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Hey guys it's E! With school starting back up here soon, and no one really knowing what's going on or what is even going to happen this fall. I thought I would talk about something both online and in school students could use. With that being said for this week's blog post I will be discussing note-taking strategies, and effective ways to take notes. So let's dive into this week's topic!
P.S.. don’t forget to follow us on our socials! @mac.and.e
Everyone has a different way of taking notes and what works for them, it took me a couple of years to figure out what I like and how I understand my notes, so if you're struggling to find a good method this post could help you or even if you're looking for some inspiration.
Basics:
When starting to take notes you need to have basics or the same layout for all of your notes. What I do for my basics is I first begin with a heading or a title that I will highlight Blue, that way I remember the topic for my notes. For my Subheadings I always highlight purple, and if anything important is mentioned that I need to remember I highlight pink. You don’t have to use those same colors, for example, I use pink for a note that I need to remember or is important, because pink is my fav color so I'm more likely to remember what I highlighted… Does that make sense? There are many studies out there that go into detail on how certain colors can help you remember a certain subject. So now that you have your basic colors chosen you need a layout, for me, I always do subject heading, subheading, and then bullet points. Everyone is different. I know people who will do a heading, subheading, and then just write paragraphs when they take notes. In the end, this Is what my basic will look like:
Layers:
Now here comes the fun part! Once you have established your basics, you can start adding layers (that’s what I like to call it). This is where the lil doodles, sidenotes, and colors come into play. Let's paint a picture: you're sitting in class or your room and you're listening to a lecture and you have already filled a page up with basics, but then your teacher or professor mentions something you discussed earlier but you ran out of room under that subheading… sigh… Have no fear my friends. That's where sidenotes come in, I have been in this situation many times, so I will go besides where I wrote some notes beforehand and create a lil doodle to remind me of that note. My other go-to is drawing arrows for something that could have gone together or to remind of a time or place… the moral of the story is I use arrows because I’m too lazy to write something...lol… Layers are always changing for me some days I have a ton and others not so much, but they’re just a great way to be creative with your notes so don’t be afraid to try something new! When doing layers I always highlight them a color… I know shocker… So arrows could be green, and sidenotes yellow or red. Once I have layers done this I what my notes will look like.
Supplies:
If you haven’t checked out last week's post you totally should because Mac went over some supplies she will be using for this new year, So don’t forget to check that out.
You kind of can’t have notes without some supplies, So here are some of my go-to note-taking supplies that honestly changed my note-taking game.
Pens: Who else is a stationary hog! I have a ton of pens, but my all-time fav has to be the Tul medium point pens, they write like butter and in my personal opinion are better than the G2 pens which don’t get me wrong are good too, but the Tul is just amazing!
Highlighters: I also have many highlighters but my two favs are the Zebra Mildliners, and Stabilo Boss. They are both a softer highlight and not a punch-you-in-your-face orange color. One thing I like about both is their shape because the Boss highlighters are more wide and flat so the grip is good, but the zebras are the opposite and long and thin but they also have a fine liner which is great for underlining or doodles.
Notebook: And lastly for the backbone of taking notes is a notebook. For me finding the right notebook can be difficult, but my all-time fave is the Tul notebook. This notebook holds my agenda, dividers, and notepaper and the best part is you can take the paper out to take notes or even refill the notebook when it gets low on paper, I mean come on!! Can a notebook get more perfect?! You can also change the ring which allows you to hold more paper, or change the cover of the notebook.
I hope you all got a little something out of this week's blog post, and I also hope that this ~new~ and the strange school year will be amazing for everyone! Don’t forget to check out our Instagram and Pinterest, and come back next Friday for a new post! Talk to ya later!
- E :)
P.S. here is a link to an article about what colors you should use to study!