creating a digital garden to end my doomscrolling

Summary

Anna Howard explores the concept of a digital garden as a tool to combat doomscrolling and enhance creativity. She defines a digital garden as a way to organize one's notes and ideas by interlinking topics, almost like an underground network of interconnected roots. This practice encourages intentional consumption over mindless scrolling, thus fostering creativity. Anna shares her journey of reaching 1,300 YouTube subscribers and the personal growth she achieved through podcasting. She highlights the importance of being an active consumer by taking notes and connecting ideas to deepen creative practices and personal understanding.

Highlights

• Anna celebrates 1,300 YouTube subscribers, a significant milestone in her journey! 🎊
• A digital garden allows you to connect different interests, just like interconnected trees! 🌳
• Intentional note-taking can turn mindless consumption into an engaging conversation with yourself. 💬
• Organizing thoughts in a digital garden promotes creativity by revealing interconnected ideas. 🧠
• Mindful consumption is about slowing down and taking the time to understand and reflect. 🐢

Key Takeaways

• Digital gardens help organize your thoughts and connect different ideas like an intricate network! 🌿
• Reaching 1,300 subscribers is a big milestone worth celebrating - every victory counts! 🎉
• Becoming an active consumer by taking notes can enhance creativity and deepen understanding. 📝
• Escaping the doomscrolling cycle requires intentional consumption and mindful reflection. 📱
• A digital garden acts like a personal Wikipedia, connecting ideas and helping you create more comprehensive content! 🌐

Overview

In this engaging conversation, Anna Howard talks about creating a digital garden as a way to counter the effects of relentless doomscrolling and enhance personal creativity. She compares this process to the interconnected roots of trees, where different ideas can link and enrich one another. This method of data organization goes beyond traditional note-taking by fostering intentional consumption and reflection.

Anna shares her pride in reaching 1,300 subscribers on YouTube, noting it as a significant achievement despite being a tiny number compared to bigger creators. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing every milestone, no matter how small it may seem. Her journey reflects on her personal growth and increased faith in her ability to speak solo in her podcast.

Finally, Anna explains how becoming a more active and mindful consumer can deeply enhance one's creative journey. By developing a digital garden and taking comprehensive notes on consumed content, an individual can gain a richer understanding and better connect their ideas to form creative expressions such as essays, podcasts, or films. The process encourages creativity born from understanding and interlinking diverse content.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Digital Gardens A digital garden is a space that allows for the interconnection of ideas and topics you are consuming. Unlike traditional note-taking or blogging, where entries are chronological and standalone, a digital garden enables you to link related topics, revealing the intricate web of your interrelated interests, much like observing how all trees connect underground.
• 00:30 - 01:30: Welcome and Thank You The chapter introduces the concept of a 'welcome' in a light-hearted and nostalgic way, referencing a line from the TV show Hannah Montana. The speaker recalls a memorable quote from the show they saw at age eight, likening it to a persistent memory that remains ingrained like a little worm in the brain.
• 01:30 - 03:00: Season Two Changes The chapter, "Season Two Changes," starts with a warm welcome back to the podcast 'Wild Geese.' The host expresses deep gratitude to their audience for listening and subscribing. They share their excitement about reaching a milestone of over a thousand subscribers on YouTube, currently at approximately 1300 subscribers, despite having released only four videos. The host highlights the importance of celebrating every achievement, regardless of size.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Exploring Personal Insecurities In this chapter titled 'Exploring Personal Insecurities,' the narrator reflects on a conversation with their roommate, Raina, that highlights the significance of reaching a milestone of a thousand subscribers. Raina congratulates the narrator, pointing out that a thousand people have chosen to listen and engage with the narrator's thoughts and ideas, which is an impressive feat. This realization helps the narrator to value the impact and support of their audience, even as they grapple with personal insecurities.
• 03:30 - 04:30: The Importance of Interest in Becoming Interesting The chapter discusses the often overlooked significance of having interest in various subjects as a means to become an intriguing person. It draws an example from online dynamics where people underestimate a thousand subscribers as a small number compared to those with millions. However, it emphasizes the substantial impact of having a thousand people in a real-world setting. The chapter also notes a shift in the new season of the show 'Wild Geese,' highlighting a change from purely interviews to more solo episodes, driven by personal interests the host encounters online.
