Evaluating the Effectiveness of Your Note-Taking System
How effective is your note-taking system? Is it productive, or does it simply take up time and space?
If you’re not sure, then this blog post is for you. In today’s world, there are so many options when it comes to taking notes. You can use a laptop, tablet, pen and paper, or even an app on your phone. So how do you know which method is best for you? And more importantly, how do you make sure that your note-taking system actually helps you be more productive?
The only measure of a note-taking system’s effectiveness is the productivity it generates. Are you a more prolific writer? Are you thinking more clearly? Are you able to respond intelligently to arguments? These are all useful questions you can ask to measure effectiveness in a system.
Why take notes? Why even start? What is your purpose. Not to sound too cliché, but find your “why”. This is important as it drives every other part of your note-taking system.
They system is always subordinate to the product. In my case, I define “product” as written, and published, work. If I’m not publishing content daily, I must adjust my system. Maybe my system is not giving me enough material I can use to pump out useful writing. Figure out the product of your system, then have the system serve that purpose.
Doing things the other way around will only lead to constant changes and stress. It will lead you on an endless pursuit of the next best note-taking tool. You’ll be wasting time and energy in the process.
Start with your product, then find a system that enables that product. Evaluate the effectiveness of your note-taking system by how productive you are as a result of using it. If you’re not productive, or if you’re less productive than you’d like to be, then it’s time to evaluate what you are currently doing.
Here are some useful bits of info.
- Capture system. You must have a way of capturing stuff that inspires you; stuff that resonates with you.
- Linking new info with older, related info. Your new info must relate to something already in your notes. This allows you to make connections that account for different perspectives. With these perspectives, you can draw your own conclusions.
- Review system. Notes are useless if you are not reviewing them frequently. Capturing ideas is useless if they never amount to anything.
- Production. With these connections of notes and your own conclusions about these connections, it is time to produce content of your own. You need to add to the discussion about topics that interest you. If your note-taking system doesn’t enable that, adjust it.
Note-taking discussions can be very divisive. But as long as you understand the purpose of a system, you will rarely go wrong.
There you have it. A quick guide to evaluating the effectiveness of your note-taking system. Keep in mind that the most important part is productivity. If you’re not productive, or if you’re less productive than you’d like to be, then it’s time to evaluate what you are currently doing. Find a system that enables your product.
