Become a Better Note Taker

8 ideas that you’ll thank us for

By Christine Vivoli

Taking good notes is only half the battle in your professional career. Great note taking skills will allow you to apply the knowledge that you have learned and retain the material. If you boss sends you on a business trip you don’t want to come back with a blank slate. Snackbox gives you eight tips that you will be sure to thank us for later.

  1. Listen actively and think before you write.
  2. Underline the important stuff that you want to stand out to come back to.
  3. Draw pictures in your notes, especially if you are a visual learner.
  4. Use a uniform set of punctuation marks and abbreviations that make sense to you when you refer to your notes later.
  5. Compare your notes with a colleague to make sure that you did not miss any information.
  6. Don’t write down everything, just the key words.
  7. Keep your notes organized by subject and with subject titles. Don’t take notes on oddly shaped paper.
  8. Always ask to repeat a topic that you might have missed and raise questions