If you're taking notes for a class/lecture. Only take notes for things that are: 1. Interesting/non-intuitive 2. Things you'd like to dive into further later

If you're taking notes for a class/lecture. Only take notes for things that are: 1. Interesting/non-intuitive 2. Things you'd like to dive into further later Don't waste time taking notes on things that you already know, are common sense or otherwise derivable. Do not try to be comprehensive or worry about being too organized, it is just excess overhead. Handwrite whenever possible. The investment in doing so increases the chances of following up afterwards. If you're taking notes for a meeting, be sure to catalog the chain of thought and relevant ideas. Let people follow up with links etc. Lastly, its worth assessing why you even want to take good notes? If you're unable to pay attention during lecture but still want to get the information, perhaps its worth doing a lesson pre-view and re-view instead of focusing too much on the actual lecture.