By Sarina Ziv

Whether you’re taking class notes, creating a study doc for a specific subject or are a professional making your own how-to guides — Smartnotes makes it possible to connect those who know something with those who need to know it. Regardless of what type of notes you’re after, note-taking itself is an art that can help us and those who use them to excel.

☀Make Notes that Matter

First, ask yourself how to be sure your notes stand out. Is your course required to graduate? Or is it a niche topic on which it’s difficult to access relevant information? Perhaps the subject super generic, but your notes are organized with a clear summation of the material? It sounds simple, but this point is key → The more your notes matter, the greater their value will be for yourself and all the users needing them. If the subject is general, then make the notes shine in their style and organization. If the notes are specific, be sure to tag those notes with all the relevant keywords when posting them to ensure that users can find them.

☀Note-Taking: Learning via Osmosis

Studies on learning have revealed that actively engaging with the topic by summarizing a subject actually helps the note taker understand and remember the information. Imagine a job that (1) helps you study, (2) earns you passive income and (3) helps others learn too. This means that the better your notes enable you to understand a subject, the more valuable the notes will be to others and ultimately for you as well. While taking notes, focus on organizing them in a way that makes it easier for you to approach and understand the subject as this may be the best indicator that it will help others.

Check out how one Smartnotes user diagrammed a plant and an animal cell, but highlighted the differences between them to make it both easier to understand and remember.

☀Love At First Sight

Notes with clear headers also make them easier to comprehend and memorize! If you aren’t keen on your handwriting, consider downloading free custom fonts to give them an eye grabbing appeal. Clever icons can also work to help add flare and mnemonic devices to your notes. Rather than aiming to create perfect notes, try to focus on easy to read notes with colorful organization schemes. And don’t forget that having fun with your notes can be contagious!

What are some other ways you can make notes stand out and ease learning?