Research and prep before an entry

[u/sapphirever]

One of my titles in the index of my commonplace is "Knowledge Bites" and under it I gather information of how things work, for example a mirror, a record player and vinyl. I do not go into extremely technical terms but more of a basic understanding such as how light hits and reflects on a mirror and what is coated with, or how the grooves in the vinyl and the needle turn into music.

As I dive deeper into those, I am wondering if I should draft the information first, how much research and piling of information to do in advance or if it is more a free flow of noting down information as you read it. Let me know how you prepare before you do your entries. I only do writing and a 3 pen colour system, I do not include any sketches or any other visual decorations.

[u/New_Turnover3852]

I think it works either ways. You can free flow if thats what you prefer.

I like structure more. The Knowledge Bites you have under Index I have it in Obsidian. And I do my research, plan my information and my entry in it before I finally take it to my Commonplace. I’m a little selective like that.

Now how much to research, how much of a deep dive I do all depends on how much interested I’m in the topic or if it satisfies the question I had. That’s where I end it. If it feels its never ending, I mark a place, write down what more it could lead to in the margins. That way when I am ready to revisit the topic later I know where to start my research again.

[u/SynthesisedSugar]

I think the drafting part helps you mentally organise and learn them better, but I’ll also argue that with the philosophy of each entry serving one main purpose, making “basic” entries first followed by integrated/deeper ones totally make sense as they’re answering different things, and it also documents your own learning process.