These Are the Benefits of Making Note-Taking a Habit [Discover the Power of Consistency]

If you’ve ever perused the offerings of the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, you may have seen Stephen’s work. As the proud director of several independent indie films, Stephen is living his dream. He’s not in Hollywood yet, but he’s well on his way to making a name for himself.

In many ways, Stephen prefers staying out of Hollywood. There, his creativity would be stifled by committees, contracts, and all manner of red tape. As an artist, he bristles at such regulations. He wants to be able to follow each story wherever it takes him, and independent films allow him to do just that.

Stephen is the type of artist who is fully absorbed in his craft; everything in his life revolves around the films he creates. Anything that he spends time doing that doesn’t serve the story is considered time wasted. He’s not afraid to cut out “fluff,” as he calls it, and to live wholly devoted to his craft.

However, note-taking is one habit that he holds to on a daily basis. He considers it essential, a priceless tool that aids his creative process.

Every morning, Stephen starts his day with black coffee and reviews the day’s script. Pulling out his handy notebook, he sketches out scene placements and jots down details that he wants to be included or points he wants to give the actors.

Later, as he carries his second cup of black coffee onto the set and checks in with the film crew and the day’s actors, he keeps his notebook in his shoulder bag, within easy reach. Any time one of his people makes a suggestion that’s relevant to the scene or the story, he records it in his notebook.

Sometimes he’ll get a flash of inspiration for a later scene, or even a brand new project. Other times, he’ll notice something technical about the lighting or the narrative devices that he hadn’t thought of before. And yep, you guessed it — it all goes in the notebook.

Stephen considers note-taking so paramount to his success as an artist that he has a stack of notebooks on his desk at home, each dedicated to a different creative project. For someone who is constantly overflowing with new ideas for creative endeavors, his notebooks are his goldmines. They capture each thought like a butterfly in a jar, keeping it safe until he finds the perfect medium to let it fly freely.

At the end of each day, Stephen sits at his desk and reviews everything he wrote throughout the day. Not everything is immediately usable, but each idea lights up his brain and stirs his creative fervor. So many fantastic story ideas! So many different ways to play with camera angles! So much genius packed into such a compact notebook!

Successful People Take Notes

Stephen isn’t the only person who has found success through taking notes. In modern America, many of our most successful businessmen rely on their note taking skills to hone their focus and capture their best innovations.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is one such individual who carries a yellow notebook and pen with him to jot down important information.

George Lucas, similar to our fictional friend Stephen, carried a pocket notebook to write down ideas, thoughts, and plot angles for his films, including the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises.

Entrepreneur and author Tim Ferriss has made bold claims about the value of effective note taking in helping him remember key moments in his life, saying that “I trust the weakest pen more than the strongest memory.”

Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of Virgin Group, credits note-taking as one of his most powerful success habits.

Harry Potter first came into existence as scribbles in J.K. Rowling’s notebooks. Since then, this beloved book series has earned nearly $100 million.

Many of Taylor Swift’s songs start out as voice notes on her iPhone. As the female artist with the most songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, I’d say that habit has served her well!

Dear reader, you may not be a film director, billionaire, or even an artist, but a note-taking habit has benefits for you as well! It will keep you organized, record new knowledge, help you remember details, and so much more. As Richard Branson said, an idea not written down immediately may quickly become an idea lost, whether it’s about a new project, an observation about a relationship, or a reminder to yourself about the laundry.

But enough of this introduction prattling on like a tavern yarn — the list of note-taking benefits is long and impressive, and that’s what you’re here to read. So, stick with me, my friend, and let’s explore the rich benefits of making note-taking a habit.

How Taking Notes Will Change Your Life

Whether you’re interested in to-do lists or lifelong learning, innovation or creativity, capturing information or journaling, taking notes will aid your endeavors.

There are many benefits that universally apply, regardless of the format or structure you use for your notes. The simple act of jotting down the key ideas of your daily life will preserve those ideas, allowing you to refer back to them however you like, whenever you like.

Think about it: Are you really going to remember everything you see, hear, or think throughout the day? Of course not. So wouldn’t it be better to simply write them down? If something is important to you in the moment, it may indeed be important to you down the road. What do you lose by writing it down?

You have nothing to lose, but everything to gain. Let’s take a look at some of these benefits.

Reduces Information Overload

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by all the thoughts or emotions racing through your consciousness? If you’re overly stressed about a work assignment, your beloved pet needs surgery, or your schedule is way too hectic to keep up with, you may feel like your brain is splitting at the seams.

Writing down all of your thoughts, ideas, and emotions serves to get them out of your head and onto paper. You’ll feel a weight lift as your mind begins to clear. You’ll be better able to organize all of those thoughts, and you may just find that they’re less intimidating than they first appeared.

Journaling can give you release from information overload, but you can also use note-taking to avoid information overload in the first place. Simply write things down as they come to you, and you’ll find that you don’t need to hold onto them. You can keep your mind from becoming a pressure cooker by not allowing any pressure to build in the first place.

