- [i] Metadata - market:: - [!] Status Log - created:: 2022-01-26 - status-updated: 2022-01-26 but I don't know what this "wants to be" yet. - [S] Marketing - opportunity to mention to Tiago One of the reasons I was excited to start writing monthly essays is that, like Tiago Forte, I mostly resist reading productivity and notetaking articles unless I'm actively trying to solve a problem or find a reference — not because I think they're bad, but because I'm "past" that stage of my process, now that I have developed a system that works for me. There isn't a lot of value left to eke out of further optimization of my _workflow_ — I'm at the point where there's not much to do but sit down and _use_ my notes, because I've got enough to keep me going for awhile and the system is fairly self-sustaining and low maintenance. Besides which, as part of my training as a teacher I've done a lot of work studying notetaking and active thinking systems, and for the most part, they feel like "thinking aids" — like training wheels, or crutches. Both are very important and useful tools, and I am happy the exist, but I personally don't often have the problems those guides are designed to help. Being honest, I usually have the opposite problem — not enough notes instead of too few, too much decisiveness instead of decision paralysis, etc. I did very well in college and law school without really taking notes, with the exception of one absolutely brutal civil procedure course that expected a lot of rote memorization and had a grading system based almost entirely on your ability to rattle off a statute number on the spot after being cold-called-on mid-lecture. Other than that one (horrible) class (I remember 12(b)(6) but I don't remember _why_ I remember 12(b)(6) — I googled "12b6 law school" and apparently it's [the requirement to state a claim when bringing suit](https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/12b6-failure-to-state-a-claim/)? But I wasn't allowed to give that as an answer, no, I had to say 12(b)(6), and I'm still griping about it a decade later), I mostly managed to get good grades by being curious by nature and good at remembering stuff that interests me. That, and, being honest — I'm comfortable with "good enough" instead of "top of the class," and I learned the hard way to prioritize happiness over perfection.