The Best Ways To Organize Your Notes

Organizing your notes effectively is one of the most important productivity hacks you need to do as a student. It will save you time, keep you motivated and solidify your learning. But what’s the best way to organize your notes? Is there one true way of organizing or are there many different ways? Read on to find out more about some of the best ways to organize your notes as a student.

Color coding different folders

Whether you keep your notes digitally or have physical notebooks, there are various ways you can organize your notes. If you’re still using pen and paper, then a great way to keep your notes organized is to sort your notes into different sections with dividers or sort your notes into separate folders. A great way to do this is to use a color coding system, but a topic system could also work. If you digitize your notes, you can do something similar. Create different folders in Google docs and you can even right-click and change each folder’s color.

Table of contents

Before writing your notes, you can set yourself a table of contents on a document on your computer. Then, create hyperlinks and name them for your different lectures or subjects, this will be easier to jump to the exact notes you need, instead of searching through stacks of paper. This could also work on paper, just label the top of the first two or three pages as a ‘table of contents’ and number the rest of your pages. However, this is a little more time-consuming than the digital version of this technique.

Use a well-known and successful note-taking method

There are a variety of note-taking methods out there, it’s hard to pick one. But a popular method is The Cornell Method. It’s a great way to divide your notes and keep things simple. If you’re looking for a more in-depth way of writing notes, this method might not be for you. But The Cornell Method is great for outlining and saving you time. You start by dividing your paper into three parts, notes, cues, and summary. The main body of the page is for your written notes. In the margin, you write the word cues at the top. It’s in this section that you will write questions or headings or important information that correlates with that section of notes. Finally, a summary is something you write at the end of your note-taking. It’s how you summarize what you have learned and this can be completed after the lecture.

Develop a system that works for you

When you are taking your notes, do what works best for you. Keep your handwriting as neat as possible if you are doing notes by hand and if you are doing your notes digitally, make sure they are constantly being saved and backed up somewhere. Develop a system of organizing your notes that will save you time after class. Use abbreviations or a colorful highlighter to help yourself find the important information later. If you are doing digital notes, then consider using symbols or graphs and tables with the relevant information.

Keep your notes clear and concise and know that there is no one best way to organize your notes. From folders and color coding or handwritten or using a note-taking app. Find the best way for you to move forward and become the successful and organized student you want to be.