• 04:30 - 06:00: Challenges of Modern Consumption In this chapter, the speaker reflects on their experience of using TikTok as a medium to engage in deeper conversations by reaching out to people privately. They express the enjoyment derived from these interactions but also confess how it served as a crutch in their work. Returning for the second season of their activity, they realized the habit was partly due to their insecurities about not having enough interesting things to say independently. This self-doubt is traced back to a persistent feeling from their high school years in theater, where they once participated in a memorable group activity.
• 06:00 - 07:00: Becoming a Better Consumer The chapter titled 'Becoming a Better Consumer' begins with a reflective moment where individuals share their biggest insecurities from high school, highlighting a common feeling among the group of not feeling interesting. This vulnerability sets the scene for the main topic, which is about exploring ways to become more interesting as a person. This ties into the overarching theme of personal growth presented in this chapter through the lens of a podcast experience, which has been a healing journey for the speaker.
• 07:00 - 08:30: Introduction to Note-taking and Digital Gardens The chapter introduces the concept of note-taking and digital gardens by emphasizing the importance of personal curiosity. It suggests that instead of trying to force oneself to be more interesting, individuals should focus on delving deeply into their genuine interests. This exploration of personal interests is posited as a way to cultivate a more engaging personality. Furthermore, the chapter reflects on societal trends, particularly the growing interest in content related to digital consumption habits, such as taking breaks from social media and sharing those experiences. This is attributed to a societal shift towards mindfulness regarding digital habits.
• 08:30 - 10:00: Using Notes to Enhance Creativity In today's world, we're overwhelmed with an excessive amount of information, leading to fatigue and confusion about how to process it. The advice to create more than you consume is generally good, but it's not enough to tackle the complexities of this overconsumption.
• 10:00 - 11:30: Mindful Consumption and Creative Note-taking The chapter discusses the widespread habit of consuming information and content in a shallow manner and suggests that to improve, one must become a more intentional consumer. A method to achieve this is through creative note-taking, which requires focus and engagement. An anecdote is shared about a New Year's Eve encounter where the narrator talks to someone in line, discussing New Year's resolutions, highlighting the goal to 'have more fun'. This emphasizes the importance of setting meaningful intentions and goals as part of mindful consumption and engagement with the world.
• 11:30 - 12:30: Importance of Active Engagement The chapter explores the concept of active engagement in the context of creativity and personal development. It begins with a conversation about the desire to be more creative and questions how taking notes contributes to creativity. The chapter introduces the idea of a 'digital Garden,' a tool for organizing and making connections between consumed information. This digital Garden goes beyond traditional note-taking or blogging by helping individuals to actively engage with and connect different pieces of information, thus fostering creativity.
• 12:30 - 13:30: Analysis: Art and Consumption The chapter explores the concept of viewing one's work not just chronologically but topically, allowing for connections to other pieces around the same subject or related subjects. It likens this process to observing interconnected trees below ground, suggesting a network of interests and ideas rather than a linear progression.
• 13:30 - 15:30: Note-taking Process and Feedback The chapter explores the interconnection between thought processes, personal interests, and takeaways, emphasizing the importance of note-taking. The concept was inspired by a YouTuber named Odyssey, who advocates for mindful consumption to enhance creativity.
• 15:30 - 17:30: Creating and Connecting Ideas The chapter titled 'Creating and Connecting Ideas' focuses on the process of note-taking using the platform Obsidian. While not delving deeply into the technicalities of the platform, it highlights the importance and impact of accessible online resources. The chapter argues that in today's digital age, the abundance and accessibility of resources can significantly influence personal growth and knowledge.
• 17:30 - 19:30: What is a Digital Garden The chapter titled 'What is a Digital Garden' discusses the consumption of information and how it often goes unprocessed due to lack of intention and space for reflection. The author highlights a personal observation about the byproduct of this habit, noting difficulty in remembering names, not just people’s names but also names of TV shows, movies, and virtually any labels. The author describes themselves as a 'big picture' thinker, implying a preference for understanding broader concepts over retaining specific details like names or quotes.
• 19:30 - 22:00: The Process of Digital Gardening The chapter explores the concept of 'digital gardening,' emphasizing the importance of critical thinking and mindfulness in consuming digital content. It highlights the tendency to consume content passively, such as videos or articles, without fully engaging with or reflecting on the information. This passive consumption can lead to a cycle where individuals fail to critically evaluate or synthesize new information, thus stunting their creative and cognitive processes. The chapter encourages breaking free from this 'consumption loop' through active engagement and reflection.
• 22:00 - 25:00: Role of Tags in Digital Gardening The chapter discusses the importance of engaging one's own thought processes in conversations to foster creativity and art, referencing Ian Arton's article 'In Defense of Retention' which highlights issues of anti-intellectualism, declining literacy rates, and the consequences of devaluing art and reading in society.
