I take a lot of notes.
It’s a habit I developed in college and one that I continue using to this day. I take notes on conversations I’ve had, I take notes about books I read, I even take notes about TV shows and movies that I watch.
I used to take notes free-form with minimal structure. Sometimes and outline. Sometimes just bullet points.
A few years ago I discovered the Cornell method of taking notes. It’s a lot similar to regular outlining, but with the careful organization of the page and a process that includes identifying follow-up questions and keywords, and then a final summary. It was developed at Cornell University in the 1950s.
You leave the left third of the page open for questions and keywords, and a few lines at the bottom for the summary. The main area of the page is left open for your notes.
There’s also a video that explains the method here. Quick tip: the good stuff starts at the 4:00 mark.