Finally straighten out that backlog of chaotic digital notes and disorganized computer files-- with ease and confidence.
With the Calmer Notes framework in place, you'll finally have a reliable, minimalist, sustainable paperless system to organize your digital notes and files.
Are you ready to build a paperless workflow to organize your digital notes and files that *actually fits your life*?
(Instead of feeling frustrated by cut-and-paste, one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter frameworks?)
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Organize your notes
Why bother taking notes if you can never find them again? Build a reliable system for quick, efficient note taking (and actually find your good ideas and research down the road).
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Fix your filing
Figure out the best apps to organize your digital life-- instead of scattering data across a dozen or more, and never actually being able to find what you're looking for.
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Find the joy again
Knowledge and information is more available than ever before, but information overload is real. Build a system to organize your thoughts, ideas, and research so learning is fun again.
You're struggling with information overload. And you're tired of feeling perpetually overwhelmed by your chaotic digital life.
You're a busy, creative, organized, motivated professional. So why does organizing your digital notes and files feel like a never-ending battle?
You have notes and ideas and research outlines and PDFs and emails scattered across an exhausting number of apps on your laptop, computer, and phone.
Never mind the countless productivity and note-taking web apps you've signed up for then eventually abandoned to leave with virtual cobwebs collecting.
Notion, Obsidian, Roam Research, Google Docs, Evernote, One Note, Tana... you've tried them all. But late-night Google searches for that "perfect" note taking app never seem to solve anything.
You're a busy person. You can't devote much more time to getting organized, and you're starting to lose hope.
Let's be honest-- you're feeling overwhelmed, tired, and frustrated by your note taking workflow.
You wonder, maybe this is a good as it gets? Maybe there's no way to organize notes and documents and ideas effectively if you're a busy person.
Sure, people with lots of free time in their schedules might be able to devote hours to building elaborate, high-maintenance note taking systems with nested tags, and rigidly inflexible organizational structures, and complex bidirectional linking setups. But you have a life to live.
You're trying to figure out a more efficient workflow to organize your digital notes and documents so you can get on with the rest of your life. You're not trying to make personal knowledge management into a side job.
You have better things to do with your time than hunt through a disorganized mess of Google Docs or search-and-find through five email accounts to find that information you're looking for. You wish you had a reliable system in place (like GTD for note taking) so you could finally organize your notes once and for all-- and stop thinking about it.
You don't have time to spend searching down rabbit-holes.
Your time is too precious to waste on searching for lost ideas and information.
You've spent too many lunch hours and late evenings fruitlessly searching Google and browsing Reddit threads for ideas on how to finally organize your files and notes.
You're tired of spending your time watching productivity YouTube channels, reading Twitter conversations, clicking through Pinterest pins, and browsing random online forums trying to find the perfect way to organize your notes and ideas.
You're ready to create a customized personal knowledge management system to finally organize your notes once and for all.
There's a better way to organize your digital life.
IMAGINE IF YOU COULD...
- Quickly and easily find any note you've ever taken.
- Build on that half-remembered idea from a few months ago in a few clicks.
- Easily capture your ideas on the go (and be able to find them again instead of letting them sink into the black hole of your phone).
- Create a living database of articles, ideas, and documents that you can build on to find and develop new connections.
- Organize your thoughts and ideas to gain clarity and save time, both at home and at work.
Introducing...
Calmer Notes is a minimalist, tailored approach to personal knowledge management.
The Calmer Notes framework gives you a step-by-step method to create your own reliable, customized system for organizing your ideas, notes, and documents.
Here's what's waiting for you inside the course...
The Calmer Notes signature, text-based, self-paced course
70+ high-yield, bite-sized text- and image-based course modules you can work through at your own pace.
Companion Workbook
Put your learning into action for each module of the course with this action-oriented workbook. (Available in Word and Markdown format-- perfect for adding to your Notion or Obsidian database.)
Workflow Idea Gallery
Browse examples of the Calmer Notes framework in action (and swipe these ideas for your own PKM workflow).
Calmer Notes is a minimalist, simplified approach to personal knowledge management.
Hello, friends! I’m Elizabeth Butler, a physician, researcher, and working parent.
I've spent years figuring out the best ways to manage the overwhelm of digital notes, documents, and information flow.
I designed the Calmer Notes method to help busy, creative people craft tailored personal knowledge management (PKM) systems that truly fit their life.
With Calmer Notes, you'll follow a step-by-step method to create a streamlined system for organizing your ideas, notes, and documents-- so you can feel more clear, creative, and calm in your professional and personal life.
Step 1
Start Where You Are
You won't discard your years of previous hard work. You'll analyze what's working in your current setup. Then you'll identify precisely how and where you can iterate and improve your new system.
Step 2
Define Your Destination
You're not the same person as your friends or colleagues (or the people you follow on Twitter). So why should your personal knowledge management setup be the same cookie cutter solution?