• 25:00 - 28:30: Visualizing Interests with Obsidian The chapter explores the concept of 'Visualizing Interests with Obsidian.' It delves into the idea of balancing creation and consumption, emphasizing the importance of listening more than speaking and understanding that art is a product of all the influences an artist has experienced. An article excerpt, 'In Defense of Pretention,' is referenced, highlighting the idea that a person's character is shaped by the multitude of works they have encountered. The notion of being a composite of various influences and works is illustrated through a personal connection to Anthony Bouraine.
• 28:30 - 31:30: Creating with a Digital Garden The chapter explores the author's personal connection to creativity and individuality, especially in relation to their profession as a writer. Despite the pervasive influence of similar media, such as Tik Tok clips and popular films, the author reflects on how their unique blend of humor and artistic passion defines their identity. They express that writing gives them a sense of power, though they find it challenging to fully articulate the craft's impact on their life.
• 31:30 - 35:30: Key Aspects of a Digital Garden The chapter delves into the concept of 'separating the art from the artist', arguing against this separation by emphasizing that art cannot exist without the artist's involvement. The author describes how their creative process brings stories and analysis to life, highlighting the inseparable link between the creator and their creation. The final part of the chapter encourages artists to stop feeling guilty about consuming other art, suggesting that art consumption should be intentional and mindful.
• 35:30 - 38:30: Intercropping and Content Diversity The chapter begins by contrasting passive and active engagement with content. This is exemplified by comparing the passive act of watching a TV show while distracted with taking active notes and pausing to reflect while watching. The narrative emphasizes the idea of 'leaning in' to content, which involves interacting deeply with the material. Personal anecdotes are used to illustrate these points, including a mention of college experiences. The chapter encourages readers to be more present and thoughtful about their content consumption, using techniques like note-taking and critical reflection to enhance understanding and retention of information.
• 38:30 - 41:00: Independent Ownership and Personal Growth The chapter begins with an introduction of a highly respected and iconic professor, described as an old woman deeply revered by her students. Her reputation precedes her as someone who possesses knowledge and wisdom beyond what her students know, creating an air of anticipation and respect when they first enter the classroom. Without uttering a word, this professor establishes the tone of the class through her actions. She demonstrates with her body language the level of engagement and attentiveness expected in her classroom. Through observing her presence and demeanor, students learn the importance of deep listening and active participation, even when they're not directly involved in a task. The chapter highlights themes of respect, the power of non-verbal communication, and the importance of self-directed learning and personal growth under the guidance of a wise mentor.
• 41:00 - 45:00: Final Thoughts on Digital Gardening The chapter emphasizes the importance of mindful consumption versus mindless scrolling, highlighting how the former can lead to creation and deeper understanding. It mentions a book titled 'How to Take Smart Notes' by Zanka Aens, which introduces the concept of a second brain, though the speaker admits to not having read it. The YouTuber Odyssey is also referenced but without further context.

creating a digital garden to end my doomscrolling Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 a digital Garden is a place that makes it possible  to make connections between all of the things that   you are consuming so you're not just taking  notes in a notebook or writing a Blog where   things are going to be all chronological you can  write about a certain topic and you can connect   it to all of the other things that have to do  with that topic or have to do with something   adjacent to it and you can see the ways that  all of your interests are interconnected like   you can see it as if you're looking at the ways  that all of the trees are connected below ground
• 00:30 - 01:00 hello welcome to Wild [Music] Geese hi hotti Lattis with the swimmer bodies do  you guys remember that from Hannah Montana I feel   like I saw that once when I was eight and it just  stuck in my brain like a little worm in my brain
• 01:00 - 01:30 for the rest of my life um welcome back to  Wild Geese I want to start this episode by   saying thank you so much for listening for  subscribing we reached a thousand subscribers   on YouTube right now we're at I think something  like 1300 subscribers on YouTube I've only put   out four videos so that feels like a really big  milestone I know for other big creators a thousand   subscribers is nothing but I'm a big believer  in celebrating everything everything celebrate
• 01:30 - 02:00 every single thing I was talking to my roommate  Raina about it and she was like congratulations   on a thousand subscribers I was like thank you so  much and she looked at me and she was like if you   really think about it a thousand people have heard  you talk like it's really just listening to you   speak and they've decided that they want to hear  more and that's a big deal that is a really big   deal to me cuz if I think about a thousand people  in a room you know like it's really easy to value
