Digital Thinkers: The ENCODE Framework for Note-Taking to Help You Make Sense of Your Emotions
How we navigate the “Messy Middle” is more critical than getting started or reaching the finish line.
Personal Socrates introduces Scott Belsky, author of The Messy Middle. Belsky contends that mental toughness and wellbeing is a key factor in navigating messy middles.
I learned the ENCODE Framework during Nick Milo’s keynote address for the May 2022 edition of his Linking Your Thinking Conference.
Let’s apply the framework to communications among our 3 selves.
#1: Encounter
Our Now Self notices something interesting and we say, “Hello!”
#2: Note
Now Self makes a note; mental, digital, or analog.
#3: Connect
Now Self or Future Self discovers a thread:
“What does this note remind me of?”
Here’s where we link our Now Self’s thinking to something our Past Self encountered or wrote about.
#4: Organize
Now it’s time to organize our Past Self’s writings for the benefit of our Future Selves. Use the prompt, “Wow! That’s a part of (thing x).”
Through this process, we find that our “sense-making process” isn’t all that messy!
#5: Develop
So far, we have Encountered > Made Note > Connected > Organized
The first 4 steps lead us from a now Past Self to a Now Self who further develops the idea. We write about it in our own words.
#6: Express
We are well-prepared to express our thoughts and our emotions. This note becomes useful to a Future Self, a few others, or a wider audience.
Apply this framework to your journaling practice in 5 Steps.
- Search your vault for Semantic Goldmines: I want | I need | I feel
- Examine your vault for connections to triggers. (positive, negative)
- Adjust.
- Run another Semantic Goldmine check.
- Repeat.
Read this post and more on my Typeshare Social Blog