In this step, you'll get clear and practical on your goals, needs, and constraints. You'll figure out what you need to create a personalized system that actually fits your life.
Step 3
Draft Your Blueprint
You'll get practical on what types of knowledge you need to organize and design the methodology you'll use to organize it. You'll get clarity on the features that are essential to your success (and which are just nice to have).
This blueprint will help you mindfully select your targeted, curated list of software in the next step.
Step 4
Choose Your Apps
Using your blueprint from the previous module, you'll mindfully and efficiently choose software and apps that support your individual, considered PKM goals.
You won't feel distracted by the latest and greatest bright-shiny-object. And you won't feel compelled to start over with a new app every week when you've chosen a tech stack that truly meets your priorities.
Step 5
Design Your Library
This is where everything comes together. You will solidify your mindfully-crafted personal knowledge management system. You'll choose a cataloguing system and method that works for you (and matches how your mind works). Then you will start putting your chosen apps to use.
Sustainable routines
Maintain Your System
You'll design and implement an ongoing, sustainable routine of habits (that fits your real life) to keep your system up-to-date.You'll figure out how to integrate a five-step method for ongoing system curation into your schedule.
“Calmer Notes is a super resource for anybody who wants to get into personal knowledge management, focus on goals, identify where your information and notes are scattered, and choose the right PKM tool for your needs.”
Text-based digital course
High-yield, beautifully designed, minimalist, informative text-based course
You're a busy person– you don't have time to sit through fluffy videos and tedious screencasts. I don't want you to waste your time impatiently fast-forwarding to find the parts you're actually looking for.
The Calmer Notes digital course is mindfully designed as a text-based course to help you get right to the good stuff– and easily refer to it again in the future.
Companion workbook
Available in Markdown (perfect for importing into Notion or Obsidian) and Word (DOC) file.
The Calmer Notes digital course is designed to get you thinking, creating, and taking action.
You'll get access to a guided, interactive workbook to help you craft and develop your own personalized PKM solution as you progress through the main textbook.
Database of note taking apps and software
Exclusive access to a database of hand-picked personal knowledge management software and apps.
Finding "the perfect app" won't fix your PKM challenges. But you also don't want to waste time wrestling with apps that don't actually meet your unique needs and goals.
When you buy the Calmer Notes digital course, you'll get exclusive access to a hand-picked, carefully-selected database of software and apps. Sort it by features and platforms so you can save time by building your PKM system on the right platform, from day one.
Flexible access
Multi-platform, flexible access wherever you are, in whatever format works best for you.
You don't have to limit your learning to times you can dedicate to sitting in front of a monitor.
The course is built on a fully mobile-optimized course platform so you can browse the material from your laptop, tablet, or phone.
Plus, you'll get access to the core course content in PDF, EPUB, MD, and DOC files that you can sync to any device you like. Access on the go whenever you have a spare moment.
Save the course material and browse it on your phone, your tablet, your laptop, and your computer.
Learning that fits your schedule
Flexible, self-directed, asynchronous learning that fits your life and calendar.
You're a busy person. You can't schedule your busy life around live Zoom calls in a different time zone. Calmer Notes is designed so you can go through the material at your own pace, at a schedule that works for you.
Want to do your own bootcamp in a single free weekend? No problem.
Want to pace yourself with one step per week? Sounds good.
You set the pace that fits your life.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How much does the course cost?
The regular price of the Calmer Notes course is $597.
As an exclusive launch offer, I'm currently offering a limited number of course registrations at a discounted rate. The current discounted launch price of the course is $397. As more people purchase the course, the price increases. This tiered pricing is a way to say thank you to my lovely early adopters.
You can always see the most up-to-date pricing info for the course at the checkout page.
Do you offer student discounts?
New for 2023: a few times a year, we'll offer a limited number of discounted course registrations at a scholarship rate for students and recent grads.
Students (undergrads, grad students, post-docs, fellows) and recent grads are invited to sign up for the scholarship list to get notified when these spots become available.
Do you offer purchasing power parity (PPP) pricing?
New for 2023: We're delighted to introduce purchasing power parity (PPP) pricing for the Calmer Notes course, via Parity Deals' new integration with LemonSqueezy.
If you're accessing the sales page from an eligible location, scroll to the top of this page and you'll see a banner with your automatically generated, location-specific discount code.
Is the Calmer Notes course available in Spanish, French, German, or other languages?
Yes, you can easily translate the Calmer Notes course to any preferred language.
One of the many reasons that I designed the Calmer Notes course to be a text-based course was to enable seamless translation options for students around the world. Since the course is primarily text-based (with supporting images, diagrams, Notion pages, and Markdown files), you can easily translate the members-only course page right in your browser, or export the content to your translation software of choice.
We recommend the following translation process:
- Visit the members-only course website (you'll receive this URL and your login after course purchase) in the Google Chrome browser.