• 02:00 - 02:30 these things when it's online and you look at a  subscriber number and you're like oh a thousand   people that's not that much some people have a  million subscribers blah blah blah but like a   thousand people in a room would be a life-changing  amount of people to hear you speak so I don't know   thank you there is a difference between the  first season of wild geese and this season   of wild geese and that this season there's a lot  more solo episodes I really started this show just   interviewing people that were interesting to me  you know like any that I saw while I was scrolling
• 02:30 - 03:00 on Tik Tok who I was like oh I want to deepen that  conversation I would reach out to them and have a   conversation with them and I had a great time  doing that but I think in coming back for the   second season I realized that a lot of that was  sort of a crutch and it was sort of a wall that   I could stand behind because I didn't trust that  I had enough to say on my own you know I've always   kind of had this worm in the back of my brain that  has told me that I'm not a very interesting person   I remember in high school theater we all sat  in a circle one day and just went one by one
• 03:00 - 03:30 and said what our biggest insecurity was which  is an insane thing to do to high schoolers but I   remember saying like I just don't think there's  anything really interesting about me so there   has been something really deeply healing about  the experience of doing this podcast and I just   want to say thank you for that and that's like a  perfect segue into what we're going to be talking   about today because I think what we're going to  be talking about today is a very concrete tool   that can help you be a more interesting person  you might have heard the phrase in order to be
• 03:30 - 04:00 interesting you need to be interested instead  of putting all of your thoughts and energy into   thinking about like how can I be more of an  interesting person I feel like I'm a boring   person all of this stuff finding a way to channel  your own curiosity and find what you're interested   in and really go full force into your interests  that's how you're going to be a more interesting   person and lately I've been seeing so much content  especially on YouTube about consumption about   people like taking a month off of social media  and then sharing their experience with it people   really really interested to see how that's going  and I think it's because we've gotten to a point
• 04:00 - 04:30 where we're so fatigued with overc consumption we  are all scrolling all day long we are all intaking   more information than we ever should be it's like  if a pilgrim saw the amount of information that   we are intaking on a single day they would just  burst they would explode they wouldn't know what   to do with it and frankly I think even we don't  know what to do with it most of the time and I   think the blanket advice of create more than you  consume is good advice but it's incomplete compl
• 04:30 - 05:00 advice because now we're in such a routine of  consuming so much and consuming in a way that's   really really shallow and I think what you first  have to do in order to kind of break yourself out   of that pattern is to become a better consumer  become a more intentional consumer and I think   one Avenue into being a better consumer is taking  notes stick with me on New Year's I went out to a   bar and I was waiting in line for the restroom  and this guy comes up and he's waiting in line   behind me and he strikes up a conversation he's  like happy New Year blah blah blah we're talking   I'm like what are your new resolutions he's  like I want to have more fun I'm like more
• 05:00 - 05:30 power to you absolutely he's like what about you  and I was like I want to be more creative and he   was like how are you going to do that and I was  like I'm going to take notes and he's like how   is that going to make you more creative which  is a really fair question to ask so let's talk   about it today I want to dig into not just taking  notes but building a digital Garden for yourself   a digital Garden is a place that makes it possible  to make connections between all of the things that   you are consuming so you're not just taking notes  in a notebook or writing a Blog where things are
• 05:30 - 06:00 going to be all chronological and you can only  look at it from like okay I wrote this on this   date instead you can write about a certain topic  and you can connect it to all of the other things   that have to do with that topic or have to do with  something adjacent to it and you can see the ways   that all of your interests are interconnected  like you can see it as if you're looking at the   ways that all of the trees are connected below  ground you can actually see the way that your
• 06:00 - 06:30 thought processes your interests your takeaways  are starting to all be interwoven now the person   that got me into this idea of taking notes as  a way to dig in deeper to your creativity and   become a better consumer so that you can become  a better Creator is Odyssey on YouTube I'll tag   him and I'll link the videos that I'm talking  about in this episode but he has a video called   mindful consumption that was really sort of the  entry point into this understanding of taking   and how it can ultimately deepen your creative  practice but even more exciting he has a couple
• 06:30 - 07:00 of really indepth videos about the notetaking  process itself and the platform that we're   doing it on called obsidian I'm not going to  be doing a full Deep dive on the platform of   obsidian and the whole process of taking these  notes but basically he's making a point that   we're really in a days when we're consuming online  there's so much access to so many resources that   can be great they're more accessible than  ever they can literally change your life
