Note Taking: An Essential Skill for Working Remotely

Working remotely requires that we all learn or brush up on an essential, but hitherto underrated skill, called note taking. Note taking might not sound like a big deal, but it will play a huge role in helping you stay organised.  Remember, you don’t want to be that team member who forgets to send a follow-up email or who fails to call a client simply because it slipped their mind.

Taking notes shows you’re attentive and provides a reference point after the meeting. However, how you take your notes is also a game-changer. Here are a few tips to help you improve your note-taking techniques: 

Keep it Simple

The basic idea of notes is to keep them short with keywords and sentences that jumpstart your memory when you look at them again. Write down your notes in your own words unless you’re writing down a direct quote.

Be Organised 

Organisation is very key with notes. The more organised you are, the higher the chances that you’ll remember all the information you need. Create a system of symbols to organise your notes better. It can be using an asterisk to show that a particular information is important or a question mark for the notes you need to research. Digital note-taking apps like Evernote are great for this. With these apps, you can use tags. (Make sure to tag your notes with relevant information). 

Notes can take the form of Bullet Journaling for those who love aesthetics, Mind Mapping or the Cornell Method. 

Your Notes Should Have An Action Plan 

A good note isn’t just a quick jot-down of an idea or an action item. Note taking, when done well, provides both a record and next line of action. 

What do we mean? As an alpher woman, you should take down notes that prompt action e.g.  ”, “Research on the theme of the event ”, “Write down areas I’m struggling with in my life” and “Ask the panellists how I can manage these issues” etc.

 These kinds of notes will be useful to you, the next time you pick up your notebook (or open your app).

Use Familiar Language 

A good note should be understood by everyone involved with the project at hand, for at least two weeks after it was written down. When having a team meeting at work, the last five to ten minutes of the meeting should be used to review all notes by asking these questions: 

1. What are we missing?
2. Is everything accurate?
3. Is there anything anyone doesn’t understand about these notes?
4. Will we know what it means when we look at it again in a week or so?

The last question will get you to fix notes that say something like “Look into that report”.

Look into that report may not mean anything in two weeks but writing “Check the totals on the March sales report” will be cleats when you’re trying to hold each other accountable.

These techniques work just as well in your personal note-taking practice as it does in team meetings. If you ask yourself whether you’ll be able to understand what your notes mean two weeks from now, you’ll be less likely to write “call client” and more likely to write “call client to negotiate price rate”. 

Sync Your Notes to Your Calendar

Always follow up a note with a calendar reminder. Once you get in the habit of taking notes that are both understandable and action-based, you’ll probably also develop the habit of reviewing those notes regularly, instead of forgetting about them. Have your Calendar ready to remind you every day.