There are many different methods for taking notes,
which generally falls within two categories: hand written and digital.
One obvious benefit of taking notes on paper is that you can express
yourself more freely and less constrained than with digital notes.
This is particularly relevant if you are a visual learner who draws illustrations and models.
If you write notes by hand it can be a good idea to organise the paper for at better overview.
There are plenty of methods for doing so,
for example the Cornell method, but the name isn’t important as long as you have a system.
Write key terms in the margin and indent the notes to
easily find the key points.
Create your own note taking language with abbreviations and use a system of icons
for a quick overview.
If you take notes by hand it is recommended to have a system for organising the notes.
Mark for example the header with course, topic and date.
Hand writing notes can be a great choice if you are easily distracted by
social media, games and the like.
Some research even indicate that you remember the subject matter better if you write by hand.
But it can be hard to organise your paper notes
and they can be difficult to edit and search for.
Fortunately, a lot of programs let you combine hand writing with digital.
There are many options which varies from simple text editing
to dedicated note taking programs.
Use one platform for everything that makes
it easier to organise and search. If you use a cloud service,
you can take notes on whatever is available – laptop, tablet, phone, etc.
Some programs can scan hand writing to digital letters.
When you work digitally, it is easy to organise notes into categories and color-codes,
plus it makes searching easier.
Furthermore, you can save powerpoints, images, videos, etc directly
in your notes.
So, it doesn’t have to be either/or, but no matter what strategy you choose, it can be
a good idea to look through them occasionally, as it helps you retrieve and
understand the subject matter better.
Most importantly: find the method that works for you!
If you can’t use everything, consider trying out different techniques and customising them
to fit your own note system.