This Is How You Can Develop a Note-Taking Habit That Sticks [Improve Your Life]

Imagine you’re sitting at a Starbucks, typing away at your laptop while sipping a delightful upside-down grande latte with heavy whipping cream and no less than four shots of espresso. Your laptop screen shows detailed notes regarding an interview you conducted with a local baseball coach regarding his team’s recent win in the playoffs. That’s right, you’re a journalist, and taking notes is your bread and butter.

Without your notes, you wouldn’t be able to jot down observations that you glean throughout the interview or devise an angle that will make the story an interesting read. You wouldn’t be able to draft a structure for that article or fact-check all of your sources to make sure it’s completely accurate.

You’ve been doing this work for years, but your note-taking skills have developed over time. When you first started in journalism, you found it difficult to always remember to write things down. After all, how do you know what’s important and what isn’t, what’s worth recording, and what can be trusted to memory?

But through dedication and practice, you’re now ready to pull out your trusty notebook at any given moment and capture the details of events, lectures, projects, ideas, and information as they present themselves to you. There’s a good story everywhere; you just need to know where to look and how to capture it!

Now, as you plunk away on your laptop while casually people-watching the stream of customers at Starbucks, you have everything you need to write a stellar story. Your editors will be pleased with the amount of complexity that you’re able to effortlessly weave into the report, Coach Prozak will be happy that you’ve accurately represented him and his team, and your readers will be grateful to learn about the goings-ons in their community.

You couldn’t have done it without a note-taking habit that was thorough and reliable.

Habits are the backbone of your life, the vehicles that make or break your success. It may seem menial in the moment, but a small daily habit can have a massive impact on your life. According to research done at Duke University, habits account for around 40% of your behavior on any given day. That’s pretty significant!

If you’re reading this post because you’ve struggled to stick to a note-taking habit, I completely understand your struggles. Forming habits is always challenging in the beginning. We’ve all heard the popular adage that it takes 30 days to form a new habit, but in reality, it could take anywhere from three weeks to three months, or even longer, depending on the magnitude of the changes involved.

Luckily, taking notes is something that can be practiced on a daily basis and that will immediately start reaping dividends. You’ll find that the process helps you to better focus, pay more attention to details, remember things more clearly, and be more present in your daily life.

So, what are you waiting for? Whether it’s the first time or the 100th time you’ve tried to get into the habit of taking notes, let’s make today the day that it sticks.

Why Note-Taking Is Still Relevant

You may be wondering why note-taking is still relevant, what with the internet making information so easily accessible.

If you want to refresh your memory on something, you could always just Google more content about it, right? There are plenty of articles in the sea. You could even access someone else’s notes, such as through SparkNotes or Cliffnotes, and not even have to read the original content.

In a way, the age of information has made information cheap. We take it for granted and are easily swayed to opt into the material presented by content creators and anyone with the desire and internet connection to upload their thoughts to the web.

Here’s the thing: not all information is created equal, and not every take is equally relevant. Sources matter. A video on YouTube might have high-quality, well-sourced material, or it might be an array of opinions thrown into a spontaneous livestream that sounds nice on the surface but holds no real weight.

The point is, it’s important to vet your information. Googling everything on the fly and clicking on the first link suggested by the algorithm is not going to serve you well in the long run.

How does this apply to notes? Simple: When you find credible sources, review them, and write notes on them, you only have to do it once. You don’t have to keep outsourcing your knowledge to Google; your opinions will have a foundation.

Another reason why note-taking is still relevant is because our memories are fallible. On average, we forget 70% of new information within 24 hours. By taking notes, we can shift that statistic to retain as much as 100%.

Studies have also shown that our attention spans have markedly decreased, falling from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8.25 seconds in 2015.

Remember goldfish and their infamously short attention span? Yeah, they can focus on something for 9 seconds. We’re doing worse than goldfish, folks.

Taking notes can help turn that around by keeping our attention and focus on the topic at hand. We’re more inclined to approach information with a meticulous nature, asking questions and thinking actively about the material. It’s hard to be distracted when you’re engaged.

Successful People Take Notes

Successful people take notes — and people who take notes are successful. Take a look at some of the most successful people in today’s society, such as Bill Gates, George Lucas, and Richard Branson, and you’ll find that many of them have made note-taking a crucial daily habit.

