Summary

The article outlines three key decisions for effective note-taking: choosing between paper/pen or digital, determining where notes will be stored, and deciding on the purpose and actions to be taken from the notes.

Abstract

The author emphasizes the importance of a personalized note-taking system, noting that perfection is subjective and consistency is crucial. The first decision is the medium, with the author preferring paper and pen for their tactile benefits and ease of use. Digital notes are reserved for convenience or necessity. The second decision involves the repository for notes; while the author uses paper initially, notes are often transferred to digital platforms like Notion, Tettra, or Trello for organization and retention. The final decision concerns the utilization of notes, stressing the importance of reflecting on their purpose to ensure they serve a clear intent, whether for immediate action or future inspiration.

Opinions

The author believes there is no one-size-fits-all note-taking system; it's about personal efficiency and organization.
Consistency in note-taking style and storage location is key to maintaining an organized system.
Paper and pen are preferred for their natural, distraction-free method of capturing information quickly, especially for daily to-do lists and idea generation.
Digital platforms are useful for note consolidation, sharing, and long-term storage, with the author favoring Apple Notes for quick access and Notion for personal notes.
Rewriting notes from paper to digital is seen as a valuable exercise in distilling information and reinforcing memory.
The ultimate purpose of note-taking is to facilitate action or serve as a resource for future reference, and this purpose should be clear when taking notes.
The author suggests that the act of note-taking should be intentional and reflective of one's goals or priorities, rather than a mindless habit.

3 Semi-Important Decisions You Need To Make About Your Note-Taking System

How to actually get value from your notes

Look, I don’t have an incredible note-taking course or a system with a ton of YouTube videos. There are way too many people already doing that.

What I do have is a master’s degree in English and the need to take a ton of notes for everything from meetings to blog posts for a team of writers to work on them.

Before hitting the 3 important decisions for your note-taking, here are 2 reminders:

• There is no perfect note-taking system, only the one that works for you.

• Stay consistent. Having a consistent style and place will help you be organized and help you remember where your notes actually are…

With that in mind, let’s examine some key things to consider about note-taking:

1. Decide if you like paper and pen or digital

This may seem like a no-brainer, but they really are a different way of doing things.

At this stage of my life, I generally prefer paper and pen, specifically with my legal pad.

Then I like to have a fresh page for each day, make the day’s to-do list on there, take any meeting notes, and then jot down any ideas for myself — which include personal tasks as well as future work projects.

That said, I do use digital notes when I can’t get to my legal pad or if I need to copy and paste something quickly. Usually, I just turn to Apple Notes because it’s quick

2. Decide where your notes will go

Even though I take notes on paper, I usually rewrite and move them to somewhere else. If it’s personal, usually that’s Notion.

For work, I’ll add them to a recap on a Tettra page, start a new process doc, or add them to a Trello card (I use Tettra for storing meeting notes, goals, and processes and Trello for more task-oriented projects).

Even though it seems like a waste initially, rewriting my notes is extremely important.

Moving notes from paper to digital forces me to re-read my notes. I think about what’s valuable and what needs to be kept.

3. Decide what you’ll do with your notes

Ok, we saved the best for last. This is actually the whole point of this post. It’s the most important decision you will make.

What will you do with your notes? What’s next for them? Why did you take notes?

Reasons could include:

It was an important meeting
It was an important call
It was a thought-provoking book, video, or podcast
It was a good speech or lecture
It was a good course

All of those are good things, but now what?

How will you put your notes in action?

To determine this, fill in this phrase…

“These notes will help me…”

What will these notes help you do?

For meeting notes, it could be something as simple as:

“These meeting notes will help me understand what to do this week”

“…what next month’s priorities are.”

For a course, it may be more action-oriented, such as:

“These meeting notes will help me take action on designing a new website.”

For a lecture, it could be:

“These notes will help inspire me when I’m frustrated by my lack of progress.”

I understand it’s hard to think about the exact purpose when you have an urge to take a note about something, but diving deep into the core impulse — “why do I think this is important?” — will give you more value when taking notes, and keep you from taking notes just because everyone else is.

You’re out of school now (maybe); you don’t have to do that.

I share about writing, culture, and creativity. Get my newsletter every Saturday.

Join Medium with my referral link - Josh Spilker

As a Medium member, a portion of your membership fee goes to writers you read, and you get full access to every story…

joshspilker.medium.com