22: Create a Review File [For Your Work, Studies, Investing & Creativity]

Future Skills

This episode draws on an idea from Ludvig’s Ultimate Commonplace System. The Review File is like a virtual book summary book, only more extreme. It’s based on two learning methods: Spaced repetition and availability bias.

Your Review File is where you collect all the best materials related to your work, studies, investing, creative project, etc… and you want to review it every now and then over the long-term to make sure the best ideas stick to your brain, and become internalized.

4 Examples of a Review File:

1. For Creatives: To build a scrapbook of inspirational work.
2. For Marketers: To create a Swipe File of historically proven material
3. For Investors: To collect the case studies of successful/horrible businesses
4. For Everyone: To collect the best learning materials by category.

How You Can Build a Review File Now:

1. List your TOP 5 books and other learning resources (articles, videos, audio).
2. Divide this material into relevant categories (if you come up with a lot).
3. Create a Review File in your commonplace and link to the content if possible.
4. Set a reminder for when you should use your Review File.

The Review File is only a small piece of a commonplace.

If you want to learn how to:

• build a commonplace that works like a dashboard over your life,
• collect an archive of your work that grows in value over time (like compound interest)
• structure your work so that you can work from your phone (if you work with your head)
• and gain an extra 10 hours a week (if you forget things or do a lot of routine work)

Then check out Ludvig’s Ultimate Commonplace System:

https://futureskillspodcast.com/commonplace