an investment upfront, but if you do have an interest in reading more, then it is a worthy investment that will save you a lot of time.

Conclusion

Ready to invest in your personal growth and development? Explore the Kindle and Readwise setup recommended in this article and discover a new way to remember and apply the lessons learned from your reading. Take the first step towards a more impactful reading experience now

Hopefully, this information is helpful for some of you out there. While there is a slight investment at first if remembering what you read is important to you then it is most definitely worth it. Feel free to explore other options, and if anyone finds an alternate set-up reach out to me, I would love to hear about it!