I can't emphasize enough the importance of taking notes. Take notes whether you are with clients, friends, coworkers, your boss or you are on the phone. Take notes if you are in a one-on-one meeting or you are just walking down the hall and someone suggests and idea or you agree to a task.
Taking notes increases your retention and shows others that you believe what they are saying is important. It also gives you a method for capturing ideas and tasks that you can review later and add to your task list, project plan or list of great ideas.
One thing that is incredibly unproductive (and really gets under my skin) is when people forget ideas or follow up tasks after a meeting or conversation. You need to be accountable for tracking and managing everything that comes your way. Regardless of whether you are in a meeting, walking down the hall or on the phone you should:
- Immediately write things down. Its best if you can jot it down during the conversation. If you can't, then write it immediately afterward so you will not forget.
- Review your notes as quickly as possible. Follow up and enter any tasks in your to do list or appointments in your calendar.
Read Michael Hyatt's post on Recovering the Lost Art of Note-Taking for reasons why you should take notes and how to do it better.
To ensure that you never forget an idea or task, try carrying a Plain Pocket Moleskine Notebook with you wherever you go, and check out these links on how you can use your Moleskines more effectively:
- How the Moleskine Rocked My World by Omar Shahine is great read on how he uses Moleskines and Microsoft OneNote to get things out of his mind and into his productivity system.
- 21st Century PDA: Moleskine. This blog has links to some great ways to use your Moleskine to keep organized and to never forget an idea or task.
Want to leave a good impression with your clients and colleagues? Leave the Office Depot notepad and spiral binders at home and bring a leather bound portfolio or a large Moleskine notebook to your meetings. Also, toss your Bic pen and use a nice pen such as a MontBlanc or Waterman. (My dad, a woodworker, carved a very nice pen and pencil set for me. I filled the pen with Pilot G2 .7mm Gel ink which glides over the pages of my Moleskine. It looks great and it feels great using it.)
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