When you’re in class or a meeting, it can be hard to keep up with notes. Not only do you have to listen to what’s being said, but you also have to write it all down (and maybe even read along with the material).
That’s why we’ve compiled some helpful tips for taking quick notes, so you can stay on top of things without feeling overwhelmed.
Table of Contents
How To Take Quick Notes
Are you tired of missing out on important information while you take notes? You could be in a lecture or a meeting, and no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to grasp every sentence.
The average lecturer speaks approximately at a rate of 120 to 180 words per minute. This rate is too fast for most note-takers, who, on average, can type at just 33 words per minute.
Trying to write down each and every word is almost impossible as you might find it hard to keep up. Here, you will find ways to take faster notes.
1. Summarize
The key is to write down the most important ideas of the information being given to you. Summarizing the information you are receiving makes for a simpler, more organized approach than scribbling down everything in paragraphs.
When you write notes through summary, your notes will be much shorter, and you will understand the information even better because you are processing the information as you break it down, instead of trying to copy the information word for word. Here are a few summarizing tips to keep in mind:
- Break your notes down into a logical list of key ideas.
- Use bulleted and numbered lists to expand on them.
- Use keywords and phrases instead of full sentences.
2. Mind-Mapping
Sometimes words are just not enough to plot a map of an idea or a thought process. You need a visual way to see how different ideas fit together and how they interact with each other.
If writing lists and sentences aren’t working out too well for you, you can try a creative approach to note-taking through mind mapping. Mind-mapping allows you to see the overall structure of a certain subject.
Mind-mapping can also help you in connecting ideas within that subject. You can use a mind-map when you need to quickly highlight important ideas. If you don’t know where to start, you can use free mind map tools to help you.
3. Use Symbols and Abbreviations
You already know how symbols and abbreviations work. It’s just a matter of adding them to your workflow to speed things up. Use symbols such as; @ for at, * for important, $ for money, != for not equal to, # for numbers, wt for weight, info for information, and so on. Sometimes you might not be aware of universal abbreviations for certain words.
Another trick to save time while writing notes or typing them is dropping vowels from words. Your eyes will still read the words just fine. Of course, you have to be selective about which vowels to drop while ensuring the readability of the text.
For example:
- lawn mower = lwn mwr (readable)
- automobile = atmbl (unreadable), autombl (readable)
4. Bullet Journal
If you are looking for a way to organize your notes that are dedicated to planning. Maybe it’s time that you adopt a system that comes with guidelines for taking notes and creating outlines.
Bullet Journaling is a good place to start. You are able to get things out of your head and track them in a systematic way. This way, you can stay on track with your to-do list or any other important notes you need to remember. For effortless bullet journaling, you can use bullet journaling apps.
A bullet journal serves as a combination of a daily planner, to-do list, and a diary, using a set of symbols to distinguish between tasks, events, notes, etc. Without prior knowledge or use of bullet journaling, it can seem like a complex approach to organizing your notes.
However, once you get the hang of it, you will realize that this system is much better than having a ton of different tools, calendars, and planners to stay organized. A bullet journal may actually be much simpler.
5. Keep a Notebook Handy
Using a pen and paper might not seem like the fastest way to take notes. Smart devices and apps are great, but what happens when your laptop or phone battery dies? Having a notepad ready to go at all times saves you from fumbling around for a blank surface to write on.
Using a Notebook also saves you from the distractions of the digital world, your smart devices are constantly ringing and buzzing with notifications. Using your notebook could turn out to be a more productive note-taking method.
6. Use a Speech-to-Text App
Using speech-to-text apps might be the fastest way to take notes, simply because you are not doing any of the hard work. Imagine being in an hour-long video conferencing session, and you are getting a huge load of information that you know you won’t remember.
It can be beneficial to have a transcription of that session. A text version of your meeting can make your life easier, especially if you’re looking for a specific part of an hour-long session
how to take quick notes in a meeting
Techniques for taking great meeting notes
Now that we understand why note-taking is important, let’s talk about the how.
