If you read Brainpickings.org , you'll quickly realize that Maria Popova either has a freakishly good memory or has devised an incredible way to store and organize thoughts. Turns out it's a little bit of both.

Maria relies on making her own indexes of books in order to quickly scan what's inside and connect it to what she's writing. Here's how it works:

• While reading, highlight any passages or quotes you find interesting (making notes in the margin).
• In the back (or front) of the book, create an index listing each page you've highlighted and what category the note should be under (This could be "C" for creativity, or even the title of your latest project).