Once you start working, you quickly discover that there are many important lessons you didn’t learn in school. In many cases, we have to learn these lessons the hard way — through trial and error.
Effective note-taking is one of those important life skills you’re expected to learn on your own. As people get older and the list of things they need to remember grows larger, note-taking becomes even more important. This is especially true when it comes to the workplace. If not for note-taking, how would you remember any details from meetings or keep collaborative projects organized?
Keep reading to learn about three tips that can help you master the multitasking practice that is note-taking.
3 Tips for More Effective Note-Taking
Being a good note-taker is a valuable characteristic to have. It helps you stay organized, allows you to follow presentations and meeting agendas more easily, and can improve overall work efficiency. Many people think that good note-taking is something that just comes to people naturally, but like with any skill, there’s strategy involved. Implement the three tips below to see a difference in your notes.
Write in Short Sentences
Instead of writing down every word someone says, try to carve out the “filler” until all you have left is the most vital information. Additionally, if you know that you will be the only person reading the notes, you can create your own shorthand. This will allow you to write faster and record more details with less effort. Just make sure you can actually understand what you’ve written after the fact!
Use Bullet Points
Formatting your notes with bullet points is one of the best ways to organize information for later use. They allow you to remember the most crucial tidbits of information at a glance instead of reading through full paragraphs of text for what you need. The bullet-point method is also a good choice if you need to record action items or next steps, as you can clearly see what’s on your to-do list.
Create Structure
When you’re taking notes, make sure to have some sort of structure. For example: Always start with the date and the topic at hand, highlight or underline key points, and leave space for yourself on the page so you can outline ideas later on. Adding structure to your note-taking process will make it easier to review your notes, as you’ll know exactly where to look to find certain information.
In Conclusion
Along with these few easy tricks, consider using a note-taking app to keep all of your notes organized in one place. A meeting intelligence platform like Docket will help you take and categorize notes quickly, and it also enables you to share them with your team members. Note-taking may not come naturally to everyone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t improve. After all, practice makes perfect!
