You can use spaced repetitions to make your notes memorable for the long term. You can also use it in conjunction with another system like the Cornell Method. The goal is not transcribing but rather understanding what is being taught. You need to remember three core ideas with Flow notes:<ol><li>Make your notes simple,</li><li>Make your notes visual,</li><li>Inter-connect you notes.</li></ol>

Implementing Flow Notes

You can start on an empty page where you write the core idea of the session at the center. The next step would be to take down ideas you think are essential, in your own words, in the empty spaces. When you find connections between something earlier to what is being said now, use arrows or lines to connect them. Remember to leave ample space at the beginning while writing down the main ideas.

Using the Flow Note-Taking method

With this method, you'll be more efficient with time since you learn and take notes simultaneously. Why would you want to take notes for hours and spend more time learning those same notes later? Also, the Flow method encourages active learning, which most of us don't practice enough. When you try to learn things actively and make connections between the information shared, you are much more likely to remember that information.

Advantages of Flow Notes

I glance at the topic for the session and take down the sub-headings on the sheet with ample space between them to help me manage space, but you are free to improvise your way. This practice is not for structure but to ensure that I don't run out of writing space for any particular topic. Finally, once I'm done with the notes, I will take the latest information and connect it back to the core idea. Back connecting helps me zoom out a bit and put my learnings into a story format.

My system for Flow Notes

Flow-based note-taking is one of the best ways to consume content meant for learning. The approach followed by Flow notes is pretty straightforward - create notes as you understand it and not how the narrators narrate them.

Flow notes

This is a good technique to try for active learning.

Flow Notes can be a valuable tool if you are interested in active learning. If you liked this blog post, consider following us on LinkedIn & Twitter, we post similar content there as well.

Implementing Flow Notes

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