7 Basics of Effective Note Taking
Note Taking and Study Skills Part 2
In a previous article, I explained why notes matter. Taking notes helps you learn, form connections, and develop discipline. Today, I want to share with you 7 tips that will help transform your note taking process into an effective and useful process.
First thing you need to do is…
1. Collect your Materials
I have already warned about the pitfall of buying the most aesthetic supplies to write the most aesthetic notes. Heed my warning!
But, we still need supplies if we want to take notes. So here is what I recommend:
A notebook or loose-leaf paper
You must decide for yourself which method of notes will be more effective for you. Sometimes a journal works best, and sometimes loose leaf paper in a binder is most helpful. If you aren’t sure where to begin, start with a simple notebook.
Don’t waste your time finding the most beautiful notebook. Just find one that you like and move on.
If you are a student with multiple classes, dictate a notebook, binder, or section of a binder to each class. Keep your notes organized and separate.
A good pencil or pen
My favorite pencils are the Ticonderoga wooden pencils. One box of those will last a long time.
Find a pencil or pen that you enjoy - again, keep it simple and focused - and use it consistently.
I prefer to write all my notes in pencil so I can erase when I make mistakes. I also love the consistency of the pencil compared to the variations in pen ink or pen color.
If you are a person who loves to write in color, find a nice color pen (or small set) and consider saving it for headlines and important notes to help it pop on the page.
A highlighter
Any highlighter will work. This is for your annotations and key details. We will discuss this more throughout the series.
Optional: Sticky notes
I like to have a pad of sticky notes around so that I can add connections, thoughts, or extra notes to my pages when necessary. Not essential, but can come in handy.
If you are studying out of a book, I highly recommend sticky notes as they can be used for your in-text annotations and later moved to a notebook.
2. Establish your Purpose
Now that you have your materials, it is time to consider the purpose of your study. Whether it is to study for a class or for self improvement, the purpose matters. It will dictate what you find important enough to write down, influence the seriousness of your notes, and change the type of connections you make.
For example, because I am a teacher and a writer, I often approach books and classes as a teacher would, with the thought: How can I teach this? or How does this look in a classroom? Those two questions change the way I take notes.
When I am reading like a writer, I often notate beautiful or unique writing, focusing on the use of grammar and punctuation or imagery. I admire the beauty of the work and the notes I take are minimal.
Take a minute to formulate in your mind why you are taking notes. What is your purpose?
3. Dates and Headings
No matter the purpose or style of note taking, always write down the date! It helps lock in your mind the notes you are taking. When you go to review your notes later, the context of a date can help you jump back to that moment and remember more of what you wrote.
Another thing you must do is use headings and titles in your notes. If you are attending a lecture on Immunotherapy, use that title.
→ Pay attention to the title of slides or videos used by teachers and professors. That is a huge cue as to what their focus is and how they organize the information.
→ If you are reading a textbook, use the headings from the text as a guide for your notes. And if you are reading a work of fiction, use the chapters.
Headings and Dates! Two simple things, but two things that can immediately organize your notes and help make them more effective.
4. Consistency
Consistency in your notes matters. What do I mean by consistency?
Always write the date and title of notes.
Use the same annotations to indicate sections, connections, asides.
If you are using short-hand, don’t change it from one page to the next.
Consistency in note taking is intentional repetition. When you follow a similar pattern or use the same format you can quickly look through your notes to find what you are looking for. It takes practice and discipline, but consistent notes make the entire note taking and studying process easier.
5. Use Color Strategically
People can go very wrong when it comes time to add color to their notes. I believe that writing in pencil or black pen for the original notes is best. Then you can go back and add highlights or color to headings, key words, important notes, sections titles, etc.
The key with adding color to your notes is not to overdo it. It can be easy to highlight an entire page of notes, but then it is unhelpful. Utilizing color either through pens or a highlighter should draw your eye to a specific spot on the page that you want to be able to read and recall quickly.
Here are things I like to highlight in my notes:
Headings and section titles
The most important quotes, notes, or key words from a section
Summary ideas
It can be helpful to highlight unfamiliar vocabulary or ideas that you need to later define and research. Instead of highlighting, I usually circle these and come back to them later.
Many people also like to color-coordinate their notes. Here are a few ways you can color-coordinate effectively.
Keep it simple! Don’t create a new color for every single thing. Choose 2-3 things you want to be able to identify quickly, like new vocabulary terms, headings, or chapters.
Use one color for each subject: Math is blue, Science is green, etc.
Be consistent! If you say you are going to color coordinate and then don’t, it is not helping you take effective notes or study.
Final note on highlighting: My favorite (and most rewarding) way to use color is to highlight as review. Don’t highlight until you go back to review your notes. After finishing a chapter, lecture, unit, semester – any length of time – go back through your notes and review. As you review, highlight the key ideas, ideas you struggled most with, or ideas that have been repeated throughout the entire course (which means they are important). After highlighting, compile those annotations on a concluding page.
I’ve tried this a number of times and found it to be a very helpful reviewing technique and an effective use of a highlighter.
6. Substance over Style
Don’t forget that your notes have a purpose – to help you learn. In the end, it doesn’t really matter if you have a nice highlighter or the right pen. It doesn’t matter what notebook you chose. What matters is the information you wrote down, the studying of your notes, and whether or not you were organized and effective in improving your mind.
7. Discipline
Studying takes discipline. Note taking takes discipline. Discipline takes practice. If you want to improve your own mind, you must approach your studies with discipline and focus. It is the only way you will achieve what you set out to do.
These 7 basics - if adhered to - can dramatically turn your notes and studies into a fruitful experience. Underlying all of these basics is a level of simplicity. Don’t over-complicate the process in ways that render your notes - and therefore your time – useless.
Stay focused, stay driven, stay disciplined.
Example
In the picture to your right, you can see how I took notes for this very lecture. I started with the date — January 2025. Usually I use a specific date that includes a day, which is what I would recommend to students attending classes, but a month can work just as well for most occasions.
I added the same title used for this post and my Youtube lecture.
The sticky note was used to add additional information to my notes and clarify what my purpose was.
After I wrote the notes, I went back through and highlighted what I found to be the four most important concepts that I needed to remember to apply in my practice.
If you are struggling with your notes, slow down and continue to practice the process with discipline. As you practice with intention, you’ll find you grow more comfortable and speedy with your note taking.
Happy studying!