Do not reinvent wikipedia
When taking notes, do not reinvent Wikipedia in your device. Wikipedia and the internet exist for a reason and should be linked whenever possible.
The information stored there is almost always updated, often by someone who have more expertise—have read more writings, have more experience, have collected more information—than you do. However, clip things into a file to preserve information from the nature of the internet.
Store only complex, necessary things that writing with your own words makes you understand more. Even when you clip something from the internet, do not just copy and paste it. Take highlights, write with your own words, and create necessary links.
Some rule of thumb of what you should not store:
- The term is easy to remember.
- Low effort retrieval from search engine.
- The information constantly changes.
- It requires understanding, not trivial.
It’s easier to remember using USE mnemonic. Avoid taking note on concepts that are:
- U — Unimportant
- S — Self explanatory
- E — Easy enough to memorize