The 8 best note-taking methods

Note-taking skills certainly have evolved over the years. I started out taking all of my notes in reporter notebooks. That was one of the few methods of note-taking at that time. Pen and paper. The end. Since the options have certainly evolved.

But no matter the tools used to take notes, a certain level of note-taking skills is essential. In this article, I discuss the following:

• What are note-taking skills
• How to learn note-taking skills
• Methods of note-taking

While I grew up as a newspaper reporter where note-taking was crucial, many roles have to take good notes, including content creators, social media experts, and content marketers. In addition, anyone who has projects or attends meetings can use these tips.

Note-taking is not just about documentation; it also helps us slow down and remember, as the book “The Brain Mechanic” explains. Also, AI assistance like Otter AI can now help.

What are note-taking skills?

The point of taking notes comes down to the following:

• comprehending what is being said
• being able to refer back to what was said

To achieve those goals, we have to have proper note-taking skills, which come down to these:

• listen actively to what is being said
• not just hearing the words but also the context and what is meant – that can require follow-up questions
• proper documentation that can be referred back to

How to learn note-taking skills

The first step comes down to practicing active listening, which might be more complicated than it sounds. Listening intently and precisely on an ongoing basis can be difficult because:

• we might still be thinking about something else the person just said.
• a notification pops up
• their delivery style is so monotonous, and we have tuned out

Just being aware of those potential barriers helps. Be ready to listen, turn notifications off and when somebody’s delivery puts you to sleep, ask questions and engage in the conversation – when it’s a conversation. That doesn’t work when you are listening to a presentation.

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Good note-taking does mean that we are taking continuous notes. Not just the highlights as we judge them as highlights during the conversation, but we write down almost everything being said. That doesn’t always mean it’s exactly word for word, but the key points need to be jotted down.

Methods of note-taking

There are several methods available for note-taking today, and I use a mix of these, depending on the situation and what’s currently available to me.

Digital handwritten

Kindle Scribe allows you to take notes digitally with a pen.

You can also use an Apple Pencil on your iPad to take digital handwritten notes. Just ensure you get the right version for the iPad that you have.

Scratch paper

Since I work in my home office, I don’t need a fancy notepad. And I get plenty of direct mail with blank pages on the back. I can use those to keep notes as well. So, I use this paper as much as possible.

Notepads

You can also use notepads – junior, executive, or legal size – and use those for your note-taking. I resort to these usually when I run out of scratch paper or for the occasional meeting away from my home office.

Reusable notepad (the Rocketbook notebook)

A reusable notepad allows you to take notes just like on paper, but the pages can be wiped clean when done with the notes.

I found this way of taking notes relatively easy and was pleasantly surprised by the experience. The one negative perhaps is that you must wet the cloth to clean the pages, so you must go somewhere with water.

Another version of Rocketbooks let’s you scan in your notes and then reuse the notepad.

iPad

The iPad Notes app allows you to take notes with your finger. There are also other iPad apps that you can use, and you can even buy an Apple Pencil to take notes digitally.

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Record (and transcribe)

It is not technically note-taking, but you could also consider recording and transcribing the conversation through tools like Otter.ai. This could capture the content at an even fuller level. This is less work during the conversation but requires more work after the conversation as the notes aren’t immediately done. But having a recording can also make comprehension easier as you can play back the tone and relisten for the context.

AI note-taking assistance

You’ve probably been in meetings when so-and-so’s Otter assistant joined. They transcribe the whole thing and then even give highlights in a summary format.

Typed notes

Most of these techniques have focused on writing notes down with a pen. I would recommend writing in cursive. Writing in cursive seems much faster than printing it with a pen.

But you can also take notes in any document on your computer and with a keyboard.

The advantage of this methodology is that you can search your notes way quicker, but I find writing things down also helps us remember them.

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The Sparin iPad keyboard

I use this wireless iPad keyboard – mostly with my iPad Pro. It uses batteries that you need to buy separately and insert.

To set it up, simply pair the device via Bluetooth to your iPad. Pairing to an iPhone or really any device with Bluetooth works as well.

I like this particular keyboard as well because it’s tilted up and the buttons are real buttons. It feels like a real keyboard.

This keyboard also comes with a wireless mouse.

The Jelycob Bluetooth keyboards

Working on my computer with two monitors, I currently use this backlit keyboard.

To prop it up just a bit, I use this small keyboard stand as well.

If you like something more colorful for a keyboard try this one.

iOS app

You can also download apps for your iPad or iPhone like this one to take notes.

Taking notes well is essential to ensure we get the most out of subject matter interviews for content creation or run-of-the-mill business meetings. But plenty of things can also prevent us from taking good notes. The good news is that the more aware we are, the more we can try our best to jot down notes in the most meaningful way. It can help us communicate better, create better content, and know the industry more expertly.