Taking Notes And The Secret To High Performance
There are people who don’t. They don’t write anything down. It is probably because they believe they will remember or they don’t value the advice. Are you taking notes?
First, there is the school of thought that taking notes is old school. That the pen and tablet are outdated. Typing or using the keypad on your smartphone is better in their opinion.
The concept is that digital is better. It shares easier and is always handy. The device rarely gets any bigger or thicker. Certainly, those are a few pros.
On the other hand, you may wonder if the cognitive stimulation is the same. Many people say that when they write something down (putting pen to paper) their retention improves. Is it true?
Taking Notes
Research published in 2014 indicate favorable outcomes for those who choose to use the pen and paper.
“The studies we report here show that laptop use can negatively affect performance on educational assessments, even—or perhaps especially—when the computer is used for its intended function of easier note taking.” (Mueller, Oppenheimer, The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking, Psychological Science, April 23, 2014)
Are you taking notes? Have you ever considered what you may be missing or forgetting from a conversation?
Still others argue that when they are taking notes, they are missing more of the conversation. They imply that when they are thinking about what they are writing they are not listening to the flow of the conversation.
They may suggest, no notes at all.
If this is you, you may enjoy the research around the concept that note taking is telling our brain to purposefully forget. Perhaps that depends on your purpose. Write to remember or write to forget.
Personally, I suggest notes and I favor the quickness and ease of putting pen to paper in short snippets.
Cognition may be your secret to higher performance. Notes of any kind matter. I believe they are much better than the alternative of doing nothing.
Think twice about giving up your paper tablet and pen.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
