In the note-taking process you must decide what parts of notes should be plain text, written in your regular handwriting, and which should receive the von Restorff effect (isolation effect), discussed in Chapter 1. Here are some simple ways to visualize your note.

Use a container—draw a box and fill it with text. Or write some text and draw a box around it.

Add a symbol or icon—Symbols/icons are often quicker to draw than to write words and work well as bullets for key points or replacements for words. I use a series of concentric circles to represent “goal,” and can quickly draw a triangle inside a rectangle to represent “email” or “letter.”

Change the shape—Think of letters as images. You can then draw letters of a word using a basic shape (like a triangle or circle).

Draw a face or person—We are naturally drawn to people, both faces and bodies.

Replace text with an image—While symbols are meant to replace words (email icon vs “e-mail” or “message” or “letter”), images can be used to illustrate a concept.

Highlight with color—Adda color to text by highlighting or using a different color (orange instead of black) to grab attention.

Change “fonts” and sizes—change the size of your handwritten text or the style of text to emphasize whatever you’ve written. Writing larger or smaller is another way to add emphasis.

Look At My Notes