If You Want to Take Better Notes, Stop Doing This

A stupid mistake that made me lose 10 years (and end up with useless clutter)

Photo by Tim Arterbury on Unsplash

I’m a note-taking grandpa.

I’ve been taking notes for over a decade and came to one painful realization. I’ve been just wasting my time. Why? Simply because most of the notes I took ended up being useless clutter.

Now let’s just see if I can save you years and turn your notes into something meaningful.

The note-taking litmus test

Does your note-taking workflow look similar to this?

1. You stumble across an idea that seems interesting
2. You dump this idea into your note-taking app
3. You classify this idea with a tag or by putting it into a folder
4. You go on with your lovely day.

Did you see a missing step here? Yes. It’s all about re-engaging in a meaningful way with your notes.

I don’t say that I didn’t open my note-taking app to browse through my “Categories.” In fact, I did. But when it came to standing out, I was just another parrot (or curator, if you prefer) of other ideas.