How do you take notes at work?

[Anonymous]

I type on my laptop - I can type a lot faster and more efficiently than I can write. I have carpal tunnel in my dominant hand and writing for a long time gets me tired out and makes my wrist lock up, so typing really works better for me.

If it’s a long meeting with lots of stakeholders, and I’m the designated note taker, I usually request the meeting be recorded so I can refer back to it later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I type on my laptop - I can type a lot faster and more efficiently than I can write. I have carpal tunnel in my dominant hand and writing for a long time gets me tired out and makes my wrist lock up, so typing really works better for me.

If it’s a long meeting with lots of stakeholders, and I’m the designated note taker, I usually request the meeting be recorded so I can refer back to it later.

This harkens back to the real value of notes/minutes. You write down what was decided/conveyed and then distribute to stakeholders which helps (but doesn’t guarantee) consensus and validation that you documented the topic correctly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pen and Paper for me.
I've tried OneNote a gazillion times. There's something about physically writing the information down vs typing that helps me recall.
I've also tried a tablet. Same.
I don't think you'll look old fashioned. I would run my global meetings with a bunch of attendees who are Millennial. Maybe 1 in 10 used a laptop or tablet, most were journals with pen and paper. Probably depends on your industry though.

It's been studied and documented. People learn by physically writing

Yes, I learn better by writing but that's not what meetings are about. My meeting notes are to-do lists and short explanations of what was decided.

[Anonymous]

iPad with keyboard and the Notability app!

[Anonymous]

Pen and paper here too. Agree on the recall.

Also, when someone is taking notes on a phone/ipad/laptop in a face-to-face meeting I 100% assume that person is actually on IG part of the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pen and Paper for me.
I've tried OneNote a gazillion times. There's something about physically writing the information down vs typing that helps me recall.
I've also tried a tablet. Same.
I don't think you'll look old fashioned. I would run my global meetings with a bunch of attendees who are Millennial. Maybe 1 in 10 used a laptop or tablet, most were journals with pen and paper. Probably depends on your industry though.

It's been studied and documented. People learn by physically writing

That is why I got a Remarkable. It is also great for reading and marking up PDFs

[Anonymous]

iPad with keyboard case and Microsoft OneNote.

I started using it last year with my new job and it's a total game changer. Incredibly powerful app. Also great for marking up PDFs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pen and Paper for me.
I've tried OneNote a gazillion times. There's something about physically writing the information down vs typing that helps me recall.
I've also tried a tablet. Same.
I don't think you'll look old fashioned. I would run my global meetings with a bunch of attendees who are Millennial. Maybe 1 in 10 used a laptop or tablet, most were journals with pen and paper. Probably depends on your industry though.

It's been studied and documented. People learn by physically writing

Yes, I learn better by writing but that's not what meetings are about. My meeting notes are to-do lists and short explanations of what was decided.

Oh so true. There isn't much "learning" in meetings, its mostly assigning tasks and documenting problems. I guess I could keep that in my head, but its not like I'm lecture learning the motivation for Aristotelian ethics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:iPad with keyboard case and Microsoft OneNote.

I started using it last year with my new job and it's a total game changer. Incredibly powerful app. Also great for marking up PDFs.

I tried OneNote years ago and just didn't get it, felt so cumbersome. What makes it so much better over just a folder of documents?

[Anonymous]

A spiral 8x6 note pad and a good black gel pen.

[Anonymous]

I'm another who gave up on Microsoft OneNote and went back to a pen and pad. It might be different if we were a "Microsoft" company but we don't use them for anything.

[Anonymous]

Notes? What are those?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I carry my notepad and pen everywhere and take incessant notes. There's something about writing that etches what the speaker is saying into my memory.

Same and I'm 33yo

Not 33 yo, but this has been my experience. Notetaking on my laptop is efficient but I don't recall the details nearly as well as jotting down on a notepad. It's also so odd in meetings with everyone typing away and hardly ever looking at each other over their laptops. I don't do anything with the notebooks once they are full - but they are ordered by month, day etc and I keep them around for a year or so before I toss them. And I find I go back to review details from a meeting - and have helped out my team on numerous occasions because of these notes. Plus its much easier to doodle if you are bored

[Anonymous]

I have a large collection of fountain pens and inks. Right now I'm into my Japanese Sailor pens, which "write drier" than Western-nibbed pens because they are made for fine Asian script. Weirdly, I find that I write smaller letters when using one. (Right now I'm using a pink ink in a shade called "sakurah" made by the same brand as the pen: I'm vaguely fascinated by the vague watercolor effect it has in the seconds before it dries, kind of like cherry blossom petals).

[Anonymous]

I type notes in an email and send to myself and then save in the relevant folder.

There has to be a better way lol