• 07:00 - 07:30 but when you're consuming them and not  really giving your mind any space or time   or intentionality to process what you're consuming  then most of it goes in one ear and out the other   something I have observed in myself I think as  sort of a byproduct of this situation is that   I can't remember names and it's not just people's  names it's also like names of TV shows and movies   and just like any names ever don't stick in my  brain I'm not a person who can like pull up quotes   in my mind and like quote a movie I'm a very  big picture person in my thinking and what that
• 07:30 - 08:00 can mean is that I'm missing a lot of smaller  points and what it could also mean when you're   just scrolling mindlessly is that you might see  a video that you agree with but you never fully   take the time to think to yourself why do I agree  with this or you might see an article that you   disagree with and something about it rubs up  against your understanding of something else   and you never really take the time to tease those  things apart and figure out what you think about   that thing so that's how you're getting stuck in  this consumption Loop and never really creating
• 08:00 - 08:30 anything it's because you're not inviting your own  thought processes into the conversation and most   of the time inviting your own thought processes  into the conversation is how art is made Ian   arton has a substack article titled in defense of  retention she makes some really incredible points   about the rise of anti-intellectualism the falling  literacy rates and just all of the things that are   implicated when we devalue art and reading in our  society how that really opens the door to a level
• 08:30 - 09:00 of callousness and inhumanity that we should not  get comfortable with and so like I said before the   phrase create more than you consume has its place  and validity but there's also something to be said   for I'm not going to speak more than I listen any  art that has ever been made has been influenced by   all of the art that that artist consumed before  they made that piece of art so here's a little   excerpt from the article in defense of pretention  she says I am a bundle of all the work I have   ever come into contact with I think I can trace  parts of my personality to the Anthony bouraine
• 09:00 - 09:30 documentaries My grandmother used to watch my  sense of humor is a mix of my mother's dryness   and the work of Rick Riordan if we all see the  same five Clips on Tik Tok the same three films   how will we ever be individual part of my love for  the Arts comes naturally from my profession as a   writer the irony here is that I do not have the  words to adequately formulate just what this craft   has given me if I was forced to I'd sum it up as  power these words I write are little pieces of me
• 09:30 - 10:00 it's why I'll never buy into the separate the art  from the artist nonsense this work did not birth   itself it could not birth itself it needed my pen  to make it be first there were only ideas but in   my hands stories and arguments and Analysis live  so if we know this if we know that as artists not   consuming other art is not an option then let's  stop putting so much energy into shaming ourselves   for consumption and still say okay if I am going  to consume this material let's make sure that I am
• 10:00 - 10:30 there as I am consuming it and I am active as I am  consuming it it's the difference between passively   watching a TV show and scrolling on your phone  as you're doing it and watching the TV show and   taking notes as you're doing it and pausing when  you have an interesting thought pausing when you   think oh that reminded me of this oh that reminded  me of this oh I didn't like that part why didn't I   like that part what would I have done differently  it's leaning in I remember in college I had a
• 10:30 - 11:00 professor who was a very old woman and she was  very iconic everybody just like woried the ground   that she walked on because she knew something  that we didn't and we knew that as soon as we   walked in the room and I remember the first day of  class walking in and she didn't even say anything   she was just sitting there and then with her body  she started showing us how leaned in we should be   How Deeply we should be listening anytime that we  weren't up working on something with her she was
• 11:00 - 11:30 very adamant that we were sitting up straight and  leaned in fully listening the whole time that's   the difference between mindless consumption that  eats away at your brain and you feel like [ __ ]   afterwards and you feel like you didn't actually  retain a single ounce of the information that you   just scrolled past and consumption that actually  makes creation inevitable now there's a book that   I have not read called how to take smart notes by  zanka aens and in that book he outlines something   called a second brain and so no I have not read  the book but Odyssey the YouTuber that I mentioned
• 11:30 - 12:00 before laid out the pros of having a note-taking  process like this the first one is it forces you   to slow down I think obviously everybody's all  about do it faster do it faster do it faster   all the time but when it comes to learning and  curiosity and creativity you've got to go slow   to go fast I think that when I go too fast that's  again why I don't know the names to anything I'm   just like eating up so much content and it goes  in one year and out the other I can't tell you how   many books that I have read and I can't tell you  what the book is about after I read it I can be
• 12:00 - 12:30 like yeah that was an amazing book and you're like  what's the plot and I'm like I have no idea so   that's number one number two is that it is instant  feedback when you're taking notes and you realize   that you can't actually put this thing into your  own words like you hear a concept and you think oh   I get that concept but then you challenge yourself  to take a note and put that thing that you just   read or heard or watched into your own own words  if you cannot put that into your own words or you
