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Note Taking Tips?

I'm in my first year of university and trying desperately to come up with the best way to take notes on my mac...

I've been looking into notae and yojimbo (I like the tagging features alot, but dislike that I can't put in pictures and such) but have heard good things about journler and devonthink.

The problem with Notae (which I used today) is everything is in SQL databases which is going to make it difficult. Plus most of these apps REQUIRE you to make a new database file rather than a bunch of text files which it will database and collect, etc. I've also heard wiki's are a great way to take notes but have no clue how to do so on my mac.

So please, if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. I'm sure there are many like me who also would love to know any suggestions for great apps for us Univeristy kids.

bmccaff's picture

Reviewing and processing notes are key steps

the most important thing to do: GO BACK OVER YOUR NOTES WITHIN 24 HOURS OF WRITING THEM.

This is so critical to understanding and retention of the material, and it ties right into the GTD process, if you're using it. I know that if I don't look at my notes and extract actions and key information within a day or so, most of the writing on the paper is lost.

At work, I'm strictly paper-based for my note-taking. To write down quick bullet points, draw arrows and diagrams, go back and insert lines, and add text boxes with separate but related info to the conversation is so quick and easy. This can result in some pretty messy notes, but if I tie this into a processing and review step of the GTD system, I extract the actions and key outcomes of a meeting.

For my school work, I'm taking online classes with all electronic references. Printing is possible, but time consuming (and wasteful) so I usually just take notes as I'm reading in OmniOutliner. After I finish each reference, I go back to the outline of the paper I'm writing. The outline accomplishes three things. First, I map out all the points I intend to write about, looking for holes in my arguments where I need to do more research. Second, the step away from my notes minimizes the chances or temptations of plagiarism from the source documents. Finally, this additional processing step ensures that I'm taking away the right key points.

Whichever method you choose for note-taking, be sure to take the processing step within a day or so of the original note-taking.

 
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