But there are rules and there are basic steps you can take that might be of use.

Keep it short and clear.

Or else, listen more and write less. Remember, you’re taking notes, not writing a book! You are not a stenographer and you’re not supposed to write down every single word your teacher says. Take only the important points from the lecture.

Create note-journeys.

There’s a start, a middle and an end to everything and that’s applied to a teacher’s lesson as well. Create note-journeys, from point A to point B to point C and find the important “linking-factor” that binds each point together. It will make it much easier for you to remember what has been said about the subject, at a crucial time when you will have to revisit your notes.

Trade notes with fellow students.

Taking notes is about capturing the essence of the lecture. But what you might’ve interpreted as important might not be the case for someone else. Exchanging notes with your fellow students will enable you and them to identify points you’ve might missed or worse, misunderstood.

Use mind mapping techniques

Probably you heard about such an approach. When it comes to taking notes, what we usually do is that we mix everything together and as a result, it becomes hard to understand what the main point of the lecture was. Mind mapping technique will help you to be concise in your writing by writing only NECESSARY ideas. After the class, you can expand it by adding new information from the books or other classes that you have and tada! – you have great notes to rely on.

Avoid using phones or laptops for making notes Multiple studies have shown that when we are using a pen to write down something, we are better at remembering it afterward.

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1. No phones. I have noticed that when I have a phone near me, I usually tend to check it every 10 mins or so – and as soon as I check it, I end up spending around 20 mins. That’s not good since you lose your focus from the subject, therefore making it difficult to come back to the place that you paused from in your studies. Therefore, hide your phone away from the studying area. I usually hide it in my bag, turn off the WiFi and have a timer set on my watch so that I can only check it again at a certain time.

2. Do not write down the whole chapter in your notes. Instead, select the key- words that explain the theory. It will not only save you time in terms of memorizing the information, but it will also help you remember the information for a long time. I still remember theories that I studied during my bachelor only because the keywords sort of stuck in my head.

3. Use different colours when making notes. We have different types of memories – some people are good at listening to something and remember it better than they do when reading from notes. Some people have a strong visual memory, therefore, using pencils of different colors can increase your chances of not forgetting the information during the exam as you can simply picture it in your mind.

4. Take breaks! I cannot stress this enough – our brain needs time to rest in order to process new information. Although, there are people who strongly believe that our brain is a machine and it can work non-stop – remind yourself of the last time you felt so exhausted that at some point your brain was rejecting any new information it was receiving. Breaks are good – remember it.

5. Change your locations of studying if you have a chance. Somehow, I noticed that by changing places of studying, it sort of encourages me to study more and for longer periods of time. Plus, you also discover new places and might actually get a chance to meet someone new.

6. Try to listen to music while studying. It usually depends on people of course, however, I found it useful to listen to music while studying. There are millions of playlists that you can find on YouTube – I always say, you’ll never know until you try. You are probably the person who cannot imagine studying with music on – but imagine if studying with music could, actually, benefit you?

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Charging backpack.

At some point during your campus life, your laptop, your phone or any other tech you are carrying with you has ran out of battery. And for some reason, it always happens when you need it the most! Needless to worry about that though, when you have a back pack that works for you, with you, whilst you are switching classes or just taking notes! A charging backpack is a real solution provider! Choose yours, here: https://bit.ly/2BDGDGP

WiFi coffee maker

Putting in an all-nighter? Are you on your way back to your room and you are in desperate need of coffee right then and there? WiFi coffee makers let you control your pot from your smartphone and, on top of that, you can decide the ideal quantity and temperature of you drink, with just a voice command!  Check it out, here: http://behmor.com/new/

Noise cancelling headphones.

A useful, valuable and easy solution to concentrate on your studies and avoid all distractions possible! We’re fully on board with Amazon’s choice here: https://amzn.to/2ChpDGG

External hard drive disc

We cannot stress this point enough. Backup, backup, backup! It’s just sensible student policy to ensure that everything you create, write, think is duplicated so that’s there if you need it. You never know, but you can save yourself the added stress. “Tech Radar” always provides useful insight on the best options available: https://bit.ly/2txXk1e

A pocket photo printer

Sometimes, having your pictures on your phone is just not enough. You need them at a place where you can see them, right there in front of you early in the morning, to brighten up your mood! And that’s why photo printers will never feel out of place-out of time! Polaroid is the option to go with: https://amzn.to/2VNASOd

Evernote Moleskine smart notebook

When digital meets printing, wonders can be made! And when you put together a fancy Moleskine notebook and the best digital notebook app out there, Evernote, you get a must-have solution! With Evernote Moleskine smart notebook, all you have to do is just write down your notes as you would normally do and Evernote’s page camera will do all the ‘digital translation’, by changing handwriting to digital! You can them organize them according to preference (there is a vast amount of grouping options when downloading the Evernote app). Get it, here: https://amzn.to/2EPMERw

What’s your favorite gadget you can’t do without?

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