• 12:30 - 13:00 have a really hard time putting that into your  own words that's a pretty clear signal that you   actually don't have a good grasp on that concept  yet and you should actually probably return to   that and go deeper with that concept and then the  final big Pro to note taking like this is that   you can see your ideas in a different way than  just being presented chronologically so say that   you're taking notes just in a notebook really you  can only look at that notebook like from front to   back you might have a table of content that might  point you towards a certain page but thinking
• 13:00 - 13:30 about a digital Garden or a second brain compared  to taking notes in a physical notebook or like   writing a Blog which is very chronological this  way of note-taking is like creating a network or   a web that interlinks your ideas together and then  suddenly you can have a note from four months ago   that connects to a note that you took today and if  you connected the two of them suddenly you have an   essay suddenly you have a speech suddenly you have  the idea for your first pilot show but without a
• 13:30 - 14:00 way of connecting those two ideas you might have  completely lost that first note to the timeline of   your life so now that I've laid out why you should  create a digital Garden let's talk about what a   digital Garden actually is and again I'm not going  to get into the nitty-gritty of the program that I   use because Odyssey has a YouTube video that lays  it out so easily and I am not a software girl so   go watch odyssey's video and he will will tell you  how to create this program all for yourself and
• 14:00 - 14:30 you also don't have to use obsidian there's a ton  of other tools some people use notion some people   with digital gardening create their own website  like completely but I like to kind of equate this   to your own personal Wikipedia so you know when  you're looking at a Wikipedia page how all of the   different concepts that it might be introducing  to you are linked so if you see a word that you   don't recognize you can click on that word and  it'll open up a new Wikipedia page that's also   how your notes can look so you can be taking a  note and it can have a certain theme or something
• 14:30 - 15:00 in it and you can click that link and it can take  you to all of the other thoughts that you've had   about that certain theme so to put it as simply  as possible what you're going to do is while you   are consuming something you don't have to do this  for everything that you consume you can keep some   things purely entertainment based that's totally  fine if you want to just check out sometimes do   it don't shame yourself whatever but if you're  looking to be a little bit more active in the book   that you're reading or the the show that you're  watching and you want to glean something from it
• 15:00 - 15:30 and actually have takeaways that you will remember  months from now pull out your laptop pull out your   phone whatever you have your note taking system  on and take some notes as you are watching that   thing so for example I recently rewatched flea  bag great show to rewatch by the way you think I   should become a Catholic no don't do that I like  that you believe in a meaningless existence and   you're good for me you make me question my faith  and I've never felt closer to God [ __ ] you and I
• 15:30 - 16:00 took notes with every single episode and by taking  notes I mean like I would pull quotes from things   I would make note of things that I found to be  really funny I would make note of things that   I found to be really sad I would write down things  that I didn't notice the first time that I watched   it I'm looking at one of my notes now and it looks  like I kind of broke it down based on a couple   of different like subheaders for this note I have  observations comedy character choices damn that's   deep impeccable writing and editing choices  because as an editor the editing was really   interesting to watch the way that you take notes  is completely up to you you're not being graded
• 16:00 - 16:30 on this by a professor these notes are for you  what do you want to write about you write about   that thing what do you want to remember from the  episode what are some themes that you want to dive   into okay so while you are actually consuming the  thing you can take those notes some other people   like to fully consume the thing and then come back  for a second round of consumption where they take   notes the second time but they don't take notes  the first time it's totally up to you how you want   to do this but after you take those notes from the  source material what you're then going to do is
• 16:30 - 17:00 take notes that are decontextualized from whatever  you just consumed so these are your thoughts   that's why it's decontextualized so in the source  material notes you're really taking notes on the   actual material itself you might be bringing  in your own voice to the conversation here and   there in the source material but that's not fully  what it's for the source material notes are really   for your own understanding of the source material  then once you have an understanding of the Source   material then you go to the main notes which are  decontextualized from those Source material notes
• 17:00 - 17:30 so for example I'm going to read a little bit  of one of my notes on an episode from fle bag   if you've never seen fle bag before maybe don't  listen to this part it's definitely a spoiler but   like you should watch fleb at this point it's been  out for years it's an incredible show there's kind   of no excuse at this point but here's a little  excerpt from my source material notes so this is   just as I'm watching the show I'm pausing the show  I'm taking these notes I'm continuing show I might   rewatch The Show and take some more notes but this  is about the show that I'm taking notes on this
