Flow notes

Flow notes capture ideas and the relationships between them, not the words of the lecture. Each concept is written once, briefly, and connected to others with arrows that say how they relate: causes, leads to, depends on, contradicts. The note ends up looking like a small map of the subject.

The method works because writing a relationship forces understanding. Copying "inflation erodes savings" takes no thought; drawing an arrow from "rising prices" to "lower real value of savings" and labeling it means the note-taker had to decide what causes what. It is slower to review than a list and does not suit material that is mostly isolated facts, but for processes, systems, and arguments it builds understanding as the notes are taken.

When to use it