Note taking tips

Golden Rules * Do not write down every word * Paraphrase, but don’t change meaning

• Only one note per topic
• Clarity, Readability, Searchability is the goal
• Any note > 1000 lines, divide into sub-topics
• Include When, Who, Where (references) with each note

Note Taking Cheatsheet

Why: People may forget 50% discussion within 24hr, 80% in 2 week, 95% in a month

What: Record enough info to be able to reconstruct text/talk/context with ease. - Be selective: Let purpose guide what you need to read. Skip rest. - Be systematic: Skim first to get a glance, then focus on relevant sections. - Begin on new page, inter-leave lines to add points later.

How: 3R’s of note taking - Record: only what is important to you - facts, figures, abbrevations, new terms, - Review: within 24hrs of recording notes - phrase questions, identify unknowns, remind follow-ups - Reflect: your understanding in your words (paraphrase) - note observations, check open-items, do analysis & present opinion

When: What to do when faced with these situations - Comparison notes: You are comparing things - T-Chart: Topic (head), Pros/Method-A (left), Cons/Method-B (right)

Symbols

• minus, # number, $ money, % percent, / per, & and, @ at, ~ approx, -> leads to,
• in addition, < greater than, = equal to, > less than, * bullets, ? question

Abbrevations

Q: question, A: answer vs. versus, ex. example, etc. et-cetera, ie. that is, viz. namely