How To Take Notes To Help You Learn

 From Psyche magazine: "How to take notes that actually help you learn." A summary of the main points:

1.     Taking notes to learn is different from taking them to record. Sometimes you need to take down as much as possible. But if you hope to internalise the information, you’ll want to process it as you take notes.
2.     Use paper if possible. Since it slows you down, you have to decide what the most important pieces of information are before putting them on paper, which supports learning.
3.     Experiment with ways of processing. Organise the information in your own way – try making summaries, bulleted lists, drawings or charts – and note links between what you’re learning and other things you know.
4.     Try a structured approach. In the Cornell notetaking system, you complement your main notes with a summary at the bottom and cues to practise recalling the information later.
5.     Adopt a better review strategy. Don’t just reread or copy your notes – reorganise them in some way. Then test your memory and understanding and check your notes to see what you’re missing.
6.     Use AI tools selectively. They can be helpful for creating detailed records, but don’t rely only on AI notes if you’re trying to learn.