gina trapani has been popping up a lot lately in my world. last year, at blogher, i was lucky enough to see her on a panel since her blog, lifehacker.com, had been picked up and made into a book of the same name with wiley publishers. i purchased the book, and do read her blog, but hadn't really been able to dig into the book until now. i was reminded of her in a funny and fabulous interview she did on susie brights audible show, in bed. trapani popped back into mind, and i sprung into action to order her second book, upgrade your life. i figured i couldn't very well upgrade until i had hacked, so figured i had better get down to it and read book number one pronto.
i have already been transformed. from the simple tasks- putting reminders into google or yahoo calendar and having reminders sent to your e-mail or phone (one i could not live without i tell you) to using a camera phone with email capacity to send pics of your wish list shopping items to flickr, she's got ideas that will make a difference.
as someone who takes a lot of notes when on the phone with clients, i was delighted to see a link to an article on the lost art of notetaking by michael hyatt. i was already sold by the title of the blog: working smart, the alternaitve to working hard. so let's see what he says about taking notes.
thanks gina, for the great find!
this article is short, concise, and essential. i breathed such a huge sigh of relief when i read the first item. i often take notes in situations where i know i am going to be taking in a huge amount of information. the act of note-taking helps me to synthesize the experience and to have a way to re-access the information later, should i need it. if i know one thing, it's that the item that seems so pressing that i will never ever forget it when i think of it is certain to be gone the second i turn my attention to something else. this point, about note-taking enhancing one's experience during the meeting or presentation in question is extremely validating.
i especially appreciate his suggestions about how to code notes and how to reference them later. i often take notes but leave it there- it helps me in meetings and classes and sessions, but unless i am using notes to provide a detailed summary for a client, that is often all she wrote. if you find you are in this boat with me, check out hyatt's great suggestions about how to put your notes into action steps after you first write them down- pay attention to points 2 and 3 in the piece.
what a find! i hope you enjoy this short but sweet read.
Do you take notes with your computer, or by paper?
Posted by: Jake | 06 May 2008 at 12:05