How to write beautiful visual notes
For the past two years or so, I have developed a habit that has helped me a lot in becoming more productive and structuring my thoughts: Taking notes. Not just “regular” written notes though — I have been making an effort to become better at taking rich, handwritten, visual notes. Doing so has changed the way I work and think; it has provided me with an archive of things I was working on that I can browse through; and — most importantly — it has turned note-taking from a necessary evil to a hugely enjoyable task.
Taking visual notes is not rocket science; and it’s also something highly individual. But there a few ground rules that can help you get started. I’ve tried to list those that I follow below.
Get the right tools
Note-taking is serious business, and it requires the right tools. Scribbling your beautiful notes on the back of a scrap of paper with a cheap pen you bought at the closest drugstore is not an option. Invest a bit of money and buy a good — preferably plain — notebook. I usually get Moleskine, but there are plenty of other options available. And then get a set of good pens (I prefer the Micron pens from Sakura): Black pens in two to three different sizes, and three to four color pens should be enough to get started.
Start with a frame. Always.
The first thing you should do is to draw a frame around your page. I’m still not entirely sure why this makes such a big difference, but for me at least, it does — so much so that I have a special, extra-thick pen that I only use for frame-drawing.
Add a title
After the frame, the next thing I write is a title. The title is what will remind you what the notes are all about when you look at them weeks (or months, or years) later. It’s helpful to write it really big, even if that takes away space on the page for your other notes. The title can go anywhere on your page (I usually write it in the center). To make the title pop out even more, I draw the outline of the letters with a thicker pen, and then use a thin one to shade in the individual letters. Finally, I add the time and place so I’ll remember later.
Write legibly
That one seems obvious, but it’s an important one. My handwriting used to be pretty terrible, and often, I was unable to decipher notes I had written — let alone give them to others to read. I’ve found that writing in all caps slows me down, and thus makes my handwriting much more legible than it would be otherwise.
Do it slowly
As with all high-quality work, taking beautiful notes is time-intensive. Don’t rush it. Not only will it make your notes more visually appealing, and thus more valuable to you and others — the time you spend meticulously shading your title is time you can already spend thinking about whatever it is you’re taking notes on.
Use colors for highlighting
Most of the time, I write my notes all in black, and then go back and add additional thoughts and comments with a different color. You can also use different colors for notes that you are adding at a later point (e.g. when processing notes from a meeting later on), or to reflect different viewpoints from meeting participants.
Don’t overthink it
Never forget: On your notebook page, anything goes. You don’t need to have a layout for the entire page ready when you start. The best notes are the ones that reflect your thought process — and at least in my case, that is usually fairly messy. You can write in different sizes, or upside down, or add little drawings; whatever it takes to get your ideas on paper.
Learn from the master
Everything I know about taking visual notes I have learned from my dear friend Mathias, who uses his techniques when he helps successful entrepreneurs to think more clearly. As luck would have it, Mathias is launching an online class to teach you the fundamentals of note-taking. I highly recommend it!
