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organization || how to study + take notes: my new university note-taking system (UPDATED)

IoanaOctober 21, 2018

My new & improved note-taking system is up! I talk about my learning + study process, efficient note structure, and why it all matters!

Note: The video is an updated version of my note-taking series.

I’m taking a variety of content- and practice- heavy courses, so I’m sure you’ll find some of my tips relevant to whatever you’re studying at the moment!


foreword on my raspy voice

First off, I think it’s a funny and relevant blog post entry to share the story of how my raspy voice came about. On Saturday, I went sailing as part of the recreational university sailing club I signed up for. The day was cold and only moderately windy, and I’d just been recovering from a mild cold and sore throat. Normally, when we take the boats out into the water, we get our feet wet; but today I was determined to not be wet and cold at all. Clearly, the day had other plans. While out on the water, the waves and wind picked up, and ripples started appearing on the waves. Long story short, we capsized, and not only were we in the water for 10 minutes trying to flip the boat back over in the strong winds, but by the time we got into dry clothes, an hour had easily passed by. Thankfully, I recovered fairly fast from the experience (which my sailing partner and I have agreed is classified as “Type 2” fun), but I’ve emerged with a giant bruise on my arm and a lovely raspy voice.


This video is easily one of the most content-dense I have ever produced, so I’m going to make an effort to lay out the key ideas that I talk about. Most important of all, before we get into the tips and the note-taking, we’ve got to understand what the point is of taking notes so that our entire process can be created in cognizant awareness of it.

Why are you taking notes in the first place?

  • To make order of disordered information
  • To highlight difficult information that warrants more of our time

Make studying efficient

Studying should be as efficient as possible, as should most other things in your life. There’s so much you can do with your time that you’ve got to prioritize checking off your tasks over perfecting one single thing on your to-do list.

  • get enough sleep
  • don’t be a perfectionist
  • get used to the chaos

The Learning Process

There’s a whole, studied, psychological learning process that occurs and that’s useful to follow when developing your course of studying for your classes.

  1. LEARNING
  2. STORAGE/ORGANIZATION
  3. RECALL/RETRIEVAL

My study system

1. First contact

The first time you come across information, read it. Don’t annotate or make frequent pauses. Trust your brain and learning process that you’ll remember the key information and sort through the less relevant.

And don’t assume you have to tackle it all at once – because that makes it seem scary and you’re less likely to do any of it. A little bit of skimming is better than zero in-depth reading.

  • do not annotate
  • use sticky notes to pinpoint questions or areas for clarification later
  • pay attention to key headings and the layout of the information
  • fill out a “skeleton” of a note with the headings or definitions you’ll want to take notes on later
    • for my typed notes: I usually do this in the main section of my notes, and during step 2 I fill them in, and in step 3 I complete the highlighting and left-hand column of my cornell-based system

2. Organizing

At this point, you’ve got to lay out the information in your brain in a way that keeps the two purposes of note-taking in mind.

  • use the para-textual features like the headings, chapter summaries, glossaries
  • take short and simple notes (don’t rewrite things you don’t need or already know!)

3. Applying the information

3.1. To lectures

Once you’ve been over the information once, the lecture will be really fun (assuming you like the content)! It’s a chance for you to engage with the material by hearing someone else discuss it (or discussing it yourself).

  • ask your professors questions! If anything, it saves a lot of time!
  • add extra clarifying information (I use pink pen for this)
  • make as many connections as possible to the material
3.2. To practice questions

NEVER neglect this. You don’t know what you don’t know until you try remembering it. If you haven’t finished your notes or read the chapter, doing the practice questions anyway will help you pinpoint what you don’t know (so you can take notes on that) and what you know (so you don’t spend so much time on that).

  • do practice questions
  • highlight your notes to further re-organize what you now know and what you still need more focus on

 

Check out the video below for more of my tips and details on my process!



For helpful links, visit my LINKS page!

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Comments (1)

  • David Hansen

    June 9, 2019 at 12:45 am

    Quality stuff. Hope to see more YouTube content soon.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Nice to meet you!

Hi, it’s Ioana! I’m a blogger, brand marketer, and recent Queen’s Commerce alumni. When I’m not drinking coffee, reading, studying or exploring the city, I dabble in creative projects like this one!

Latest posts

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mistralspirit

ioana | bujo & organization
So glad I overcame my initial hesitation toward th So glad I overcame my initial hesitation toward this book being about video games. It’s a delight for my brain so far and I’m not ashamed to admit that I spent all of this morning and afternoon reading (it was glorious) and I’ve learned 3 new words I adore:
- dilettante
- Weltschmerz
- palimpsest

Pls note: photos taken “while reading” are obviously not as impromptu as they may appear on Instagram. They’re usually when (a) you’re on a reading intermission because you either haven’t started or are getting a bit tired of reading for so long or (b) there’s a long period of descriptive text that doesn’t necessarily represent the quality of the book and is a good time to hashtag let-me-take-a-selfie. So don’t read this one page and form an opinion about the book. Instagram isn’t reality. 😜

Pls also note I’m only 40% through the book so my review isn’t definite. I’ve been burned before by jumping too excitedly to recommend a book (in this case, TV show) to everyone around me before realizing it gets WEIRD later on. So take my moment of excitement with a grain of salt - more thoughts to come!
Just received this new pen from @bulletjournal and Just received this new pen from @bulletjournal and @leuchtturm1917 @leuchtturm1917canada! 👀 Here’s a closer look!

