Reasons Why Successful People Take Notes

“The best leaders are note-takers, best askers” — Tom Peters

Do you wonder what might be the habits of highly successful people? Do they follow any kind of strategy or routine? One of the highly mastered skills of successful people is note-taking. Sounds weird, right? But, note-taking is a skill that helps us collect our thoughts and ideas in one place. Note-taking habit also motivates us to take action on the ideas or thoughts we have noted down.

Few successful people who take notes

• Bill Gates, business leader and philanthropist, follows his note-taking habit and is also considered an avid note-taker. He always carries a notebook with him to jot down important points.

“I was delighted to see Bill’s notes were scribbled on some crumbled paper he had been carrying in his jacket pocket,” says Richard Branson (Virgin Group founder)

• For Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of Virgin Group, note-taking is considered as his success habit. He developed this habit while growing up with dyslexia and considered as a fanatic note-taker.
• George Lucas, Star Wars director, always keeps a notebook with him to plan his thoughts, ideas, and plots.
• Other successful note-takers include Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook COO), Mike Parker, James Altuche, Tim Ferriss, and many more. From past Thomas Edison, Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, Pablo Picasso are some of the remarkable note-takers.

Why successful people prefer note-taking

Here are few reasons why note-taking habit is important and what role it plays in our success:

• To collect ideas at one place — Note-takers clear their head by putting down everything in front of the eyes as soon as they get an idea or thought. Our brain can infuse the breakthrough ideas anytime, and it would be unfortunate to miss that eureka moment. A handy notebook or tablet never lets anyone miss these unpredictable thoughts. It lets you collect all your ideas at one place.
• Prioritize the day — The habit of writing down everything is quite helpful in prioritizing the day. Creating memos, to-dos, etc., will get anyone enough bandwidth to remember and complete all the required tasks on time. We can then easily put our minds to any creative task without worrying about the other events.
• To retain important information — It is important to note-down everything otherwise we easily tend to forget most of the things before we even finish any meeting or seminar. Also, studies have proved that a person is more likely to retain information through handwritten notes instead of typing them.
• To focus on goals and take action — Note-taking helps in turning our ideas and thoughts into actionable goals. Writing them down increases our engagement and dedication towards our goal. It acts as a constant reminder, the more we see them, the more likely we are going to take necessary action and fulfill them.
• To think and write more clearly — Once the ideas and goals are in front of someone in a written format, their mind will respond to it more quickly. Note-taking helps us declutter our minds and create a fresh start. Since everyone comprehends any information differently, it is easy to write it down or sketch that information to convey it to everyone effectively.

How you can make note-taking your habit

• Start by selecting your choice of a notebook, whether paper or digital notebook. Note-taking apps such as Noteshelf are designed for everyone, whether a student, professional or any non-professional person.
• Keeping notes in a single place is another must follow task. Digital notebooks like Noteshelf can help you create multiple notebooks and keep them organized in one place.
• Choose the note-taking style that suits you or your work. You can either choose from Cornell notes, sketchnotes, etc., or create your own style.
• Reviewing the notes is important as creating them. You can get a greater benefit from your notes when you revise them or revisit them.

Note-taking is what most successful people are following. Whether digital or traditional, note-taking is a habit that can make you more creative, productive and can positively impact your cognitive learning. It can free your mind from all the unnecessary information and lets you think more clearly. So start taking notes and turn your ideas into your goals and achievements.