By keeping a pen and pad with them at all times, these giants of the business and entertainment worlds can guarantee that they never lose a new idea or important information. As Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, said:

“I go through dozens of notebooks every year and write down everything that occurs to me each day, an idea not written down is an idea lost. When inspiration calls, you’ve got to capture it.”

As you can see, effective note-taking is not just for students or the classroom. It’s for creators and innovators as well as anyone who wants to retain information and better utilize it in their lives to achieve success, whatever that might look like for them.

So as you’re planning to start taking notes as a habit, know that you are in good company.

Good Note-Taking Habits

You may be wondering what good notes even look like. And that is an excellent question! There are plenty of formats that you can use to suit your needs, but the basic characteristics of good note taking skills are the same no matter what method you use.

For example, your notes should be organized, neat, and uncluttered. Key words should be easily identifiable, and the most important parts of whatever information you’re capturing should be clear and easy to review. Whether you include definitions or diagrams, the important thing is for the essential information to be present and understandable.

For instance, if you’re a writer or innovator and you want to take notes on your ideas throughout the day so that you don’t lose them, make sure that you include enough detail in your notes to jog your memory when you review them later. If all you jot down is a word or two, you may find yourself staring at it later, wondering what on earth you were referring to.

You don’t need to write full sentences, but organize things in a way that makes sense and highlights your understanding of the subject.

If you can easily review your notes, see clearly what the main points were and how everything fits together, and don’t see any obvious gaps in the information you captured, then congratulations! You’ve taken good notes.

On the other hand, you’ll know a poor set of notes if they are overwhelming, messy, disorganized, or if you find yourself confused while reading them. If your notes miss connections, are overly verbose and lengthy, or are ultimately useless, then you may want to revisit your approach.

If you suspect that your experience with notes might be in the latter category, don’t worry! Getting good at this is a process, but one that you’re perfectly capable of doing. Approach it smartly, and you’ll achieve stupendous results. Let me show you how.

Building Habits 101

First things first: Let’s consider the steps required to build a habit — any habit — before we apply that to the specifics of building a note-taking habit. Here are a few tips for forming solid habits:

Start Small

In the words of Leo Babauta, “Make it easy so you can’t say no.”

It’s tempting to try to overhaul your entire life in an effort to force a habit to stick on the first day, but don’t fall into the all-too-common pitfalls of New Year’s Resolutions that burn hot but have no staying power.

You don’t need more motivation or willpower; you need consistency and discipline. Willpower is like a muscle; it gets fatigued the more you use it. If you’re relying on your willpower to carry you through, you may find yourself falling short.

Starting small will help you build your motivational muscles and get into the groove with minimal effort. It’s like exercising: Start with 5 pushups a day, not 50. Make it small and easy enough that you don’t need much motivation at all to complete it on a daily basis.

I know you’re on fire to improve your life, but be patient! Progress will come if you put in the work every day and don’t burn all of your oil at once.

As you begin to ramp up your intensity, keep things smooth and manageable. You’d be surprised how quickly a 1% increase will add up! Give yourself the space to conquer each increment before moving onto the next, and you’ll find yourself going from zero to 100 in no time.

Keep Your Expectations Reasonable

A 1% increase is perfectly doable in most cases. It may seem small at first, but stick with it, and you’ll find yourself a significant distance down the path in two or three months.

Having reasonable expectations is not the same as being pessimistic. Instead, it will help you maintain momentum because you’ll always be able to achieve what you set out to do each day.

One great way to make a large increment more manageable is to break it into smaller chunks. For example, if you’re trying to build a habit of meditating for an hour every day and you’re currently trying to fit in 20 minutes a day, you can break those 20 minutes into two segments of 10 if that makes it easier for you. You’ll still accomplish your goal, but with less stress and more success.

Another aspect of keeping your expectations reasonable is accepting that failure sometimes happens. Everyone makes mistakes, and in your habit-building journey, you may find yourself getting off track once or twice.

Don’t beat yourself up about it. Simply get back on track.

Research indicates that missing a day when forming a habit isn’t going to have any measurable impact on your long-term progress.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should give yourself freebies or relax your discipline. But you should take some time to plan for potential failure. Consider what factors may get in the way of you completing your habit every day. What might get you off track? What can you do to avoid those traps? How can you get back on track if you miss a day or two?

