How to take great notes

• Don't just take notes. Read them

  If you have a bunch of pads or notebooks filled with meeting notes that you never consult, your note-taking isn't providing the most value over time. Re-reading notes does make a difference. Because the chief value of note-taking is storing information so it could be consulted later.

  How to Become a Masterful Note-Taker: 8 Lessons From Research

• Note prioritization

  

  Most common reasons to search through old notes : Figuring out who is supposed to do what Revisiting/clarifying decisions made Looking for greater context on requirements Resolving disagreements/disputes. So the key here is to use note taking strategies that suit your needs.

  Note Taking Strategies - The Digital Project Manager

• Digital vs. handwritten note-taking

  

  There's little research into the benefits of digital note-taking over handwritten notes . But the findings underline that typing out notes improves later recall , while copy and pasting text into notes is actually detrimental to learning because it encourages wordiness.

  How to Become a Masterful Note-Taker: 8 Lessons From Research

• Structure and hierarchy

  

  The most rigorously structured notes, those with hierarchal ordering and numbered subsections, are of the highest quality and accuracy.  But although these notes are significantly more precise than freestyle note-taking, there is little difference in the ability of the note-taker to recall the material.

  How to Become a Masterful Note-Taker: 8 Lessons From Research

• Must-Capture notes in meetings

  Action Items : to-dos, tasks, action requests etc. These will serve as the foundation to keep everyone aligned and moving forward. Decisions : Clearly defining the outcome and decision agreed to by the group is essential. Requirements/Specifications : Sometimes they pop up unexpectedly in the midst of conversation, but they’re important to document.

  Note Taking Strategies - The Digital Project Manager

• Honing your note taking strategies during meetings

  Create an agenda , to be able to better control the pace of the meeting and plan for the likely key notetaking moments. Take notes in advance:  Write your key discussion points to present in advance. Prepare your note-taking tools . Prepare the setting before the meeting , especially before video calls: being able to hear everyone = better notes. Block 10 minutes after the meeting , to clean up your notes, add details where there may be gaps, and delete notes that turn out to have no value.

  Note Taking Strategies - The Digital Project Manager

• Mind-mapping

  

  It brings visual structure to notes, usually involving writing one word in the center and drawing offshoots from it with related ideas and phrases. Mind-mapping is significantly more effective than just writing out notes and helps with presenting the information back with more clarity and coherence than traditional notes.

  How to Become a Masterful Note-Taker: 8 Lessons From Research

• The Von Restorff effect in notes taking

  

  We remember things that stand out. Underlining something makes it stand out against other words and that makes recalling that word easier. 

  How to Become a Masterful Note-Taker: 8 Lessons From Research

• The Outline method

  

  It requires you to structure your notes in form of an outline by using bullet points to represent different topics and their subtopics.  Start writing main topics on the far left of the page and add related subtopic in bullet points below using indents.

  The Best Note-Taking Methods

• The Cornell Method

  

  The page is divided into 3 or 4 sections (top for title and, bottom for summary, 2 columns in the center).   30% of width should be kept in the left column while the remaining 70% for the right column . All notes go into the main note-taking column .  The smaller column on the left side is for comments, questions or hints about the actual notes. 

  The Best Note-Taking Methods

• The Boxing Method

  

  All notes that are related to each other are grouped together in a box.  A dedicated box is assigned for each section of notes which cuts down the time needed for reading and reviewing. Apps are especially helpful for this method because content on the page can be reordered or resized subsequently.

  The Best Note-Taking Methods

• The Charting Method

  

  It is an ideal method for notes that involve a lot of information in form of facts and statistics, that need to be learned by heart . The information will be organized in several columns, similar to a table or spreadsheet. Each column represents a unique category which makes the rows easily comparable. 

