credit for the header image ©when i was in high school i never ever typed any notes. handwritin

credit for the header image ©

when i was in high school i never ever typed any notes. handwriting is super good cause it helps u remember better what ur writing, and it’s easier to adapt to what u need ur notes to look like. but then i started university and i had to summarize everything that happened in my country from 1860 to 2000 and i was like no, fuck it, i ain’t writing all that bc a) i wouldn’t have time and b) my hand would probably fall off. so typing it saved my life and i learned some stuff and i have a few tips so u can make the most out of ur typed notes!

is it convenient to type?

things u need to think abt:

thecontext where u’ll be doing it, e.g. in class sometimes it’s actually faster to handwrite if the class is disorganized so u can draw arrows, connect stuff on different parts of the page, make margin notes, etc, but sometimes the teacher speaks really fast and u don’t have time to jot everything down so it’s better to type. if u have time to write down most of the important things i recommend to handwrite. if ur in ur house or library both methods work the same; if ur in a coffee shop or sth probably best to type cause it takes up less space
how much time until u have to study them, if you’re making summaries/guides. if u got lazy and left it to the last moment (happens to the best of us), u’ll be better off typing. ifffff u have the time and ur willing to maybe it’s best to handwrite them bc it helps w memorizing
thesubject and what’s gonna be important for the exam, so u know how it’s better to study. when i make summaries and study guides i always mix my class notes and book or other material i have. before u start writing them, go over both and try to think what u want ur notes to look like, if it’s gonna be important for them to be visual, have lots of arrows (in that case, better to handwrite, but it can be done in a laptop, although it may end up taking u more time in the end), or if they’re gonna be lots of bullet points and outlines, charts, diagrams (it’s easier to type these)
this is just a pro of typing over handwriting: u’ll be able to go back and modify/add/delete stuff. so if ur gonna be making study guides super in advance and in class the teacher goes back to topics u already included, u can add more info all the time without ur notes looking like a clutter of post it notes and covered in margin notes

tips and tricks

useshortcuts and make ur own shortcuts to replace regular symbols with symbols u don’t have in ur keyboard per se. u may need a little poking around whichever app ur using, or u can add them to the keyboard “replace” feature. for example, for mine i made -> turn into ⇾, >> into ↳, ^^^ into ↓ (u can tell i use lots of arrows). don’t be afraid to experiment and look through the symbols in ur laptop to see what u’ll find useful!
lots of abbreviations, and this applies to handwritten notes also. i have this bad habit, though, of cutting short long words and then not remembering the conjugation and getting confused when i revise them, so be careful with that (for example, in sociology i used “intern.” for “internalization”, “internalize”, “internalizing” and then regretted it)
if u want ur notes to have colour but don’t wanna waste colour ink from ur printer, u can use highlighters or leave blank spaces to write titles and subtitles with a coloured pen when u print them. but don’t actually leave it blank; write the word in white so u’ll remember what u were supposed to write later. take into account that of course ur handwriting won’t be the same size as the font. this applies if u want cute calligraphy titles, banners, drawings, etc. u can decorate ur notes as much as u want when u print them!
make good use of fonts but don’t overdo it, have a main font for the body and maybe a different one for titles/subtitles if u want
have a system where u use bold,italics and underlined for different things (terms, examples, important definitions, dates, whatever)
be creative in the use of space! use shapes, charts, the diagram function of ur app, anything ur comfortable using and that’s gonna be useful (don’t put in diagrams just bc they look cool if the info in it isn’t really important). but, again, don’t overdo it cause it may end up taking u more time than it’s really worth it
this is gonna sound super millenial, but sometimes emojis r useful in notes (i know i know) to make them more visual. like u can replace a word with its emoji (hand, person, tree, idk), use it on the side to symbolize what ur talking about (i used a bomb next to a part where i was writing sth about WWII), etc. don’t judge me for this please
use an app to block websites and other apps that distract you because that’s the downside of writing on ur laptop: ur laptopisright there. i’ll list some apps on the next part

software + apps

google drive: i’m in love with this. v useful if ur gonna be writing from different devices without downloading anything. also it’s cool that u can download and easily use lots of font. buuuut it doesn’t have many functions. make sure to enable offline mode because otherwise anytime ur wifi acts up it won’t let u edit
evernote: again lets u sync ur notes in many devices but u need to download the app in all of them. personally i prefer google drive but that’s bc i never rlly tried to get used to this one, many people seem to rlly love it
ur laptop’s default text editor: usually microsoft word for windows, pages for mac. i used pages for my history and sociology notes because i knew i was gonna do everything in my own laptop and found it super useful. it’s rlly easy to make charts, shapes, diagrams, and it’s super simple in a good way. i vouch for microsoft word as well, it has a lot more functions but at the same time it can get more complicated.
here are a few masterposts with apps that can help u for both note taking and productivity: x (all free) x x
this isn’t for note-taking but i find it super useful and i urge u to download it if ur gonna be using ur laptop to write notes: f.lux changes the colour of ur computer display to be warm during night or when u don’t have light so u don’t strain ur eyes looking at the blue glow of the screen. it’s explained better in the website. it’s been a total lifesaver and has changed my life tbh

+ masterposts

i hope i was somehow able to help u and give u any good tips! please hmu with requests if u want any specific masterpost to be done

xx sofi