Revolutionize With Different Ways To Take Notes

Note-taking can be fun and creative. And the possibilities are numerous. Bear in mind there are many different methodologies – various approaches, methods or techniques to note-taking, possibly limited only by our own imagination. Below are a mixture of methodologies and other ways for picking, but these will mainly not be the usual decades-old, traditional note-taking systems popular to some, nor am I keen on sharing images and tips of colorfully highlighted notes in this post. I implore you to open up your mind, and give note-taking a breath of new, fresh air; Even if you are used to an old technique, it does not mean you cannot learn a new trick or two to keep improving.

What are the different ways to take notes?

1. Start with a blank page – 4 ways to take notes
2. Learning from a speaker and discussions – Studying, meeting and general note-taking
3. Contemplation of a topic – General note-taking
4. Formulate and ask specific questions to self and others – Method of prompt for note-taking
5. Experiments and logbooks – Research factual notes and logs
6. Personal experiences – Diary and journals with inspirational and informative notes
7. Organized – Regardless of the purpose, keep notes in order
8. With aids and tools – As a guideline, inspiration, memory, and more. Please read below.

Aids and tools:

1. Templates – traditional and modern
2. Songs – as inspiration
3. Books – notes from books 
4. Appropriate objects – including photographs and for mind palace
5. Notebooks – physical ordinary and modern write-and-scan notebooks
6. Notes and comments in programming codes  
7. Modern simplified formatting standard: Markdown, suitable for notes and short text
8. Modern notes apps – Evernote, Typora, StackEdit, Google Keep, Pure Writer

Another perspective of different ways to take notes:

1. Text – written & typed (and email notes)
2. Visual – painting, drawings, and camera
3. Audio – vocal recordings & voice-to-text
4. Video – screen recordings & video creation

These are different ways to take notes, however, the elements for each note-taking purpose may vary. Furthermore, some people will prefer one way over another so it is up to you to discover what works best for yourself. Read on to find out which way may appeal to you.

Start with a blank page

I know taking notes from a blank page is hardly revolutionary, but I believe it is how we perceive and take notes that make it. Contrary to some conventional note-taking systems, I recommend starting from a clean slate first, your own template or one that makes good sense to you, in that order. 

Why? A blank page encourages creativity, freedom of thoughts, and spaces to explore. If you have a specific purpose and came out with your own template, feel free to use it and save time. Otherwise, any logical template that applies to your needs should be a good fit. Please feel free to explore other example templates on Takenotesguide. 

Ways to take text notes for a blank page

1. Just start typing away anything that comes to mind first for momentum, may be suitable for certain purposes only (overcoming writer or note-taker’s block)
2. Write any meaningful notes in top-down chronological order of learning
3. Know to look out for certain keywords and ideas and put them into a structure you have in mind
4. Start noting down with the most important points at the top, and then elaborate on them under each sub-headings.

Exercise: 

• Take a few minutes to test out which way you feel good about from a rating of 1 to 10. Arrange in order of preference.
• Next, experiment on your top 2 ways, can you combine them? Can you evolve with them? Can you integrate other note-taking tips? 
• Remember well or note down the records of your experiences in these little experiments, who knows they may benefit you later more than you can imagine.

Learning from a speaker and discussions 

This is probably the most common conception of taking notes, where we just listen for key points and take notes. The point is to understand well what the speaker spoke for key ideas, not long sentences or transcribe. Personally, I think there is no shortcut to paying close attention to listening, and we can only practice by putting our heart into focusing our concentration more often, no less. Any engagement activity with understanding should be beneficial. Concentration, regardless of hearing or otherwise, is an invaluable quality that is essential for taking notes on the meeting, studying, and so much more. Put aside all distractions so you can focus on listening to someone, and then take notes of significant matters. 

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nding on the situation, take notes also on the person and how he or she speaks. Not only for note-taking, but practice to listen intently also for inconsistencies, what he/she is NOT saying (reading unbiased reviews may reveal more), and the true intentions of the speaker. Your notes will also prove to be valuable when you need to refer back to see if the speaker is keeping up to their promises and for any loopholes. This can be important because some people can be oblivious to contradictions or choose to be so even when advised against repeatedly. Any objective individual should exercise caution and keep steadfast on the path of truth with equanimity regardless of adversities. Notes can keep priorities and goals in check in the face of insanity, but we have to review the notes (which may act as proof in certain situations such as audio and video notes) we have taken with an impartial mind, or at least remember with certainty what was said and make the right decisions based upon facts. How To Take Notes For A Meeting may offer more related information.

Exercise:

1. Select any suitable audiobook that interest you e.g. Amazon audiobooks or Librivox, and decide on a clear purpose and what kind of notes you have in mind.
2. Listen to five to ten minutes before pausing to write down notes you can remember, this way you train your memory as well, and assess mentally further on if those points are worth noting down.
3. Complete about 30 minutes of listening, pause to reflect upon the ideas noted. Are these good and useful ideas that contribute to later developments? Could you have done better? Are these what you expected initially? Are you on track or distracted? 
4. Continue or repeat with another audiobook.

Contemplation of a topic

This is perhaps the most powerful and useful way for note-taking, at least to me. Understanding rises from contemplation, and along with stronger associations for memory. We naturally take better notes based on our increased understanding and realizations of any topic. Again, we can only exercise diligence in frequent contemplation of a topic to gain an upper hand. Either we remind ourselves to review or set an external reminder to discipline ourselves. You may engage in an enjoyable hobby and return to contemplation several times in the span of a day. Contemplation works because you are thinking of possibilities or figuring how things may work, and you may come across new ideas you never had or realizations. 

If we have a difficult obstacle, we may overcome it by breaking it into smaller pieces and contemplate much upon how to solve each part at a time; One would imagine it is just a matter of time before he cracks the code under normal circumstances. In essence, make sense of all parts of the topic.

Please

visit Resources that promotes critical and logical thinking. 

Formulate and ask specific questions to self and others

Be a proactive thinker with formulating your own questions! The kind of questions may vary for every unique topic, whilst some may be the same. However, when you get used to generating relevant and related questions, you will quickly apply it over and again with more finesse.

For example, you may start with asking multiple questions on how, what, why, when, who, how-to and what-if, and take list notes for each answer. One who considered all or more possible angles correctly can hardly be blamed for incompetence.

Experiments and log books

There are plenty of notes on figures, tables, references, and information pertaining to research experiments to be recorded. In fact, detailed information is crucial to a good research paper, even including how data is recorded and timestamps of who & what was added. Please also read How To Take Notes For Research Paper. The other instrument common for recording notes is logbooks, such as a captains’ log book for a ship. Log books can reveal what happened on board a vessel even decades after, and serve as valuable lessons to future aspirants.

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