How to Take Notes for Work | Note-taking Tutorial for Professionals, by Jeff Su on YouTube. 9 min 45 s.
- Video length
- 9 min 45 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Set up one notebook or folder for work notes and split it by meeting type: notes for yourself, notes for one team, and notes for multiple teams.
Before each meeting, create a new page titled with the date, meeting name and attendees so you can find it later.
Write the purpose of the meeting at the top in one line, such as a decision to make or a status update to give.
During the meeting, capture only decisions, action items and open questions. Skip small talk and anything already in the agenda.
Mark each action item with an owner and a due date, for example 'Sam: send draft by Friday'.
For a single team, keep one shared page per project and add each meeting under a dated heading so history stays in one place.
For multiple teams, give each team its own section and add a short cross-team summary at the top listing items that affect everyone.
At the end of the meeting, read the action items back to the group to confirm owners and dates.
After the meeting, move your action items into your task list and share the notes link with attendees.
Tips and common mistakes
Write notes in your own words and focus on what you must do next, not on transcribing the conversation.
Keep one consistent template so you do not waste time formatting notes during the meeting.
Review your open action items each morning so nothing slips past its due date.
Do not paste sensitive notes into personal accounts. Use your company's approved tools.
Questions
How are work notes different from class notes?
Work notes focus on decisions and actions with owners and deadlines. Class notes focus on recording information to study later.
What if I miss part of a meeting?
Ask a colleague for their action items and check the shared notes page. Add a short note on what you missed and who owns it.
Should I type or handwrite notes?
Typing makes notes easier to search and share. Handwriting can help you remember, but you then need to transfer the action items into your task list.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
