Our notes are things to use, not just collect.
How many notes do you have around your desk? Maybe it is a system of Post-its, notebooks, and scratch paper. But could you quickly find exactly what you are looking for from a note?
To use our notes effectively, we must take an extra step and make them discoverable and easily referenced. This step is where even great note-takers get stuck.
📝 Notes as Raw Materials
Every note is like raw material. It is the flour or sugar of a baking recipe, the vegetable seed that has yet to be planted, or a rectangular stretch of fabric with no seams and raw edges. For these “ingredients” to be helpful, we must fine-tune them, add a little, subtract a bit, or create a new form. They need a touch of refinement to take them to the next level.
💎 Refining a Note
There are a few ways to improve your notes so you can easily reference them later.
📑 Highlight or bold text—This seems simple, but reviewing your notes and highlighting the most important points can truly elevate your note-taking. This step can be as simple as identifying a keyword or phrase—or, if it is a long article, pulling out a few essential sentences summarizing the main points and posting a summary at the top of your note.
🗃️ Have your task list next to your notes - Separating reference material from to-do also seems simple, but we often mix them together. Think about the last meeting you were in - If you took notes, they are likely a mix of referenceable material and to-do list items. Instead, immediately following (or during!) a meeting, separate your to-dos from your references. If you use a system like Notion, you can set up a meeting template. This template can include sections for meeting agendas, notes, and action items. It can also have a direct link to your task database, allowing you to quickly add tasks alongside your notes.
🔮 Imagine your future self - This may seem a bit woo-woo, but imagining how your future self would see your note in a few months or years can help you decide what to highlight. My future self often wants to reference the source material again, so I am sure to include the URL, page number, or time stamp on a podcast to find what inspired the note in the first place. She also wants an excellent summary and thoughtful highlights.
🏷️ Use a tagging system - As we discussed last week, using a four-folder system can be a great way to organize information. But as our knowledge increases, the web of connections becomes more complex. Articles I read about “educational escape rooms” could also reference direct ideas I want to use in a clinical course. Or I may encounter ideas about educational escape rooms across various resources, such as conferences, podcasts, or meetings. If you are using a system like Notion, you can “tag” all of your notes. Then, when the time comes to write an article or develop an activity, you can reference the whole library of information you have curated about educational escape rooms.
Building a system to create discoverable and referencable notes is essential to apply your knowledge to your teaching practice and transform your scattered ideas into actionable goals and projects. When you begin to develop a practice of effective note-taking, your second brain becomes a literal treasure trove of ideas, inspiration, and reference material. Being able to capture, organize, and finally refine the raw material allows you to transform scattered ideas into actionable information inside of your second brain setup.
