I've been taking notes on my iPad for 1,229 days.
My iPad has helped me get A's in classes like:
Multivariable Calculus
Linear Algebra
Differential Equations
General Chemistry
Data Structures and Algorithms
In other words, I know what I'm doing.
Here's my step-by-step process for taking efficient notes.
The Two Types of Lectures
Fundamentally, there are two types of lectures: memorization-based lectures and concept-based lectures.
Different lecture types ➡️ completely different note-taking styles.
Memorization-Based Lectures
These lectures focus on learning facts.
Psychology and history classes are the best example. These classes are almost entirely focused on memorization.
99% of effort goes to memorizing details. The other 1% goes to understanding the occasional tricky concept.
Concept-Based Lectures
These lectures focus on understanding things.
Calculus is probably the best example. Your standard high school or college calculus class emphasizes understanding.
Sure, there may be some formulas you need to memorize. But 90% of the effort goes towards understanding core ideas.
The Third Kind Of Lecture*
I lied.
There aren't two types of lectures.
Instead, it's a spectrum.
At one end, you have classes focused almost entirely on memorization, like history. On the other end, you have classes focused almost entirely on concepts, like calculus.
And in the middle, you have basically every other class out there. 80% of classes contain both memorization and concept heavy parts.
Think about a standard intro to programming class. It covers things like:
Basic functions (memorization)
Time complexity (concepts)
Class inheritance (memorization and concepts)
But to keep things simple, let's assume that there are only two types of classes: memorization-based classes and concept-based classes.
If you have classes that combine both types (like I do), use both styles of note-taking for a single class.
How To Memorize Ideas
First, let's focus on memorization-based lectures.
For these lectures, you have one critical goal: memorize.
Your goal is to get stuff to stay in your brain. So the note-taking style you use should reflect that.
Here's the thing—I don't take notes in memorization-based lectures. Instead, I skip straight to making flashcards.
For the most part, the ideas you learn in memorization-based lectures are incredibly easy to understand. Instead of taking the time to write notes and then create flashcards after lectures, you could just do both at the same time.
Doing this has another added benefit—you'll actually pay attention in class.
For me, listening to memorization-based lectures was boring. The concepts were so easy to understand that I write mindless notes and my brain drifts off to another planet.
But once I started making flashcards, these lectures became way more interesting—I had the challenge of quickly summarizing different concepts in my own words right after learning them. This challenge made lectures way more engaging and turned taking notes into a game.
Feyn
The app I use to create flashcards is Feyn.
It's an amazing app I've used for years, and Feyn's free plan is more than enough for most people.
It has a ton of cool features, including:
Folders
Folders within Folders within Folders
Tags
iCloud Sharing (this is huge—I can make flashcards on my iPad and practice them on my iPhone)
Multitasking support
Easy-to-use UI
There are tons of flashcard apps out there. But if you're looking for something that has a good free plan and just works, Feyn is my recommendation.
How To Understand Concepts
Now, let's move to type 2: concept-based lectures.
For concept-based lectures, your goal is to understand. What this means depends on the learning style that works for you.
Here's what works for me.
First, I try to understand the ideas that are being taught. For me, this means creating mind map-style notes with arrows to connect different concepts.
Once I have a basic understanding, I move on to application—doing practice problems until I get an even better understanding of the ideas that are taught.
Concepts
The app I use to take notes in concept-based lectures is, ironically, Concepts.
Like I mentioned before, my strategy for concept-based lectures is simple:
Draw mind maps
Do practice problems
With Concepts this is easy thanks to its unlimited size for notes.
Concepts is also the sponsor of today's post. Don't worry though—I used Concepts before they sponsored me.
Concepts is one of the few apps I highly recommend for every iPad user out there. And I genuinely believe this (check my post history if you wanna verify this claim).
Concepts has been kind enough to offer a free 30-day trial. And no, you don't have to enter your credit card info.
And even if you don't wanna do that, I would still check out their free plan. It's truly amazing.
Final Thoughts
"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow"—Anthony J. D'Angelo
Thanks for reading!
Adi