Whenever you have a big project, decision, or goal, and you’re not sure what to do or do next, here’s something that might help. It’s something I did when I was studying for the Bar exam.
I took all of my outlines and reams of notes and reduced them down to a single page. On one page (of paper), I had a summary of the entire subject. Notes, keywords, lists, definitions, examples.
Most of it was greatly abbreviated, of course, but I knew the material well enough that a single keyword was all I needed to remember a concept or case. By putting everything on one page, drawing arrows to indicate relationships or causality, and underscoring and highlighting for emphasis, I had a clear picture of what I needed to know and remember.
The process of distilling everything down to a single page helped me to understand the essence of the subject. I discovered what was most important and how everything related to everything else.
Try this for your next trial or big project. Try it when need to decide what to do next. Gather up all of your notes, ideas, resources, and research. Write down your questions, doubts, obstacles, and opportunities. Put everything in one big pile. Then, work your way through that pile and reduce it down to one page.
If you start with 100 pages, go through those pages and consolidate notes, eliminate marginal ideas, and re-write your words. Sift and sort and distill those 100 pages down to 20 or 30. Go through those pages and reduce it to 10. From 10 pages, you might get it down to three. Then, from three pages to one.
That one page summary of your project or idea may not tell you everything you need to know. But the process of creating it will.
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