Promotes Active Listening

When you have the mindset of a habitual note-taker, your brain will be primed to tune into information. In other words, your mind is turned on, ready to listen, record, and remember.

This is a gift to anyone you communicate with because you will be more fully present and listening carefully to their words. You’ll instinctively try to identify the main points of their statement, evaluate it, and ask questions.

You can also make notes while you listen to others. To some, this may seem like you’re not listening, but you’re actually more involved in the effort of connecting with them. Instead of trying to remember your thoughts until they finish speaking, which divides your attention, you can make a quick note about your comments or questions and then immediately carry on listening.

Teaches Prioritization Skills

We just discussed your brain being primed to tune into information, but it’s more than that. Not only will taking notes habitually train your mind to listen more carefully to the information around you, but it will also train you to organize that information.

In other words, you’ll be able to more quickly evaluate whether information is worth recording or not. And as you practice identifying relevant information, you’ll get better and better at pulling the important concepts out of any particular subject.

If you’re sitting in a conference, meeting, or lecture, you’ll know what the key takeaways are. It will feel natural to jot down notes in these settings. But it will feel just as natural to do so as you go about your day, navigating the constant influx of new data that you encounter.

The same goes for being better able to prioritize your own thoughts. You’ll be able to organize them faster, quickly identifying the key points in your own words. In this way, you can actually train your brain to process information faster — simply by developing the habit of effective note-taking. Pretty cool, right?

Boosts Comprehension

As you engage with the topic and organize it on paper, you force yourself to process it more deeply. Doing so will clarify the subject in your mind, weaving intricacies and nuances that you may not have noticed before.

This is partly because good notes highlight the main ideas — the essence of a concept. Isolating the important points gives you the ability to work with them directly, imprinting them into your understanding.

Note-taking also allows you to break down the content into digestible chunks. Whereas a 3-hour documentary on the basic principles of quantum physics may seem like it offers too much information for you to absorb, you can simplify it into sections in your notes.

Simplification may seem like the opposite of boosting comprehension, but think of it as a launching pad. Grasping the essentials is the first step; after that, you can quickly build. Note-taking helps you do both.

Improves Memory

The human brain is incredible, but it’s not a computer. In fact, it’s designed to forget what it deems to be less useful information in order to free up space for more relevant functions.

Because of that, we tend to lose somewhere between 40% and 70% of new information within 24 hours of acquiring it. Concerning, right? But luckily, your handy notebook can help you retain as much as 100% of the information you receive at any given moment.

True, what I’m referring to is the archive of information that you record on paper. But actually, the very act of taking notes helps you remember things.

We’ve already mentioned how taking notes boosts your comprehension of a subject. Lo and behold, there’s even more to it than that! The more intricately you understand something, the more it will stick in your memory. Two birds with one stone, am I right?

Digital notes will improve your memory as well, but handwritten notes are especially useful for engaging your brain and cementing that information more deeply into your memory banks.

Extends Attention Span

According to studies, our attention spans have markedly decreased since 2000, falling from 12 seconds to 8.25 seconds in 2015. Obviously, this is going to have a negative effect on your ability to concentrate. And as your concentration falters, you start to get distracted and miss things. Before you know it, you have only a scattered awareness of what’s being discussed.

This can happen in our own minds, with our own thoughts. Have you ever been thinking about one thing when all of a sudden something else occurs to you, and 30 seconds later you’ve plunged down a rabbit trail with no recollection of how you arrived there?

Note-taking can combat that. When you have a pencil in your hand, you’ll pay more attention to the topic. Whether you’re recording a thought, observation, or experience, taking notes helps you be more present in the moment.

And if you don’t have time to be present in the moment, note-taking helps with that as well.

Say you’re in the middle of running errands: you have to hit Home Depot, the gym, the grocery store, and pick up your kids from soccer practice all in the next two hours. In the middle of the produce aisle, inspiration calls your name and hands you a brilliant idea for a new dessert recipe.

What do you do with this flash of genius? You still have to finish shopping, pick up your kids, go home, do laundry, make dinner — the list goes on and on. The fact is, your new idea for a mouth-watering dessert is going to get quickly buried under all of these other activities.

Your solution is simple: write it down. That’s it; that’s all you have to do. Now it’s captured somewhere safe where you can refer back to it when you have the time to develop it further.

Because the beauty of note-taking is that it works with you, not against you. If you’re having trouble concentrating, it will help you focus. If you don’t have time to focus, it will serve as a placeholder for your thoughts until you do have time to focus. It’s a win-win.

Improves Organizational Skills

The practice of organizing information on paper will give you skills you never knew you lacked. You’ll be able to pierce through the haze of data, pull out the main concepts, and write them down in a way that makes sense.

They’ll also be pleasing to the eye. An often overlooked element of organization is aesthetics. Not that aesthetics are a top priority when taking notes, but it is important to keep your page clean, tidy, and easy to review.

The same concept applies across note-taking formats and purposes. To make good notes, you have to develop a level of organization.

Visual learners might use an art journal, auditory learners may use voice notes, and reading/writing learners may use a good old-fashioned notebook, but they all need to incorporate structure into their medium. Disorganization is the enemy of effective notes.

