Get organized with an effortless note taking system.
Create a streamlined, perfectly-tailored personal knowledge management system. Never lose another idea.
Calmer Notes: Personal Knowledge Management for Busy People
Discover thE Calmer Notes method
Finally straighten out your 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.
Information overload
Struggling with information overload?
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.
In search of a perfect digital workflow
You wish you could find the GTD equivalent for organizing your digital notes & files.
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 for rabbit holes
Your time is too precious to waste on searching for lost ideas and information.
You need a trusted system that lets you find the information you need when you need it… then get on with the rest of your endless task list.
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.
Build a better digital workflow
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.
There’s a better way…
Calmer Notes can help
A practical, proven, tailored method to help you end the overwhelm and finally organize your digital notes & documents.
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.
Course overview
Here’s what you’ll learn
Discover the Calmer Notes approach for organizing your notes and files.
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 own unique digital organization goals.
You won’t feel distracted by the latest and greatest bright-shiny note taking app that crosses your feed. 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.
Ready to build a sleek, organized system for managing your digital life?
what’s included with your purchase
What’s waiting for you inside the course…
The Signature Course
The Calmer Notes course
70+ high-yield, bite-sized text- and image-based course modules you can work through at your own pace.
Actionable workbook
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.)
Craft your system
Workflow Worksheet
See how all the parts of your personal knowledge management system fit together with this workflow worksheet in Notion.
Includes sample digital organization workflows (including apps) for:
- The Academic Researcher
- The Team Manager
- The Content Creator
- The Parent
- The Graphic Designer
- The Polymath
Calmer Notes in action
Workflow Idea Gallery
Browse examples of the Calmer Notes framework in action (and use this swipe file of ideas for your own PKM workflow).
Advanced apps
Supplemental PKM Apps
Have your system up and running, but feel like you’re ready to take things to the next level? Looking for more specific, advanced functionality in your PKM system? The courses includes access to a hand-curated Notion database of supplemental apps you can use to bring everything together, including:
- Read it later apps
- Academic reference managers
- Task managers
- Digital highlighters
Thoughtfully designed for overscheduled learners
Designed for busy people
High-yield, no fluff, actionable learning that fits your schedule.
High-yield, minimalist, informative text-based course
Text-Based Digital Course Dashboard
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.
Exclusive access to a database of hand-picked personal knowledge management software and apps
Notion database of note taking apps and software
Finding “the perfect app” won’t fix your digital organization 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 enroll in the 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 personal knowledge management system on the right platform, from day one.
Multi-platform, flexible access wherever you are
Flexible access
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.
Flexible, self-directed, asynchronous learning that fits your life
Learning that fits your schedule
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.
Meet Your Guide
About Elizabeth Butler, MD, PhD
Hi! I’m Elizabeth Butler, MD, PhD.
I help creative, idealistic professionals build streamlined note-taking and productivity systems to fit their busy lives.
I’m a physician, a former humanities professor, working parent, and fellow over-scheduled human being.
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.
Kind Words & Testimonials
From Calmer Notes Students
Is the course right for you?
find out if Calmer Notes is the right fit
✅ Calmer Notes 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.
❌ It wouldn’t be the right fit if…
🚫 You’re looking for a video-based course
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 rigid tutorial on how to implement one single, inflexible 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the course cost?
The regular price of the course is $597. 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.
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. 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.
Do you offer student discounts for the course?
A few times a year, we’ll offer a limited number of discounted course registrations at a scholarship rate for students (undergrads, grad students, post-docs, fellows), recent grads, or people experiencing significant financial hardship. You’re invited to sign up for the scholarship list to get notified when these spots become available.
Do you offer purchasing power parity (PPP) pricing?
Yes; 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.
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.
Course Pricing
Join the early adopters with a tiered discount
The regular price of the course is $597. 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.
$597 $397 lifetime access
It’s time for
Build a note taking system that fits your busy life.
Never lose another idea.