Can you tell I had so much fun unboxing this 😅 It’s my new desk pen for days that I want to feel a little ✨fancy✨

#gifted #pen #amwriting #bulletjournalleuchtturm1917 #gelpen #journal #journaling #planner #studygram #aestheticstudy #bujo #bulletjournal #bulletjournalpen #bujopen #minimalistplanner #bulletjournaling #bulletjournalcommunity #penlover
Vote in the comments for your top 2 on-location sk Vote in the comments for your top 2 on-location sketches! 👆 Check my IG story from today more more details, but there’s an @usktoronto call for submissions for an art expo/sale happening in Jan/Feb. Since they’re looking for on-location sketches and I have plenty, I’ve decided to submit and see what happens!

They would all be for sale so I’ll donate anything that comes of it to a related cause. ❤️ 

Which of these 2 do you like best? 👆

#urbansketchers #urbansketch #sketchbook #sketching #artjournal #travelsketch #drawyourday #sketchbookart #watercolor #illustration #urbansketching #sketchjournal #fineliner #finelinerdrawing #moleskine #watercolortraveljournal #watercolorillustration #traveljournal #travelwatercolor #traveldiary
One final art supplies haul from @currysartstore M One final art supplies haul from @currysartstore Mississauga this weekend! 🥺 So sad that they’re closing - I remember they’ve moved locations a number of times but they were always my favourite art store growing up. ❤️

And let me know if you’ve tried any of these supplies because I haven’t! Super excited to play with some new paints - specifically the metallics and also practice more acrylics after my summer painting class at @visualartsmississauga. 🥰

#artsupplies #unboxing #artsupplieshaul #artistsupplies #torontoartist #currysartstore
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So glad I overcame my initial hesitation toward th So glad I overcame my initial hesitation toward this book being about video games. It’s a delight for my brain so far and I’m not ashamed to admit that I spent all of this morning and afternoon reading (it was glorious) and I’ve learned 3 new words I adore:
- dilettante
- Weltschmerz
- palimpsest

Pls note: photos taken “while reading” are obviously not as impromptu as they may appear on Instagram. They’re usually when (a) you’re on a reading intermission because you either haven’t started or are getting a bit tired of reading for so long or (b) there’s a long period of descriptive text that doesn’t necessarily represent the quality of the book and is a good time to hashtag let-me-take-a-selfie. So don’t read this one page and form an opinion about the book. Instagram isn’t reality. 😜

Pls also note I’m only 40% through the book so my review isn’t definite. I’ve been burned before by jumping too excitedly to recommend a book (in this case, TV show) to everyone around me before realizing it gets WEIRD later on. So take my moment of excitement with a grain of salt - more thoughts to come!
Just received this new pen from @bulletjournal and Just received this new pen from @bulletjournal and @leuchtturm1917 @leuchtturm1917canada! 👀 Here’s a closer look!

Can you tell I had so much fun unboxing this 😅 It’s my new desk pen for days that I want to feel a little ✨fancy✨

#gifted #pen #amwriting #bulletjournalleuchtturm1917 #gelpen #journal #journaling #planner #studygram #aestheticstudy #bujo #bulletjournal #bulletjournalpen #bujopen #minimalistplanner #bulletjournaling #bulletjournalcommunity #penlover
Vote in the comments for your top 2 on-location sk Vote in the comments for your top 2 on-location sketches! 👆 Check my IG story from today more more details, but there’s an @usktoronto call for submissions for an art expo/sale happening in Jan/Feb. Since they’re looking for on-location sketches and I have plenty, I’ve decided to submit and see what happens!

They would all be for sale so I’ll donate anything that comes of it to a related cause. ❤️ 

Which of these 2 do you like best? 👆

#urbansketchers #urbansketch #sketchbook #sketching #artjournal #travelsketch #drawyourday #sketchbookart #watercolor #illustration #urbansketching #sketchjournal #fineliner #finelinerdrawing #moleskine #watercolortraveljournal #watercolorillustration #traveljournal #travelwatercolor #traveldiary
One final art supplies haul from @currysartstore M One final art supplies haul from @currysartstore Mississauga this weekend! 🥺 So sad that they’re closing - I remember they’ve moved locations a number of times but they were always my favourite art store growing up. ❤️

And let me know if you’ve tried any of these supplies because I haven’t! Super excited to play with some new paints - specifically the metallics and also practice more acrylics after my summer painting class at @visualartsmississauga. 🥰

#artsupplies #unboxing #artsupplieshaul #artistsupplies #torontoartist #currysartstore
Black Friday SALE on now at @thewashitapeshop 💃 Black Friday SALE on now at @thewashitapeshop 💃🏼 20% OFF everything - link in bio or visit thewashitapeshop.com to shop what feels like an entire art gallery. 😜

So hard to pick but I was most excited to get my hands on this new PET tape designed by @tonia_tkach - it’s called Forest Houses and comes as both PET tape and washi tape. How cute!

#pettape #originalwashitape #thewashitapeshop #washitape #washitapes #scrapbooking #craftjournal #aestheticjournal #artjournal #craft #journaling #bujo #stationery #stationerylover #sticker #bulletjournal #scrapbook #bujoideas #bulletjournaling #journalwithme #bujosupplies #stationerystore #starioneryshop #stationeryhaul
Sounds from a day in the life preparing for @nanow Sounds from a day in the life preparing for @nanowrimo last month. 🥰 Please send over any motivation you can though because I haven’t written in a WEEK. 🙈😭 Turns out it’s harder than I thought to write 50k words in a month during the literally busiest week at my day job, while also spending time with my boyfriend, family & friends… and helping to keep our apartment at least somewhat in order. 😅 Posting this video to inspire myself is already working though so… let’s see if I can make it past 6k words today! 💪
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