Recording for yourself.
WHY MOST NOTES FAIL
They record everything and are never reread.
WHAT TO CAPTURE INSTEAD
Decisions Commitments, yours and others' Figures and dates Anything you will not remember Questions raised
WHAT NOT TO CAPTURE
A transcript Anything you would recall anyway
WHAT TO MARK CLEARLY
Actions for you.
HOW
A consistent marker you can find.
WHAT TO DO IMMEDIATELY AFTER
Review, and extract actions.
WHY IMMEDIATELY
Context fades within hours, and unreviewed notes are abandoned.
HOW LONG THAT TAKES
A couple of minutes.
WHAT TO ADD DURING REVIEW
What you were thinking, which the notes will not contain.
WHAT SYSTEM TO USE
Whatever you will actually use.
WHY THAT MATTERS MORE THAN THE SYSTEM
Elaborate systems are abandoned.
WHAT TO KEEP TOGETHER
Notes relating to one matter.
WHAT TO DATE
Everything.
WHY
Sequence matters when reconstructing.
WHAT TO DO WITH NOTES THAT BECOME IMPORTANT
Move them somewhere shared and durable.
WHY
Personal notes are lost and unavailable to others.
WHAT TO REVIEW PERIODICALLY
Commitments recorded, for anything outstanding.