• 17:30 - 18:00 is not amazing writing this is just notes that I'm  like very quickly writing as I'm watching the show   so like don't judge my writing that's not what  this is about okay I just want to show you how   the source material notes are really about what  you are consuming and then the main notes that   are decontextualized from the source material are  about your thoughts on what you are consuming so   this note is happening right after her sister  Claire got that horrible French haircut and
• 18:00 - 18:30 has a breakdown but then kind of starts to have a  breakthrough where she's finally being honest with   fleabag about the fact that she's a bit jealous of  fle bag I didn't want my husband's baby isn't that awful I haven't even asked you how  you are how are you what's going   on with you um um I met someone  what really yeah oh my God that's
• 18:30 - 19:00 amazing what does he do he's a priest  oh my God yeah you are joking [Music] no I'm sorry I know it's just I'm sure it's very  complicated but very painful you're a genius   you're my [ __ ] hero I wrote We realize flea bag  pursues her desires but Claire doesn't that's why
• 19:00 - 19:30 she's so bitter and this scene perfectly conveys  this but she's honest for the first time when she   says you're a genius you're my [ __ ] hero we then  immediately again the pacing of every realization   and visual display of what we just realized is  incredible see this play out in real time when her   Crush runs into her at the park and she refuses  to say yes to him asking her on a essentially a   date she's using her family her shitty husband and  his weird son from another marriage that she hates
• 19:30 - 20:00 as an excuse to say no she's actively in real  time saying no because her Allegiance Falls to   not letting down the people who are making her  feel trapped her Allegiance does not belong to   herself okay so that's just one little part of the  notes that I took on the source material from this   episode of flea bag then though if I go to the  contextualized notes that I have I then have my
• 20:00 - 20:30 thoughts and it's my thoughts on the greater  world around me not necessarily like you can   reference the source material in the main notes  but like this is really meant to be about you and   your thoughts about the world and what you just  consumed so this note says when we deny ourselves   of everything we want that is what creates great  discomfort and steals our peace we often blame   things like love for our discontent ENT but that's  not the source the source is looking our desires
• 20:30 - 21:00 in the eyes and saying I can't when we know it's  the only thing in the world that we want and we   cling and grasp at things like haircuts because  they feel like control they're not illusions of   control are constantly pulling us under and  away from the actual desire we're too afraid   to run towards sometimes an unfailing Devotion  to family can translate to an absolutely abysmal   relationship to self and the family relations  suffer disproportionately every time we try   to prioritize [ __ ] we don't care about we think  we're being Martyrs we're not we're being selfish
• 21:00 - 21:30 every time we choose the thing we truly at our  core do not want because the more severed we are   from ourselves the more Havoc we wreak on those we  love we hate the people that dare to follow their   desires they become the scapegoat to our misery  they're irresponsible they're Reckless they're   attention seeking that or they're free and that  really pisses off the people in a cage okay very   dramatic but that's my thoughts it is about what  I just watched in flea bag but also like that's
• 21:30 - 22:00 what I'm thinking about the world so suddenly  you've invited yourself into the conversation   instead of passively watching the show maybe  having these thoughts about it but never like   fully putting them down to be a concrete thing  of like yes I had that thought and I can come   back to it now and remember it so now you have  the decontextualized notes and what you can do   is you can create tags for these notes so tags are  like themes basically you want them to be pretty
• 22:00 - 22:30 General but like specific enough and you're going  to use those tags as the link between other notes   so the tags I have here are desire savior complex  suppression romantic love and then what's really   cool about this note- taking system is that as you  take more of these notes you're going to start to   see your patterns in what you are interested in  come forward because you're going to have more   and more notes on certain tags and you're going  to think oh I didn't even really realize that
• 22:30 - 23:00 that's like where my brain goes a lot of the time  that's interesting maybe I should dig into that   more because the thing is that episode of flea bag  everybody that watches that episode is going to   cling on to different parts of that episode and be  interested in going deeper with different parts of   that episode than I'm going to be interested in me  personally right now I've been super interested in   concepts of like women rage and women's desire and  suppression and martyrdom and it's clear in that
• 23:00 - 23:30 note but it will also become clear in the amount  of notes that build up over time in that tag and   in platforms like obsidian it visualizes this  experience in a really cool way where it shows   you the web of your interests and how they all  connect and then it's totally up to you what you   want to do with those interests how you want to  dive in deeper with them maybe you want to start   a substack and you want to start writing about it  maybe you want to start a podcast and you want to   start talking about it maybe you want to take the  things that you're so interested in in your notes
