Lately, there’s been a lot in the press about the advantages of writing vs typing. They have shown students do better when they take notes writing them down versus typing them into their laptop.  Typing doesn’t give you the same benefits: you’re now in the mode of court stenographer…and I find it gets in the way of listening. When you write, you learn.

I always carried a notebook into a meeting, I would jot the meeting, the date, and key facts/figures I might forget, and most importantly, the to dos and follow ups.

I used to take general notes to show I was paying attention. The reality is that you really just need to write down what’s most useful. I never looked back at my notes, except to check what the follow ups were.

Once, I sat next to a colleague whose demeanor is pretty casual. I glanced at his notebook. His note taking? Incredibly organized. That’s when I realized: he could be casual in style because he was disciplined where it counted.

If it’s important, write it down.