For the past few weeks, I’ve been occupied with cyber competitons and military exercises. Now that all of that is over, I want to address what got me through it all – to include school work: Note Taking.
Why Take Notes?
A few nights before my first class at USAFA, I knew that being able to take reliable notes, that I would actually study, was paramount to my success. I was scheduled to take classes that covered different subjects for 6 hours each day. Needless to say, I knew that trying to memorize it all was impossible.
So, I bought an iPad. I bought apps that were tailored to task management and note organization. Eventually, I invested more time into typing-based notes and settled with Obsidian. I spent hours yak-shaving1 my setup so that using it became a habit.
Most of this wasn’t necessary, but it truly overhauled my learning. It allowed me to retain much more information than just staring blankly at my professor. And, I found that in the courses where I have taken notes, I have scored much better on exams.
How to Take Notes?
Taking notes is personal. Whatever systems I use won’t work for everyone, so I won’t even waste bytes with that. What I will say is you should get used to noting things that you aren’t a master in. What I mean by “master in” is if you cannot confidently explain a topic with minimal references. I am a master in explaining why I use Linux over Microsoft Windows, that was a personal decision that I made and have had moments where I switched back to Windows. I am not a master in explaining how Linux handles processes. And, yes, I have been asked about both of these before…
Additionally, know that you won’t get it right the first time. It took me a while to find a system that worked for me and I spent days working on it (and still need to update it)! I strongly recommend using a system that’s not proprietary so that you can transfer notes from one platform to another.
I can ramble on about my recommendations, but the important thing is to just start taking notes. On literally everything. Treat it like academic or professional journaling. In your notes, ask questions, restate facts, and what I’ve found most helpful is linking topics. The process isn’t beautiful, but the results definitely will be.