  The Best Note-Taking Methods

• The Mapping Method

  

  Helps organize your notes by dividing them into branches, enabling you to establish relationships between the topics.  Start with writing the main topic at the top of the map. Keep dividing it into subtopics on the left and right as you go down

  The Best Note-Taking Methods

• The Medium Method

  Combining paper and digital tools for personal organization and productivity. You need: The main notebook , the backbone of the entire methond. You capture everything here: quick ideas, tasks, sketches. A “traveling” notebook : Jot down quick notes, then transfer those notes to your main notebook later. A digital task list/calendar : At the end of the day, go through your main notebook and add any tasks or events. Long-term digital storage : to digitize the most important items from your main notebook.

  Use The Medium Method to Combine Digital Note-Taking With Pen and Paper

• Benefits of note-taking

  

  Taking notes keeps you focused . It triggers critical, constructive thinking . It enables you to stay engaged . It captures in-the-moment insights, questions, and commitments.

  Recovering the Lost Art of Note Taking

• Effective notes taking

  Choose the right tool : digital or paper, whatever works for you; Give your notes structure : this focuses your thinking and simplifies review and retrieval; Record whatever’s important or interesting: questions, key insights, quotes, diagrams, etc.; Use symbols so you can quickly scan your notes later: e.g.: "*" for important/insightful or "?" for things that require further research; Schedule time to review your notes .

  Recovering the Lost Art of Note Taking

• The Bullet Journal (BuJo)

  

  It lets you capture all your notes, to-do lists, calendars and sketches and organize them into a single system. It uses a practice called “Rapid Logging,” which involves quickly jotting down tasks, thoughts and ideas as they come to you, categorizing those items with bullets, and creating an Index to make each item easy to find.

  Bullet Journal 101: Can It Help You Take Better Notes, Even Faster?

• How to Bullet Journal

  

  Grab a notebook and a pen ; Format your journal : Index page->Future Log-> Monthly Log-> Daily Log; Flip to your Daily Log , and start writing. Keep your items as brief as possible.  Categorize each entry into one of three groups: Tasks, Events or Notes; Log future events and tasks : schedule events or tasks or that you would like to address at a later date; Organize your Month : Use this page to schedule events or tasks throughout the month.

  Bullet Journal 101: Can It Help You Take Better Notes, Even Faster?

• Visual note-taking

  

  Using simple words and pictures helps us to see connections between pieces of information , get a better idea of what we understand and what we don’t, and remember it for later. By using a combination of words and quick images, the note-taker listens, digests, and captures on paper the essence of what has been heard.

  The scientific case for doodling while taking notes

• Helpful tips for trying visual note-taking

  Turn your paper 90 degrees so it’s longer than it is tall.  Pair images with your own words . Arrange them on the page in a way that makes sense to you .  The images don’t have to be complicated or artsy.  They don’t have to make sense to anybody else. They just have to be meaningful to you.

  The scientific case for doodling while taking notes

• Indexing systems

  Information is useful only to the extent that you can find it when you need it.  For a non-paginated pad, you can: Put page numbers on the upper-right of each right-hand page but not on the left (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.).  Whenever you complete a page, put the page number in an index on the inside cover (front or back) and a few words to describe the content . The page numbers in the index do NOT need to be in order, as you’ll be scanning for content, then referring to the page. 

  How to Take Notes Like an Alpha-Geek (Plus: My $2,600 Date + Challenge)

• Pick out the main ideas

  

  When listening to a lecture, identify key phrases, ideas, and takeaway points. When you hear something you’ll need to remember, jot down keywords to serve as reminders. Our hands might be scribbling furiously, but in an effort to capture everything, our minds focus on the task of transcribing more than the task of understanding what’s important.

  Improve Your Note-Taking with These 3 Tips | Evernote

• Shorthand techniques

  

  Consist of abbreviated symbols, letters, or pen strokes. They’re also a great way of capturing information quickly.  There are many forms of shorthand, and, depending on how similar they are to modern writing conventions, they can be quite difficult to learn. For more than 2,000 years people have used shorthand to make note-taking quicker and more reliable.

