The Cornell Note Taking Method - boring but effective

The Cornell Note Taking Method was something I discovered about 10 years ago and promptly ignored it. It sounded boring, corporate, academic and not the dynamic note taking method I thought I needed. Then I tried it one day and I’ve never looked back.

Here’s a video, or read on for more.

For a history of the method and a deeper dive by the very people who created the Cornell Note Taking Method, this article is worth a read.

The Basic Idea behind the method

The basic idea is that you separate out actions, ideas, specific points and reflections from the main bulk of the content. Let’s say you use it during a meeting at work.

The main bulk of the meeting content, such as decisions, comments, discussions are documented and scribed, then actions and ideas are separated on the page.

The way to do this is to carve off a third of the page of paper for these actions, ideas, reflections etc. In the main two thirds of the page are the main notes. This is the Cornell Note Taking Method in a nutshell.

Why The Cornell Note Taking Method works for me

It works because you don’t have your ideas, actions and reflections in the main bulk of the notes; they are in the carved off section of the page. They can be easily seen, actioned and separated from the main bulk.

The Cornell Note Taking Method works for me because it gives me clarity and visibility between main notes and things that are interesting to me. I use it for meetings, study notes, conference notes and more.

I can quickly see the main elements I found interesting or need some further action without having to read through the main bulk. For more on the “legend” system I use check out this article on how to take better notes.