Tools: OneNote
Let’s dive deep into note taking. One of my absolute favorite topics of conversation since conception. Over the years I’ve used a plethora of systems, both physical and digital. All of which I maintain an irrational emotional connection to:
Fancy agendas with tabs and stickers, like Bando, as well as fancy agendas filled with astrological details like Magic of I.
Modest soft-cover notebooks like Moleskine . Great to throw in a purse.
Not so fancy Five-Star Notebooks used exclusively with felt tipped pens. I still use these as journals and over the course I’ve quarantine I’ve gone through three, 5-subject notebooks.
Premium Barns & Noble agendas. I was partial to the red leather ones.
Apps like EverNote, iPhone Notes, iPhone Tasks, Day One, mobile/desktop Google Docs, OneNote
Handfuls of colorful post-its attached to my wall and computer monitor
A quick anecdote: Years ago, when I was in my very early twenties, striving to find a relevant job in L.A. so I’d no longer have to commute from West L.A. to Newport Beach, I entered into a role as personal assistant for an **Inspirational Speaker.**
It was here where I was responsible for going to the post office thrice weekly to mail out books to #InspoSpeaker’s potential partners and fans, and it’s here where this story becomes relevant: At the end of my time as a P.A., I accidentally mailed my giant, leather-bound, post-it note-filled, Barns & Noble agenda to one of the adoring fans. I was carrying several boxes into the shop and I just oops dropped it into a box where I then promptly forgot about it and sent it off.
I think about this all the time.
What did the recipient think when she opened up that box? What a weirdly intimate, cracker-jack surprise. It distresses me to this day and therefor ended up being a bit of a life lesson. Although it certainly didn't stop me from using a physical note system. I am, however, a bit crazed about triple checking packages now. I won’t even seal a “thank you note” without reading it 6 times, just in case. In case of what? I don’t know. But it could happen.
And now, here I am in my thirties and I’ve gone completely digital. The safest mode of all.
So which of the digital note systems is the best? This whole blog is here to say that, hands down, OneNote is king.
Here’s why:
It’s a digital filing system. You start with the main Notebook, i.e. the name of your company or the company you’re working for. Next, you have tabs.
For my last role, I used 1 colorful tab for every topic:
First came my Master To Do List, then PR, Digital, Exec Team, Corporate, Photographers, Influencers, Sales, Catering, Restaurant, Bar, Revenue, Budgets, Expenses, Social Media, 2021 Pivots, Partner X, Partner Y, Halloween Weekend, Thanksgiving Dinner, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Decor, Christmas Main Event, etc.
This way I had a tab with collected notes from every conversation I’d ever had and could easily refer back to them if someone asked me a question.
It also made reoccurring meetings much more efficient.
For Cross Marcom+, I go a step deeper and use the second row of dividers underneath each colorful tab.
This allows me to have a Pink tab for Clients, Yellow for Web, Orange for Social, Red for my Master To Do List, Blue for my Future Goals, Purple for Parners etc.
Underneath CLIENTS, I the have a table for each client, and the page is filled with corresponding information.
And it gives each topic a bit of privacy in it’s silo.
Then, within my inbox is a similar system to mirror this one, to allow me to keep track of communication without redundancy.
The best part, each page has the following capabilities:
Boxes to check when tasks are completed.
Copy & pasting images.
I’d often screenshot relevant slides from presentations instead of trying to rewrite them.
If I needed to purchase something I could keep on hand the exact image of what was being recommended. And then could later show others exactly what I’d ordered.
It also allows you write anywhere on the page, which means I could have a main list of notes, and then a side list of questions I needed answers to.
Colors, highlighting, drawing is all at your fingertips.
You can Gold Star anything important.
You can change the paper style.
Password protected sketchy docs.
The possibilities feel endless.
OneNote also allows users to share notebooks with others, which means my coordinator would have a page of Social Media Goals that we could refer to each week, no matter if we were separate or together. And now that I’m pondering the matter, I believe that Hay and I will soon have a shared Notebook with Family Goals and To Dos… hmmm..
What I like most about OneNote, is that I can see everything all at once.
I took this quiz during the depths of quarantine to find out What Type of Clutterbug I was, (honestly it’s worth taking). Turns out I’m a butterfly, which means I like to see all of my things. I need to see my shoes, my clothes, my books, my art supplies, my kitchen tools, my pantry and fridge items…and my notes. Butterflies have a tendency to pile because they want all their items in eyesight, not behind closed doors. Clear plastic bins are encouraged.
OneNote works really well for me because I can see everything and access it easily. With physical notebooks, once I turn the page, that previous page becomes obsolete. I have to take additional time to consolidate.
The other great trick for note taking, regardless of what system you’re using:
At the end of the work day, take a moment to write down your priorities for the following day. It’s incredibly efficient and prevents you from wasting time the next morning trying to discern where you left off and which are the most important items to complete first. Often times, that period of assessment takes up way too much of my morning.
This way, I can just jump right in. i.e this morning I made coffee, cleaned the kitchen, and then immediately jumped on my computer to write this blog post. And afterwards, post on social, go for a run, wrap all the Christmas presents, and paint Christmas cards for the fam. I don’t waste additional time pondering and reconsidering because I already know what my priorities are.
Feeling inspired and want to keep the motivation flowing? Here are a few efficiency masters to follow:
The ultimate scheduler and morning routine master. Her venture, Self Care Society, discusses a plethora of topics including daily affirmations, efficiency, and morning routines, as a means of Self Care.
and his book, Essentialism - The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.
Jane Ryan / Ashley Olsen
from New York Minute. Honestly I’ve spent some time meditating on her vibes. VHS and DVD.