1. Create a shared, digital document in the most permanent, publicly accessible place possible.
Always create your notes document where the most people at your company can access it. There are a lot of note-taking programs, and it can be tempting to use the one you personally like the most, but if your goal is to communicate with others and create a record for the future, get on board with your company’s preferred system. Nothing kills the effectiveness of notes like having five different knowledge bases that don’t talk to each other.
For bonus points, create a note document before the meeting and add it to the calendar invite description so everyone in attendance can easily access it during and after the meeting.
2. Start each note document with the basics of the story.
At the top of every notes document, write down the following information:
- When/where: the date, time, and place (if important) of the meeting
- Who: full names of everyone in attendance
- What/why: the purpose of the meeting and topics to be discussed
This information is totally obvious to you so it often gets overlooked, but it’s critical to document for someone who didn’t attend.
3. Write down who said what, verbatim.
The best and easiest note-taking technique is to hear what’s said and then write it down exactly as it was said. Remember the research mindset: every word said in this room might be a potential key insight. You shouldn’t have to think too much about what you’re writing — you’re just hearing and recording.
Attach each speaker’s name to their statements. I like to use each person’s initials (assuming there are no duplicates in the room) as a quick reference — if you wrote down everyone’s full names at the top of your notes document, a future reader should be able to interpret initials easily.
This kind of note-taking is a great way to actively listen — I’m certainly guilty of spacing out in meetings and thinking about my grocery list or the sewing project I just started — so making it my job to hear and document the words spoken helps me stay in the moment and really absorb information. The person who takes the notes is often the best informed ✍️
If the stakes are high and a meeting is critically important, I also recommend recording the meeting using whatever remote meeting tool you have, and looking into auto-transcription tools.
4. Filter down to the most critical insights.
Think about the audience for your notes: non-attendees and future readers. Which would your future self rather read through: a long verbatim transcript of everything that was said in the meeting, or a one-page brief of the key talking points and takeaways?
Use your judgment to decide what is a key insight to document and what is not. You could do this after the meeting by editing down your notes, or edit yourself in real-time by writing down just the selected quotes that stand out most to you.
This part is subjective. After many years of doing this, I just have a gut sense of when something hits my ear that fascinates me because it reveals something about the speaker’s perspective. But here are some criteria that can help determine what is a key insight to be recorded:
- Strong emotion-filled or opinion-based statements: areas of concern, areas of excitement, etc.
- Controversial things: what did people disagree or debate about?
- Agreements and decisions: note what’s agreed upon and why
- Action items: who will take each one, and due-dates
- Anything that surprises you, or new information you learned: it’s likely others won’t know these things either
- Things that changed during the course of the meeting: what led to the change?
- Anything not done or delayed: topics that didn’t get covered yet or decisions yet to be made that will be returned to in the future
The best meeting notes can be read in under five minutes and bring the story of the meeting to life. Recording direct quotes from speakers and editing them down to the most important insights ensures your notes will be consumable and impactful.
5. Share those notes!
You took useful notes; now you need to make sure people can access them.
If they are not already placed in your company’s knowledge base, move them there into a well-organized section or folder where every person at your company has access. There’s nothing more frustrating than being sent a document you have to “request access” to open 😡.
Share the notes out to everyone in attendance, anyone who missed the meeting, and to other folks who might want to be in the know (don’t assume they don’t care — they probably are happy to take a peek, but they are also free to ignore your message).
You’d be amazed at how much goodwill sharing information can build. Think about times when you felt out-of-the-loop at work — it can be really frustrating and diminishing. Compare that to times when people on adjacent teams looped you in proactively — didn’t that feel awesome and helpful?
And as a manager, I can tell you right now, no manager wishes they were given less information. Sharing notes with your manager or other team leads as a one-way FYI shows you care about open communication and keeping everyone informed.
Conclusion
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