- Right-click and select "Translate to [preferred language]".
- Browse and enjoy the full course in your chosen language.
(Not seeing your preferred language listed? Head to Chrome Settings, go to the "Languages" tab, and you can change your language and translation settings to fit your preferences. For more info, check out this support article on translating websites with Google Chrome.)
Are there any videos included in the course?
Calmer Notes is intentionally designed to be a text-first learning experience.
If you're someone who learns best from the written word and visual diagrams, you're going to love the text-first learning environment of Calmer Notes.
There is not a video component to the course at this time. There's a possibility we may add videos to the course down the road, but video is currently near the bottom of the course development map list.
Does the Calmer Notes system work with Notion, Obsidian, or another specific software?
The Calmer Notes system is not specific to any specific type of software. You can apply the Calmer Notes framework using your preferred note taking software.
In case you're still in the process of trying to choose the best note-taking software (for you), the Calmer Notes course also includes a hand-picked, curated Notion database of note-taking and PKM software and apps.
Who is the Calmer Notes course best suited for?
This course will be a great fit for you if...
You're a reader
You're a text-based learner. You enjoy reading, and find that you process information best by highlighting, making notes, and revisiting written text.
You're an independent learner
You're an independent, self-motivated learner. You have a full, busy, unpredictable schedule with many existing commitments-- you don't have the ability to just clear your schedule for a group Zoom call in another time zone. You value the flexibility of asynchronous learning.
You want to design a customized note taking system
You are aware of existing note taking setups and systems, but have found they don't quite fit your unique needs and constraints. You struggle to choose the right note taking app, and find yourself starting over from scratch again and again. You want to build a note taking system designed to fit the way your mind works-- not someone else's.
You're a busy person seeking simplicity & efficiency
You're a busy person looking for a streamlined, efficient approach to digital note taking. You don't want to add unnecessary complexity to your system, though you're happy to add in details that actually make your life easier. You're looking for a minimalist, "less, but better" approach to personal knowledge management. You want to design a customized, tailored personal knowledge management system that fits your life.
This course wouldn't be right for you if...
You prefer to watch videos
The Calmer Notes self-paced course is intentionally designed as a text-first course, with content delivered on a text-based course platform as well as being available in PDF, DOC, Markdown, and EPUB formats.
You struggle with self-paced learning
If you have trouble staying on track while working independently, this course might not be the best fit for you. It's designed to be self-paced, so anyone can fit it into their schedule (no matter their time zone or other commitments). If you prefer your courses to be inflexible, rigid, scheduled commitments in your calendar, this won't be right for you.
You're looking for a detailed tutorial on how to implement one single note taking methodology
The Calmer Notes method offers a flexible, personalized approach to crafting a customized, tailored digital note taking system. By design, there is not one singular structure, note taking system, or app used in this method. Every student implementing the Calmer Notes method will end up designing their own unique note taking setup.
If you're looking for a detailed, technical tutorial on how to set up a single note taking methodology, I encourage you to explore the many YouTube tutorials and online courses dedicated to setting up a personal knowledge management system using one particular app or structure.
Kind Words & Testimonials
The Calmer Notes method has helped busy, creative people (just like you)
build a note-taking system that fits their lives.
Here are some kind words from a few of them...
Matt Jugo
I love the feeling-centered take on productivity/creativity, I think it's so important (and I feel it's so important, too). ❤️
Bob Merckel
Thanks to @elizabutlermd and Calmer Notes, I stopped thinking about smart notes and started writing them.
Dena Doolin
For all you #PKM apps & note-taking fans, this one goes out to you I I discovered Calmer Notes by @elizabutlermd...
Once I saw how other people categorized their apps/processes it really put it into perspective for me... Calmer Notes Method was how I was able to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
Gilly Downes
Finished the #book now onto the #workbook. Fabulous system.
Calmer Notes is to PKM what GTD is to #productivity.
Martine Ellis
I'm really enjoying @elizabutlermd's Calmer Notes - it has prompted me to re-assess my wider PKM systems (more general file storage, for example).
Sébastien Dubois
I've just finished reading Calmer Notes by
@elizabutlermd. I've really enjoyed it! It's an excellent introduction to PKM. It is both concise and actionable. The Calmer Notes method is a great way to design your own system and to know how to maintain it.
Bob Merckel
@elizabutlermd has a great course about siphoning through options and choosing what PKM works best for you... There are no one-size-fits-all solutions, and I'm quickly turned off by "everyone SHOULD do xyz". ;-)
Scott Wilson
Do yourself a favour... grab a coffee/tea; find your favourite quiet spot and your Kindle; then sit down, relax, and read your copy of Calmer Notes... Don't have Calmer Notes yet? Pick up your copy here. http://calmernotes.com #PKMmeditation
GIVE YOUR NOTE TAKING SYSTEM A FRESH START.
Buy the Calmer Notes course. Start crafting a note taking system you love today.
