About Elizabeth Butler
Hi friends! 👋 I'm Elizabeth Butler, MD, PhD, creator of the Calmer Notes method for personal knowledge management (PKM). I write about mindful personal knowledge management, digital note taking strategies, and note taking apps & software here on the blog.
A bit about me– I'm a physician, a former humanities professor, and a working parent. If you're curious to know more, you can learn more about me at CalmerNotes.com.
About Calmer Notes
Calmer Notes is a step-by-step method designed to help you create a customized, completely tailored personal knowledge management system to organize your notes and files. I developed this framework based on my almost two-decades of experience in higher education and medicine.
Learn more about the Calmer Notes method
- How to organize your digital notes: build a personal knowledge management system with the Calmer Notes method
- These 5 key principles of the Calmer Notes method will help you create a sustainable personal knowledge management system
- Build a minimalist personal knowledge management system with the Calmer Notes method
Get the Calmer Notes course
Most popular posts: best of the blog
I've put together a handful of my top articles. You might find this helpful if you're new to the blog, or even if you've been reading a while but want to make sure you haven't missed any helpful articles tucked away in the archives.
Personal Knowledge Management (PKM)
- How to build a personal knowledge management system: the ultimate guide
- The best books on personal knowledge management
- Want to build a better personal knowledge management system? Ask yourself this one question (that changes everything)
- Stop searching for the "perfect" note taking app-- start thinking about systems instead
- Feeling busy and overwhelmed? Transform your workflow with the power of personal knowledge management
- The 10 best personal knowledge management courses to organize your digital notes in 2022 and beyond
Personal knowledge management and mindful productivity
- 5 tips to make your personal knowledge management system feel more effortless
- How a personal knowledge management system will help you get things done when you're exhausted and tired
- Designing for joy: 3 tips to transform your personal knowledge management system
- 5 tips for designing an effective, resilient note taking system (that still works even when life gets busy)
- 6 surprising similarities between personal knowledge management and yoga
- 3 simple steps to create a relaxing evening routine with personal knowledge management
The Calmer Notes method for personal knowledge management
- How to organize your digital notes: build a personal knowledge management system with the Calmer Notes method
- These 5 key principles of the Calmer Notes method will help you create a sustainable personal knowledge management system
- Build a minimalist personal knowledge management system with the Calmer Notes method
- Calmer Notes in Action: How a professor, writer, and academic built her personal knowledge management system with the Calmer Notes method
- Calmer Notes in Action: How a project manager, blogger, and parent built his personal knowledge management system with the Calmer Notes method
- Go behind the scenes of Calmer Notes with Elizabeth Butler and Philipp Temel of Creativerly
Note taking workflows and personal knowledge management system example setups
- 9 creative personal knowledge management system examples to inspire you
- 9 more examples of creative personal information systems and workflows to inspire you
Note taking strategies, methods, and tips
- How to take smart notes: a minimalist approach to effective note taking
- How to build a Zettelkasten in Notion (with examples and templates)
- Use this trusted 5-step method to take effective book notes as you read
- 3 secrets to taking future-proof notes
- Here's the difference between highlighting and note taking (and why it matters)
- How to take notes from podcasts: 4 streamlined podcast notes apps
Note taking apps and software
- The best note taking apps for Windows: a roundup of personal knowledge management software for Microsoft and PC
- These are the 7 best note-taking apps for personal knowledge management in 2022
- 7 promising new personal knowledge management apps to watch in 2022
- 7 (more) promising new personal knowledge management apps to watch in 2022
Obsidian Notes
- How to use Obsidian Notes: a step-by-step guide
- 5 of the best custom, minimalist digital note-taking themes for Obsidian MD in 2022
- The 7 best note taking Reddits, groups, and forums
Notion
- How to build a Zettelkasten in Notion (with examples and templates)
- Looking for a Notion replacement? Explore these 5 alternative Notion-like apps
Social media sabbaticals
- Why I’m taking a social media break (and what I’m doing instead)
- Staying connected on a social media sabbatical: how I find interesting people to follow online while on a social media break
Staying in touch
Want to send me a message? I'd be delighted to hear from you! 😊 You can send me an email at my contact form here.
Newsletter
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Wishing you all the best on your personal knowledge management journey!
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