6 Note Making Hacks that can SAVE you a lot of time!
Wouldn’t it be great if you had your whole book organized your way in small points a day/week before the exam? All you’ll have to do is revise those points and you’re done with a chapter in no time!
Try these hacks and you’ll end up with a lot of good grades, exquisite learning skills and tbh a very colorful notebook :) (sticky notes ofc :p)
Being Prepared
- When taking notes it is important to make sure you have your material ready. If you are a pen and paper person then make sure you have a notebook with enough supplementary pages to avoid an unwanted break. And if you prefer typing your notes on your laptop, then ensure it is fully charged or is plugged in.
- Apart from your note-making materials it is also important that you go through the previously written notes before the next class. This will help you pick up from where you left off.
- Be an active listener.
- Ask questions whenever you have a doubt. If you avoid doing so it could break the knowledge absorption process as the doubt will keep troubling you.
Note: Take your notes by hand. Research shows how taking notes by hand helps one grasp and remember what they are writing better.
Taking down Notes
- Focus on key words and concepts. When you focus on what the information you are taking down is about, and highlight the key words. It helps you remember what you’ve written a lot more easily.
- Make quality notes of the topics or concepts that are new or challenging.
- Use short forms for words. When using abbreviations while making notes, it saves time and increases efficiency as well. Use symbols and short words like “ w/” for with and “w/o” for without. “&” for and; “@” for at. Use “;” as a sentence connector
- It can be quite disturbing to have too many things all together, therefore, always start on a fresh page. Use the margins well, and try using symbols or diagrams.
- Set a color code for certain elements in your notes. This will make the content more readable and easier to retain.
Use colors and Highlighters!
Using only one pen color may be fast but it creates a monotony for the eyes. This works for practice notes but becomes difficult for quick reading. We suggest using 2 to 3 colors at max so there’s a monotony break but not too many colors so that your notes don’t look like a candy stall.
Highlighter is mostly used (rather overused) by a small number of people. Often, they end up highlighting too much and make the page look neon.
We suggest using highlighter on important words/terminologies which must be used in answers or are often asked to be defined. Instead of orange, green and yellow which are hurtful to the eyes, try using pastel blue or purple and pinks which makes your notes soothing and more read worthy!
Use a blue pen for the main body and black pen only for phrases or explanations that must be understood or can be asked in exams or in important questions.
Using bold pens/ sketch pens
Further Underline important things with a bold black pen/ sketch pen.
Always write the topics in black bold preferably in caps so you can distinctly spot the topic heading among all your notes.
Also use bold markers to make a box around formulas or key equations.
Use Sticky notes and page makers
Use sticky notes only where you need to make necessary comments in class notes.
Use page markers to mark important topics or frequently asked questions/ derivations/ reactions.
Reviewing
Always review your notes once done. Reviewing your notes will help you retain the information much better.
- Write a summary of what your notes are at the end of the day every time after you review it. Need some help on that? Check this out!
- Dedicate 20–30 minutes and memorize your notes on a regular basis.
So these were our TOP 6 hacks that we used during our school dayzzz. Of course, it does get a bit messy sometimes bec of a lot of sticky notes. Although, they’ll help you a lot. Hope this blog helped you. Ciao :))
P.S *Whispers* If some doubts do bother you a lot, hit us up on our website. We’ll solve them right away!!
