Get The Most Out of Your Digital Notes

First, get the app. If you haven’t tried digital note taking (no, hand typing notes on your computer doesn’t count), try it out. Thanks to amazingly smart features and the advent of lightweight laptops, tablets and big-screen phones—it’s easier than ever to take notes on-the-go. If you’re a college student, you may be able to get a deal on productivity software that includes a note-taking tool, as well as all the other popular apps you need to make the grade. Of course, we recommend playing around with your new app BEFORE an important note-taking day so you can use it to its maximum potential.

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Remove distractions and stay engaged. There are a lot of ways to waste time online. Using a digital note-taking device like a laptop or tablet makes switching over to things like scrolling Facebook or playing solitaire far too easy if you get bored during class. Do your best to remove these types of distractions. Maximize the window in your note-taking app or program, shut down other apps on your device, or put your device on “do not disturb” to keep notifications from popping up and drawing your attention away from class.

One of the best ways to remove distractions during a class period is to stay engaged. Participate in discussions and ask questions about the material. If you’re uncomfortable raising your hand in class, put your questions in your notes and ask the professor after the lecture or look it up in your textbook when you study.

Use visuals. Sometimes we have to entertain ourselves a little bit to stay engaged with what we’re doing. Don’t hesitate to use colors and pictures to make notes more interesting. Not only will this help with the note-taking process, but it will help to keep them organized and more engaging when you go back to study them later. Try color-coding topics, definitions, and statistics to make them stand out against the rest of your notes. Some digital note-taking features make it easy to seamlessly transition into drawing graphs and figures that can be included off to the side of the rest of your notes.

Be consistent and organized. Have you ever taken notes using more than one medium (e.g., a computer and a paper notebook, or several notebooks), then some of your notes are missing when you go back to study? You’re not alone. Nixing the paper notebook and using an app that you can access across any device makes it easier to stay organized before, during and after note-taking. As for formatting, keep that consistent, too, to cut down on any ambiguity.

Back up and sync. No, the dog did not eat your homework, because you’ve backed up your notes using a cloud-based server built into your favorite note-taking app—or just by using your operating system’s cloud storage. Not only does synching your notes across your devices provide a backup copy of your notes, but it also makes it so you can use different devices. For example, if you usually use a tablet and Bluetooth keyboard to take notes but forget to put your tablet back in your bag, you can take notes using your smartphone and keyboard. When you’re finished, your notes should sync up with your tablet so everything is together again.

Get the most out of your digital note-taking techniques by following the tips outlined above. Pairing those strong notes with good productivity software that’s loaded with other college-friendly apps will make life on and off campus a lot easier. You can find some pretty good deals to help you stay organized without breaking the bank.