The Seven Levels of Remembering What You Read

Introduction

• Ali, a doctor in the UK, explores strategies and tools for a healthier, happier, and more productive life.
• Common issue: Reading many books but forgetting most of the content and not applying it to life.
• Aim: To share seven levels of remembering more of what we read.

Level 1: The Muggle

• Passive reading without engagement: No note-taking or highlighting.
• Issues in non-fiction: Passive reading leads to forgetting due to the "forgetting curve."

Level 2: The Squib

• Active engagement begins: Highlighting or underlining resonant content.
• Limitations: Highlighting does not improve memory retention.

Level 3: Hufflepuff

• Systematic review of highlights using services like Readwise.
• Readwise sends daily emails with random highlights, improving recall.
• Limitation: Reviewing can become too passive over time.

Level 4: Ravenclaw

• Automatic integration of highlights into a central note-taking app like Notion.
• Highlights from books, articles, tweets, and podcasts are collected.
• Limitation: Still passive, as it relies on future engagement with notes.

Level 5: Dumbledore’s Army

• Engaging actively by summarizing books in three sentences and taking notes.
• Use of templates in Notion for structured book reviews.
• Benefit: Enhances understanding and retention of key concepts.

Level 6: The Order of the Phoenix

• Enhanced engagement through detailed summaries and notes on impactful books.
• Writing personal insights and points that resonate most.
• Benefits include a deeper understanding and potential for sharing insights.

Level 7: Dumbledore

• Advanced note-taking using the Zettelkasten method or Evergreen notes.
• Creation of self-contained, heavily linked notes on interesting topics.
• Benefits include highly organized knowledge and improved recall.
• Challenges: Time-consuming and requires consistent effort.

Recommendations

• Achieving at least Level 5 is highly beneficial for long-term knowledge retention.
• Use of summary and thoughts on books is crucial.
• The Zettelkasten method shows promise but needs more exploration.

Tools Mentioned

• Readwise: For reviewing highlights.
• Notion: For organizing notes and templates for book reviews.
  • Free to use with paid team plans available.
• Zettelkasten Method: For creating structured, linked notes.
• Other Inspirations: Derek Sivers and Nat Eliason for shared book notes.

Conclusion

• Encouragement to write summaries and thoughts on all books read.
• Importance of moving knowledge from brain to a structured system for better retention.
• Links to additional videos and Notion templates for further exploration.