Habit-building is about consistency, not perfection. There may come a day when you miss it once, but make yourself into the kind of person who never misses it twice.

The Best Note-Taking Methods for Forming a Habit

And now, what we’ve all been waiting for: the nitty-gritty of how to develop a note-taking habit.

We’re going to look at a number of options that you can use when building your habit of writing notes. Which one you choose will depend on your personal preferences as well as what you’re hoping to get out of taking notes.

Are you trying to record information? Increase your productivity? Improve your mental state? Each of these will have a method that suits them best.

At the end of the day, you are a unique individual with individual needs for making notes, so as a note taker, you should use whatever works best for you and your goals.

We’re also going to look at a number of tools that can make the art of note-taking easier. These tools are fantastic and can make your journey to habit-building much easier, but just keep in mind that you shouldn’t become too reliant on them!

Note-taking is an art that can be done with only a pencil and a scrap of paper. It has plenty of room for extravagance, but at its core, it’s really elegantly simple.

Remember, the most important part of any habit is consistency. So whichever of these note taking methods you choose — or if you devise a system of your own — just keep in mind that your success hinges most dearly on your ability to be disciplined.

Method #1: Daily Logs

This method is exactly what it sounds like: a log of your daily life. It’s almost like a captain’s log on a ship; write down everything that happens every day so that you can go back and reference it any time you want.

That’s right, I do mean everything. Jot down things that happen to you, people you meet, thoughts you have, things you learn, and anything else that can be noted.

If you do this on a digital device, you can use backlinks to create associations that connect your daily logs. Over time, you’ll amass an impressive log of everything that happens in your life, free for perusing.

Remember, you don’t have to start big. Instead of opting to write down everything right out of the gate, start by making a list at the end of the day with as many things as you can remember. Don’t bust your brain over it.

As you build the habit, you can start adding more reflections and thoughts to each item that you list and begin adding more throughout the day. Before you know it, you’ll be capturing every piece of information that comes to mind.

Method #2: Daily Journals

If you’re looking to improve your mental state, keeping a journal is a great way to do it.

Writing down everything that’s on your mind can cleanse your mental palette when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed. It’s also a great way to organize your thoughts and emotions so you can better process them and draw conclusions.

There are a number of great ways to engage in daily journaling. Here are a few of the most common:

• Gratitude journaling: make a habit of writing down a few things you’re thankful for every day. Studies have shown gratitude to be linked to all kinds of health benefits, both physical and mental. It’s a powerful way to reframe your perspective and orient yourself toward being thankful.
• Reframing: speaking of reframing, you can make a habit of identifying any negative thoughts you have and reframing them in a positive light. Quite often, our perspective is influenced by our fears, doubts, or past experiences. But reality isn’t always as dour as our perspective first suggests. You have power over your interpretations, and reframing is one way to harness that power for good.
• Top of mind: this type of journaling is the closest to the traditional kind that you probably think of whenever you hear the word “journal.” Write down everything that’s on your mind, big and small. Over time, you may observe that it helps you gain better control over your thoughts and emotions, fosters introspection, and helps you identify your goals.

Method #3: Mind-Dumps and To-Do Lists

For those of you wanting to improve your productivity, you can’t go wrong with mind-dumps and to-do lists. Here’s how it works.

Sit down and list every single task that you might have to do that day. When you can’t think of anything else, go through and prioritize them, starting with the most important parts and ending with the ones that don’t really need to get done today but would be awesome if they did.

At the end of this process, voila! You have a to-do list! You know exactly what you need to get done; your mind is clear and primed for action; and you know you haven’t missed anything important. Now go out and conquer the day!

Develop a Routine

Regardless of which approach to note-taking you use, you’re going to want to establish some kind of routine to help you form this daily habit. It doesn’t have to be a strict regime, but you may find it helpful in the beginning to block out a certain time of day to dedicate to note-taking.

Experts say that one of the easiest ways to incorporate a new habit is by attaching it to one you’ve already established. For example, if you have coffee first thing every morning, why not grab a pen and paper and jot down some notes while you’re at it?

