I think it's important to be specific about the different purposes of taking notes. I tend to split it into two spectrums, the reference spectrum and the recal

I think it's important to be specific about the different purposes of taking notes. I tend to split it into two spectrums, the reference spectrum and the recall spectrum. The reference spectrum ranges from looking up a small, discrete nugget of information to restoring a complex mental context. At the "small nugget" end of the spectrum could be a command line invocation for a specific task, or your mother's birthday. In my experience, search works fine for this if you put in minimal effort when recording the information. At the "complex mental context" end of the spectrum could be a project that you were immersed in six months ago and had to set aside. Documentation for this purpose takes a lot of care; it's essentially writing for another person. If you're not careful and systematic, you can end up accidentally taking a crucial aspect of context for granted and leaving it out. To choose how to structure notes for this purpose, I think of myself as a consumer. I have a lot of experience with consuming information, and I know what I like. I don't like mind maps. I like complete sentences of clear, well-structured prose, with an occasional diagram, lightly hyperlinked where it's helpful. All I need is links, basic formatting, and occasionally embedded media. The recall spectrum ranges from memorizing specific factoids to trying to cement more complex ideas so they're available for thought later. At the factoid end is anything that could fit on a flash card, such as the definition of a word or, whoops, my mother's birthday, which probably belongs here under recall instead of under reference! At the complex end of the recall spectrum is where I would like to put the best books I read. Again, when taking notes for recall, I think of what helps me in my experience. I like studying Anki cards for factoid recall. For the complex end, I find the effort that is best rewarded is the work of writing straightforward, well-structured prose. It's very easy to sketch graphs and diagrams that feel meaningful, but the ease is a giveaway that you aren't really mentally engaging. Writing is much harder work, because it forces you to engage with the subject in a deeper way than just splashing a vague intuition down on the page. The value is reflected in consumption: well-written prose is invaluable, while most of the images that feel like they capture part of the mental context when I have it are no help in restoring it when I don't. (Technical subjects are an outlier; diagrams are often helpful.) To be clear, since recall is the object, consumption is secondary; what is most important for me is that the act of writing well-structured prose helps cement the knowledge in my mind. It's just a nice bonus that if it doesn't stick the first time, I'll have exactly the kind of notes that are good for refreshing myself later. Maybe it's just me, but I think discussions of note-taking techniques and structures are skewed by the desire to create something visually impressive. Nobody who is a professional at communicating information to others is using these techniques. I've never heard anybody say, I need to find a mind map to improve my understanding of the French Revolution, or Franz Kafka, or Apache Kafka. Mind maps and similar techniques have been around for many decades and have yet to prove themselves as a medium for teaching or communication. I'm very skeptical of the idea that they have some great yet-to-be-exploited utility for communication, and I'm also skeptical of the idea that their value for personal use vastly exceeds their value for interpersonal use. But this is subjective, and perhaps not everybody is the same as me.