Chapter 5: Note Taking

Note-taking is a form of recording information from other sources for the purpose of using them later. We can free our mind from recalling an information after a certain period of time by taking note. Human brains are meant to forget. We lose a lot of important information from our brain over time. Although it is not possible to calculate the actual brain memory size researchers suggest that it is limited. That means we all tend to forget things eventually. Notes are a solid solution to that problem.

Studies show that people who tend to write everything down are relatively more successful than the people who do not. Unarguably, note taking is the most effective way to keep track of everything. Due to the rapid advancement of our technology note taking is even more effective than before. Here two ways that you can use to take notes-

Although, using pen and paper is fading out day by day, taking note with the pen is much faster and effective. Compared to other digital note keeping techniques note-book or a diary is widely used. Try to carry a small notebook and a pen with you. It will give a great head start on your note taking if you are new to this whole thing.

Smartphones are the part and parcel of our life. It as many applications one such is note taking. There are some built-in apps in the popular operating systems (e.g. Android, iOS) of modern smartphones. These apps are easy to use. You can also download some other third-party apps (e.g. Google keep, Evernote) to get the most.

These are the two ways you can use to keep note. Both of these two methods have its fair share of pros and cons. Choose one depending on your interest and comfort. You can choose to use both of them as well.

It’s crucial for everyone to keep note. No matter which profession or position you hold. Probably you have got the same brain like most of us have. So whatever you do or wherever you go keep note if you think this is minimum important. It is vital for the students as well. Students forget most of the things they hear from a teacher.

Class/Seminar/Meeting: You should keep note of any verbal presentation you attend. For students it could be the class lecture, for employees it could a meeting or a seminar. If you find anything at least a bit important, write it down.

Ideas: Ideas are priceless and painful when lost. You must have some ideas rattling inside your head. Don’t miss another idea from your brain. Pen down everything you think that may come in handy in future. This is for people from every profession.

To-do list: Well, you must agree that it happened to you as well. Every once in a while you will find yourself forgetting some very important work. Maybe, your boss told you to do something within a week and, you remembered it one day prior to the deadline. How would it feel? So, make a to-do list and hang in front of your desk or wall. Review your to-do list every day so that you don’t miss a single one. And, remember to prioritize your works according to importance and urgency.

It may sound really easy to you to just write whatever the source says. But, it can be confusing if not taken properly. There are few effective methods of note taking that we will discuss later. For now, here are some tips that will give your note-taking experience a boost-

• Listen attentively: Listen to the source carefully so that you don’t miss anything
• Be brief: Make you note as brief as possible so that you can do it fast.
• Keep blank space: Keep some blank spaces every time you take a note. It can be used to describe the brief idea later.
• Develop your own symbols and abbreviations: Try to develop some of your own abbreviation and symbols while taking notes so that you can be fast.
• Use highlighter: You can save a lot of your time by highlighting the most important elements.
• Prioritize you notes: Always prioritize you notes. Especially on your to-do list. Judge the priority based on importance and urgency.

There are several methods of note taking available. You can use any one of the methods according to your own preferences.

Colonel method: In colonel method of note taking you need to draw a vertical line on the page leaving around 2-3 inches on the left and 5-6 inch on the right. You can take notes on the right side leaving the left side to summarize your notes in bullet points and keywords. Keep a small gap for every new topic.

The outlining method: You can use numbers to arrange your notes. Use numeric, alphabetic and roman numerals to write notes chronological order. Example

1. This is your main topic
   1. This is your subtopic
      1. Further subcategory

1. You second topic
   1. This is your subtopic
      1. Further subcategory

The table method: In this method, you will have to draw tables in the paper. You can use columns and rows according to your preferences of how many elements you would keep. Leave the first column for the serial number, the second one for heading, third one as the detail of the note, fourth one for your action plan and finally prioritizing mark. Again, these are not fixed columns, you can use them according to your preferences.

The mapping method: Write down the main topic at the top of the paper and create a hierarchy of subtopics. It will look like a map with different categories, sub-categories, and further subcategories. It will help you to visually track your notes

The sentence method: It’s more basic and informal method that most of the people use. Simply putting numeric or alphabetic serial numbers and writing whatever the source is telling in a sentence form. Although it sounds less complicated to start with, it often leads to losing the track of important less important data.