  Improve Your Note-Taking with These 3 Tips | Evernote

• Review cards

  

  One of the most useful techniques when it comes to reviewing notes. Limiting the space you have to write your notes on is a way of filtering through the massive amounts of information you must process.  It forces your brain to be selective and prioritize information.

  Improve Your Note-Taking with These 3 Tips | Evernote

• The Outline/List

  Is a linear method of taking notes that proceeds down the page, using indentation or bullets to denote major and minor points. Pros : it records content relationship in a way that is easy to review. Cons : difficult to go back and edit information written in this system. Works for : recording terms, definitions, facts and sequences, when taking notes on slides or readings.

  The Ultimate Guide to Note-Taking

• The Sentence Method

  The goal is to jot down your thoughts as quickly as possible. Format is kept to a minimum:  every new thought is written on a new line.  Pros : Is like free writing for notes. Cons : lack organization and notes can be hard to understand. Works for : meetings or lectures that lack organization; when information is presented very quickly.

  The Ultimate Guide to Note-Taking

• SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review)

  Skim the material for bolded text, images, summaries, to produce a list of headlines; Each headline is then written in the form of a question; Record your “answers” to the reading questions under each corresponding header; Once you’ve finished reading the text, write a summary of the material from memory—this is the “recite” part of the process.  Finally, review your notes to make sure you’ve completely grasped the concepts. Works for : dense written material.

  The Ultimate Guide to Note-Taking

• Visual mapping

  

  A nonlinear system of note-taking that resembles a tree and root structure: i deas stem from one major concept and are connected by lines (or “branches”). Pros : works well for visual learners; is tool for analytical-thinkers, because it outlines connections. Cons : Time consuming; can get complex, doesn't work in every circumstances. Works for : big-picture brainstorming sessions, planning essays and recording meetings.

  The Ultimate Guide to Note-Taking

• Smart Wisdom

  

  Instead of taking notes in full sentences, you record only keywords and place them in a chain that maps the thought process, written on a web-like grid, starting in the 1 o’clock position and working clockwise.  Pros : allows you to take notes in “real time”. Cons : few sources for learning how to use it. Works for : meetings and lectures; dyslexic learners.

  The Ultimate Guide to Note-Taking

• Timelines

  

  A continuum of dates and events.   However, timelines need not be limited to two-dimensions. Timelines can be multidimensional (i.e., date, relevant event, another event).  Work for : recording history or biography, but they can also be used to compare and contrast similar events. 

  The Ultimate Guide to Note-Taking

• Flow-chart

  

  Represented by individual steps that start from a problem and lead to a solution.  Each step is denoted by a different kind of shape which symbolizes whether the note requires action or decision. Unlike the timeline, a flow chart can veer in multiple directions, leading to different scenarios.

  The Ultimate Guide to Note-Taking

• Venn diagram

  

  Usually comprise overlapping circle that represent sets. A set includes items that all share a specific characteristic.  Although there is no limit to the number of sets you compare, complicated Venn diagrams can be difficult to interpret Works for : comparing and contrasting notes.

  The Ultimate Guide to Note-Taking

• Fishbone diagram

  

  Identify the main problem (effect)  and write this in a box center left of the page.  Draw a thick horizontal arrow pointing to this box - the head and spine of the fish .  Then brainstorm categories of causes that could lead to this effect.  For each of these causes, draw a line branching off of the main arrow .  Works for : marketing, manufacturing or service industry for product design and quality defect prevention.

  The Ultimate Guide to Note-Taking

• Different types of information demand different styles of note-taking.

  There are lots of reasons to take notes : to retain information, to capture ideas,  to problem solve or brainstorm, to visualize complex systems or concepts etc. But what works for outlining a blog post might not work so great for brainstorming new ideas.

  The Ultimate Guide to Note-Taking