So you’ve been told that the goal of writing main notes is to make them “atomic”.
Atomic notes can help us break down complex ideas, create connections across seemingly unrelated ideas, and build extensive knowledge networks.
This method has become a gold standard for measuring the value of an idea in the world of personal knowledge management.
But the problem with atomic notes that nobody talks about is that they are often a result of quantity of ideas, not quality.
Just because a note has a lot of internal connections, doesn’t necessarily mean the idea is useful or valuable to others. In many cases it can be a result of engaging with more commonly known ideas rather than rare and valuable ideas.
In fact, some of my most valuable notes have very little interconnectivity. One of them even went viral, reaching nearly 1 million people when I shared it on TikTok.
I propose a new approach that considers not only the internal value of a note, but the external impact that note has on others when it is published.
So here are 5 ways you can write main notes to maximize the impact your ideas have when shared with others.
1. Write note titles as complete phrases that make a strong claim
Think of the title of your note as the main “hook” for that idea. This practice is proposed by Andy Matuschak in his working notes which you can read more about here.
Internal Value: Your note titles should summarize the main idea, making your notes more searchable by packing them with keywords and phrases. Along with the unique alphanumeric ID of your main note, the title itself should add to its unique identity.
Writing strong claims with your note titles also makes your notes compelling enough to re-engage with the idea it describes.
External Value: Your note titles can serve as titles for future publications related to that idea. For example, your note titles can become the title for a YouTube video, newsletter subject line or blog article post.
People pay more attention to a hook or title when it speaks to them personally. The efficacy of this method has been recently proven in YouTube analytics where the word “you” occurs as the most commonly used word in viral video hooks.
If your titles don’t grab your own attention, don’t expect them to grab the attention of others.
2. Write like your main notes like you are teaching the idea to someone
Internal Value: This approach proves you have learned a concept well enough to formulate it in simplicity with 100 words or less. It strengthens your memory of that idea when you imprint it into your mind by teaching it to yourself.
Writing like you are teaching follows the Feynman technique of learning which demonstrates that you truly have acquired knowledge of a subject if you can teach it simply to a child.
External Value: When you go to share that knowledge you don’t have to reformulate an already written idea. Your main notes should be thought of as units of published content even if they have not actually been published yet.
The more effort you put into writing your main notes as being educational assets, the less work you have to do when you use them for publications.
3. Push the boundaries by challenging conventional beliefs.
Internal Value: A note is a thought frozen in time. Your original claims can lead to more notes as they are refined, argued against or correct by having a dialogue with your thoughts in branched sequences.
External Value: Any medium you publish on is going to reward highly opinionated ideas. Don’t be afraid to be controversial. Allow people to disagree with you, this is what fosters engagements, authenticity and makes your content more likely to be shared.
Everyone knows if you have some haters, you are doing something right. It also means that those who agree with you will become more loyal fans of your work and feel a deeper connection with you.
Be opinionated with your note-making. We are interested in being synthesizers, not personal wikipedia contributors.
4. Synthesize personal experiences with actionable insights
Humans have always had a deep-rooted attraction to storytelling. Our connection to narrative continues to shape how we communicate, learn, and relate to others in the modern world.
Internal Value: Similar to writing like you are teaching, articulating your experiences and stories in your notes enhances memory retention of that knowledge. Including actionable insights provides additional utility for yourself as they help shape your understanding of the world in a practical way.
External Value: When you infuse your personal experiences with your notes, it makes even the most conventional knowledge rare and unique in a way it has never been expressed before. Shared narratives create a sense of community, strengthening the connection you are creating with your audience.
With AI generated content becoming increasingly more widespread, real human experiences and stories are becoming increasingly more valuable and serve as a way to cut through the noise of inauthentic and conventional ideas.
5. Create a collection of high value notes
Once you have gained enough positive feedback from a note you used in a publication, mark it as a high value note. In Obsidian, there are several ways you can do this. I use a property in the frontmatter marked as “value: high”. You can also just tag it as “valuable”.
Since I am only interested in tracking high value notes, I do not have a tier list of low, medium and high.
In case you are wondering how much positive feedback is required to determine a note is high value, you can simply consider it to be any notes that produce significantly higher engagements than your average publications.
Remember, the only way you can truly measure the external value of your notes is by sharing them consistently.
Don’t expect any of your notes to go viral just because you published them, but know that the more consistent you are with publishing, the higher your chances of identifying a high value note.