Ten principles for taking notes that actually help you learn, think, and remember

It should come as no surprise that we do a lot of reading, researching, studying, and training at FS. We’re constantly learning new things: researching topics for books or blog articles, experimenting with new tools and techniques, and generally working to hone the knowledge and skills that make us better at what we do. And we’re able to risk jumping into new things (like starting a publishing company) because sometimes the best way to learn is by doing. So we’ve learned the meta-skill of knowing what helps us learn effectively.

While we all have our own approaches, one thing that is foundational to our work at FS is note-taking. When you’re learning something new—for us it might be a better way to write article metadata descriptions or figuring out how statistical distributions work—taking notes is beneficial in two ways. First, it means you have a record of what you learn to revise or consult later on. Memory mastery comes from repeated exposure to the same material. Second, the mere act of writing knowledge down reveals the gaps in your understanding and requires active engagement with the material, making you more likely to remember it.