As another example, if you like to relax after dinner, you could easily take ten minutes to list out all the things that happened that day. Not only would this be productive, but it would add an element of reflection to your time of relaxation.

Take into account some of your personal preferences, such as if you’re a morning or night person. Writing things down typically works best when your brain is fully functioning, so consider when your levels of concentration are highest throughout the day.

Best Tools for Note-Taking

Once you’ve picked the note-taking method you’d like to try, the next step is to choose your medium. This really comes down to two basic options, analog or digital, though within those there are plenty of sub-options, as we will discuss.

When deciding whether to take analog or digital notes, you need to consider what will work best for you. They both have their pros and cons. But then again, you could also take a hybrid approach to get the best of both worlds.

When it comes to recording and retaining information, experts say that handwriting your notes is more effective when it comes to comprehension and retention. Having a notepad on hand at all times also has its benefits, such as not being reliant on a battery or Wi-Fi connection to work.

You can doodle to your heart’s content in a notepad, which would be useful if you work with diagrams a lot or are a visual learner. There’s also something to be said for carrying around a hardcopy notebook that is specifically dedicated to taking notes. And handwriting has a magical quality that is hard to replicate with digital devices.

On the other hand, digital notes are super convenient. You probably already carry your phone everywhere, so it’s not asking much to simply download an app and get to work. Typing (or texting) is also faster than writing for most people.

You could also take voice notes, if that suits you best. They will take up more space on your device, and you’ll want to find a good way to label them, but you can fit a lot of information into an audio file in a short amount of time.

Notebook

Any old notebook will do, from a standard college-ruled spiral notebook to a customized diary. Individual pieces of paper, sticky notes — paper is paper, so get the size that works best for your needs.

Tablet or Laptop

The advantage of a portable computer is that it’s digital while still being convenient. You can use it a bit like computerized paper. There are plenty of design options to choose from, and you’ll have all of your notes in one place.

Smart Notebook

This looks just like a notebook, but it digitizes your notes. There are multiple kinds on the market; some are made complete with a spiral bound and polyester paper that you can scan with a QR code and upload your notes to the accompanying app. Others digitize the pen so that your writing is uploaded in real time.

Apps

There are tons of apps out there that can aid you in your note-taking journey. They range from free to bundled to spendy, vary in formatting and specializations, and offer a host of different features.

Some of the most popular are OneNote, Evernote, Google Keep, Standard Notes, Simplenote, and Obsidian. I’m not here to recommend any in particular, but I would encourage you to try out a few and see if they’re to your liking.

Software

Note-taking software can be very similar to apps, though sometimes the formatting may be less intuitive and have more options. Some of the more popular note-taking softwares include Google Workspace, Notion, ClickUp, Grain, and Basecamp.

Remember, if the tool you choose for your note-taking distracts you with all of its bells and whistles, it’s not going to aid you in building a habit that sticks. No matter how aesthetic or pleasing it is. Sometimes, simple is best, especially when building a habit.

Conclusion

Well done, dear reader! You’ve made it to the end. Hopefully, you’ve gleaned some insights into how to develop a note-taking habit that sticks. We’ve discussed a number of elements, starting with how a note-taking habit can aid you in your daily life and help you achieve greater success.

There are plenty of benefits for your attention span, memory, and productivity. If that’s not enough, some of the most successful people in the world credit their note-taking habits with some of their success. It’s a way to capture your best ideas so that you can manifest them down the road.

We discussed the importance of taking good notes instead of poor notes, and what that looks like. While it’s not the central focus of developing a habit, making your notes the best they can be will start you off on the right foot and increase your rewards.

When you do start pursuing this habit, start small and with reasonable expectations. Speed is commendable, but slow and steady will always win the race.

We also looked at a number of specific habits you could try. Daily logs will help you capture information throughout your day, while journaling will help you organize your internal information and cultivate a better mental state. Mind-dumps get all of your tasks on paper, where you can then organize them into a tidy to-do list.

Finally, we looked at some of the tools you can use to aid you in fostering this habit. While each has its pros and cons, at the end of the day, what matters most is that you use whatever tools help you rather than hinder you. Don’t get caught up in the aesthetics or the trends; remember what you’re taking notes for.

And now, my friend, it’s time for you to get started. Good luck!