Developing the Note Card System for Organizing Book Ideas

The note card system was developed to organize the large volume of book ideas effectively. The speaker began using note cards during the first book and felt naturally drawn to them due to a predisposition for organizing things. The process involves jotting down ideas on 4x6 note cards and categorizing them by subject. The speaker periodically revisits books to transfer margin notes onto the corresponding note cards, organizing them into thematic categories instead of following the book's structure. Thousands of cards are then organized into chapters, providing a framework for the entire book before writing begins. However, the process is kept open-ended to maintain flexibility and ensure the vitality of the book. The speaker makes final decisions about chapter content based on the collected note cards, often reshuffling and reorganizing them as needed.