How do you take notes at work?

[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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

PP here:
My "folder of documents" is an un-organized mess of paper. And then I need to keep all those folders in a file cabinet or drawer. And some of the info I have is sensitive, so it needs to be locked up overnight.

OneNote keeps me much more organized with its color-coded subject tabs. Then within each tab for a subject/project, I have separate OneNote documents with copious notes. For an individual meeting on that topic/project, I do a separate OneNote. If there's a slide deck associated with that meeting, I can attach it directly to the my meeting notes so I can always find the associated materials I discussed with staff.

In short, OneNote allows me to very easily find and reference my previous notes. I can do a keyword search and find the info in less than 5-10 seconds. It's been extremely useful in my current job.

We are a Microsoft Office, so all my OneNote stuff + laptop files are saved into the cloud. Can also pull up my laptop's desktop on my iPad and access remotely. It's really great.

[Anonymous]

Notebook and pen. Sometimes I type them up, but often not. I have very neat handwriting (late gen x)

[Anonymous]

Almost always digitally. Sometimes in an email to myself. Sometimes I take them and post on Slack (ugh, i know). Sometimes a running word or google doc. This is my favorite, because it is searchable. I can't search my notebooks, but I can search any of the 3 above (slack being the worst). If it is a quick to-do, sometimes I'll scratch it on a notepad, then two days later look at it and wonder what I meant.

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