• 23:30 - 24:00 and you want to write a film about it maybe you  want to create a song I don't know what it is I   don't know what kind of artist you are but I  think the point is we never like sit down to   create something with a full understanding of what  it is that we want to create at the start we have   to go through the long laborious sometimes boring  sometimes embarrassing process of creating it and   of finding our own interest and Curiosities  and question questions along the way and this
• 24:00 - 24:30 notetaking process can be your friend in that and  I don't know like with flea bag I Remember Loving   fle bag the first time I watched it I was obsessed  but how much of it did I retain how much of it did   I fully digest the first time around I don't know  I mean when I sat down to watch it again there was   so much that I had forgotten and that's natural  and that's fine but I am happy now that I have so   much material from the notes that I have taken  that now I can look back on whenever I want to   that's like super exciting to me so anyway if  you're interested in doing this for yourself
• 24:30 - 25:00 definitely go check out odyssey's video on it  again it will be linked in the description and   I just want to leave you with a couple of the key  factors that make up a digital Garden if you're   ready to become a little digital Gardener with me  this essay is called a brief history and Ethos of   the digital garden and there are a couple of key  factors that make up the digital Garden number one   topography over timelines Gardens are organized  around contextual relationships and associ   links the concepts and themes within each note  determine how it's connected to others this runs
• 25:00 - 25:30 counter to the time based structure of traditional  blogs posts presented in Reverse chronological   order based on publication date so again it's less  like a blog or a journal where it's chronological   and it's more like making a Wikipedia page that's  all for you the second factor that makes up a   digital Garden is continuous growth so Gardens  are never finished they're constantly growing   evolving and changing just like a real soil carrot  and cabbage Garden this isn't how we usually think
• 25:30 - 26:00 about writing on the web over the last decade  we've moved away from casual live journal entries   and formalized our writing into articles and  essays these are carefully crafted edited revised   and published with a Tim stamp when it's done  it's done there is no final version on a garden   what's cool about this though is that if you do  want to write an article or an essay this makes   it so that you've got a foundation of writing  to start from from all of your past consumption   that's really exciting number three imperfection  and learning in public gardens are imperfect by
• 26:00 - 26:30 Design they don't hide their rough edges or claim  to be a permanent source of Truth number four   they're playful personal and experimental Gardens  are non-homogeneous by Nature you can plant the   same seeds as your neighbor but you'll always  end up with a different arrangement of plants   I really like this because if we think again  back to the quote that I read earlier from the   essay in defense of pretention she made a point  to be like hey if we're all seeing the same Tik
• 26:30 - 27:00 toks and watching the same films how are we ever  going to be individual and that's a really good   point to make it's why you have to introduce your  own interpretation of things into the conversation   and your own interpretation your own curiosity  is naturally going to start leading you away from   what everybody else is consuming and towards  something that's more true to you and number   five intercropping and content diversity Gardens  are not just a collection of interl words while   linear writing is an incredible medium that has  served us well well for a little over 5,000 years
• 27:00 - 27:30 it is daed to pretend working in a single medium  is a sufficient way to explore complex ideas it   is also absurd to ignore the fact we're living  in an audio visual Cornucopia that the web makes   possible podcasts videos diagrams illustrations  interactive web animations academic papers tweets   rough sketches and and code Snippets should all  live and grow in the garden we're not just talking   about taking notes on books or movies I've taken  notes on YouTube videos that I've watched I've   taken notes on Tik toks that I've watched like  some Tik toks are 10 minutes long now okay so
• 27:30 - 28:00 if you feel like it actually really has enough  information there for you to want to tease apart   and like put yourself into the conversation of you  take notes on that okay and then the last thing is   independent ownership gardening is about claiming  a small patch of the web for yourself one you   fully own and control so as you're taking these  notes keep that in mind this is for you this is   not to post some of this stuff can become an idea  that's fully fleshed out in a way that you want to   post to the web but so much of it is just for  you and that's okay it's for your own learning
• 28:00 - 28:30 for your own understanding for your own tracking  of your interests um I know that sometimes when   I'm like writing in my journal or something  it's easy to kind of have like an audience in   your head watching you create these things and  sometimes you can like write with this reader   in mind that sometimes it is just more useful  to write without that reader in your mind as if   nobody is ever going to read this stuff except  for you which that's another thing you should
• 28:30 - 29:00 go back and read your own notes remind yourself  of what you were thinking like reading back that   note just now that's the first time that I've  read that note since I wrote it and I'm like   whoa I had that thought post that thought girl um  okay yeah that's all I have for you today um go   take notes if you want to if you feel like it it  genuinely is so fun and I'll see you in two weeks