As you develop better and better organization skills for your notes, you’ll find that these new skills transfer well to other realms of your life. And being organized is one of the most important habits you can develop for success!

Makes Things Feel More Real

There’s something immediately tangible about writing something down. All of a sudden, what was an abstract concept in your mind has gained substance on paper.

Words have power, my friend. Writing down those words makes them more concrete for you. If you’re journaling through your emotions about a recent conflict with a loved one, you’ll see structure beginning to emerge from the cloud of complex emotions. You may find that something you first thought was in your imagination is actually quite real.

Even more importantly, you can write down potential plans and projects and watch them take on tangible shape before you’ve even started acting on them.

An idea in your head is just an idea. Its scope is limited, and its realness is relative. Putting it out there is the first step to manifesting it and giving it power.

Helps You Ask Better Questions

As Albert Einstein said, “The important thing is to never stop questioning.” Questions enrich our lives. They deepen our understanding, help us connect with those around us and the content we’re engaged in, and give us agency.

In the words of another great thinker, Confucius, “The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute; the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

We’ve already discussed how taking notes makes you a better listener and increases your comprehension and retention. As clarity about a topic sharpens, questions will naturally arise.

You’ll begin to see connections and patterns that you didn’t see before. At the same time, gaps and inconsistencies will become more obvious as you work to structure the information on paper.

So not only will you be able to ask questions that will better solidify the information you have, but you’ll also be able to think more creatively about the material and come up with original observations of your own.

Aids in Achieving Goals

Self-development author Brian Tracy recommends writing down your goals and plans because people who do so are more committed to following through.

He’s not wrong; research conducted at the Dominican University in California found that participants who regularly wrote down their goals achieved them 42% more often than those who did not. That’s a pretty significant difference coming from such a seemingly inconsequential habit!

It makes sense, though, right? Writing down a goal not only makes it more concrete in your mind but also gives you an opportunity to think more intentionally about how to accomplish it.

There’s no better way to start brainstorming ways to reach your goal. It’s almost a form of holding yourself accountable since, as we’ve mentioned, putting things into writing makes them seem more real.

You may also find it very motivating! It’s exciting to contemplate ways to reach a goal. The words on the page prompt a bubbling of enthusiasm, telling you that this goal is definitely one that you can accomplish.

How to Make Note-Taking a Habit

If any of this has convinced you that you should make note-taking a habit, congratulations! You’re taking the first step toward a more intentional life.

Forming a habit like this can actually be much easier than it may first appear. Yes, it can take anywhere from three weeks to three months to form a new habit. And yes, it requires consistent effort on your part. But if you can just put in the work and the time, you’ll find yourself the proud owner of a new habit.

When you’re deciding how to go about forming your note-taking habit, just keep in mind these two things:

1. Start small. Slow and steady wins the race. If you try to go too fast or too hard, you will burn out. The key is to start with a daily goal that is easily manageable, such as taking ten minutes at the end of the day to write down observations from your day. Gradually increase your daily goals as you become more comfortable with your new routine.
2. Have realistic expectations. It’s easy to adopt an all-or-nothing perspective when chasing a new resolution, but forming a habit doesn’t have to be that unforgiving. Experts say that missing a day of habit-building isn’t going to have any noticeable impact on your long-term success. In other words, have realistic expectations for yourself and don’t freak out if you slip up once or twice. Simply brush yourself off and get back on track.

Of course, you’re going to want to invest in a notebook or digital device to take your notes. The most important thing to keep in mind is to find something that suits your preferences and needs.

If you’re jotting down notes throughout the day, lugging around a laptop may not be ideal. If you like adding sketches, then paper would be better than an app. Just make sure your medium is going to be something you’re not ashamed to pull out in public!

After that, you can decide how you want to go about forming your habit. There are multiple ways that will work; all you have to do is find one that suits you and then be consistent about practicing it.

For example, you can simply carry your notebook with you. Try to write down at least one thing per day.

Or, you could set aside five minutes to dedicate to your notes.

Experts say that one of the easiest ways to form a new habit is to attach it to one that’s already firmly established. So if you always drink coffee first thing in the morning, consider adding your note-taking session to that time slot.

At the end of the day, consistency is key to forming a new habit. Regardless of which medium you use or what content you’re capturing, the key is to stick with it.

Conclusion

What habits do you have in your life? According to research done at Duke University, habits account for around 40% of your behavior on any given day. Are you practicing habits that serve you?

Note-taking certainly will! As a common habit, there are more than a few benefits to taking notes on a daily basis. Whether you’re using it for school, work, or play, your new note taking system will enrich your daily experience.

From your memory to your comprehension to your creativity, note-taking can improve your skills and cognitive capacity. Your attention span and ability to concentrate will increase, as will your organizational and listening skills.

You can write down your goals and make action plans; work through your emotions and clear your mental palette; record your daily experiences and thoughts; capture new ideas and innovations; and so much more. All with a piece of paper and a pen.

Do yourself a favor and make note-taking a daily habit. Your life and your mind will thank you.