Today I'm going to be writing about how to take notes faster. I hope you'll find this article helpful.
Print materials. If your teacher posts lecture slides or other notes online before class, print them out. You can take notes on these instead of starting from scratch and needing to write down all of the information.
Summarize. Instead of writing down what your teacher says word-for-word, summarize the information and write only the key ideas. You'll have to write less and this also helps you learn the information better because you're actually understanding it instead of just copying it.
Abbreviate & use symbols. There are some super complicated shorthand systems out there but I think making up your own symbol and abbreviation system is the most effective because you'll remember it and it'll make more sense to you.
Here are some examples of symbols and abbreviations that I use.
For certain topics, there are also words that you use a lot, for example in these notes
I use the word "Renaissance" a lot because that's the main topic.
Instead of writing out these words over and over, make up your own abbreviation for it
Then write a note on your notes so that you know what it means when you're reviewing later.
Use a laptop. Sometimes you just have to type, otherwise you can't get all the information down. If your teachers allow laptops in class, consider typing your notes because typing is a lot faster than hand-writing. Use a thin and lightweight laptop, so it's easy to carry to class and this kind of laptops has a 10-hour battery life, which means it'll definitely last the whole day.
Increase writing speed. If your teacher won't allow you to use your laptop to type, you just need to learn to write faster. There are some wild strategies out there for writing faster, but I feel like they take too long to master during this school year. One way to write faster is to use smoother pens. In general, rollerball pens are the smoothest, and then gel, then ballpoint and felt-tip tend to be the least smooth. Besides changing your supplies, the only way I know of to increase your writing speed is to just practice a lot. In most cases, rewriting notes is a waste of time but if you write so quickly that your notes are practically unreadable, you should rewrite them as soon as possible while you still remember most of the information in it from class. To maximize the effectiveness of your rewriting, make sure you're organizing and clarifying the information while you transcribe them into legible writing.
Print materials. If your teacher posts lecture slides or other notes online before class, print them out. You can take notes on these instead of starting from scratch and needing to write down all of the information.
Summarize. Instead of writing down what your teacher says word-for-word, summarize the information and write only the key ideas. You'll have to write less and this also helps you learn the information better because you're actually understanding it instead of just copying it.
Abbreviate & use symbols. There are some super complicated shorthand systems out there but I think making up your own symbol and abbreviation system is the most effective because you'll remember it and it'll make more sense to you.
Here are some examples of symbols and abbreviations that I use.
For certain topics, there are also words that you use a lot, for example in these notes
I use the word "Renaissance" a lot because that's the main topic.
Instead of writing out these words over and over, make up your own abbreviation for it
Then write a note on your notes so that you know what it means when you're reviewing later.Use a laptop. Sometimes you just have to type, otherwise you can't get all the information down. If your teachers allow laptops in class, consider typing your notes because typing is a lot faster than hand-writing. Use a thin and lightweight laptop, so it's easy to carry to class and this kind of laptops has a 10-hour battery life, which means it'll definitely last the whole day.
Increase writing speed. If your teacher won't allow you to use your laptop to type, you just need to learn to write faster. There are some wild strategies out there for writing faster, but I feel like they take too long to master during this school year. One way to write faster is to use smoother pens. In general, rollerball pens are the smoothest, and then gel, then ballpoint and felt-tip tend to be the least smooth. Besides changing your supplies, the only way I know of to increase your writing speed is to just practice a lot. In most cases, rewriting notes is a waste of time but if you write so quickly that your notes are practically unreadable, you should rewrite them as soon as possible while you still remember most of the information in it from class. To maximize the effectiveness of your rewriting, make sure you're organizing and clarifying the information while you transcribe them into legible writing.
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