BEST NOTE TAKING METHOD from a 4.0 Student 

"people escape studying by doing a lot of unnecessary tasks just to feel good" that's so me

Summary: 1. Keep it all in one place. 2. Paper vs. Digital. Choose it depending on the class. 3. Space it out so that you can annotate them later. 4. Spiral notebooks and use a highlighter after. 5. Write down notes from the textbook and then annotate with what the professor says that is important. 6. Colour code to show your understanding. 7. Don't stress about your notes if they are not pretty. 8. Print out power points instead of writing down everything. 9. Rewrite your notes if you see a point and if you don't understand. 10. Star certain things that you need to go over and if you don't understand. 11. Write down things that are important. 12. Don't have pretty notes if they are not efficient. 13. Highlight significant things like formulas. 14. Engage with your notes. 15. Adjust to different classes.

We're not really lazy we're just unmotivated.

"Lets be honest, people love seeing aesthetic notes that are all pretty and colorful, but lets be honest, we don't have time for that" me: FINALLY a youtuber that gets it

“I pretty much understood that I had no fricken idea what any of this was. So I just highlighted it to make it look pretty.” That line just made my day.

1. Keep notes in one spot (notebook or binder or digital for different classes) 2. Make notes more spaced out so that you can add more in later. 3. Spiral notebooks are easy to keep together 4. Write down notes from the textbook before class then annotate during class 5. Color code: green for things you understand, yellow for not sure and pink for definitely need more info 6. Don't stress about your notes if they are not pretty. The purpose is to learn the materials 7. Mix and match handwritten and powerpoint notes 8. Rewrite your notes if needed. Prioritize practicing over notes for certain classes 9. Vocab - square, formula - star, copy the textbook formatting, add variety to the notes (e.g. arrow). Use one color pen. Then later go back to review twice first, and highlight in the last revision.

i rewrite my notes cause i write almost everything down in lecture because it helps me and then i go through and take out what wasn’t necessary. i really find that i remember everything better when i rewrite them

"people escape studying by doing a lot of unnecessary tasks just to feel good" me:- :o that's so relatable!!!

I read the textbook and take pretty notes for my biology class, which takes up a lot of time. So, recently I just started to try and fill in the lecture notes before class based on the textbook...yup, did not help me at all. I get nothing out of my professor's lectures. I ended up getting a 68% on the quiz after trying that method and it did not help. I'm going back to reading the textbook and taking notes on that. My point is, do not feel pressured to not read the textbook and take notes on it just because no one in the class is reading the textbook. If the textbook helps you more than the actual professor, do that.

Okay your eyes are so pretty! My note taking process is: 1. Read and take notes on the textbook before class, leaving a small column on the right side of the page where I can add lecture notes. If I have a question or need to insert a diagram, I'll make a little note in a cloud like/squiggly box so it stands out and I wont overlook it or forget about it later. 2. Use the blank column to add lecture notes. 3. Review, highlighting key terms. 4. Once I feel like I understand fairly well, I make a rough outline of my notes with main topics and vocab words. Then I use this outline to try to rewrite my notes without looking at my original notes. It becomes super obvious where my knowledge is lacking. 5. Review notes, make flashcards, study guides, etc. for the parts I struggled with on part 4.

😮 I’m shook, this makeup look. Your hair 💕🥰

Every time you said “that’s alright, that’s Totally Okay.” It Fr calmed me down sm

I think I’ve spent more time watching these note taking videos than actually taking notes

this advice was so real and the most accurate! i'm starting college for the first time in a week and I definitely feel better after hearing your tips!

i'm starting college (freshman!) this year and i am FREAKING out about how i am supposed to take notes. i came across your video a while back and now that i am watching it you have literally SAVED my life. i wish i would have seen this when i started taking harder classes in high school!! you have helped me SOOOO much, i legit took your studying advice to heart lol, thank you so much!

I looooove these college hacks your doing! I made a calendar like you did during college with due dates, when I can study, and other things I have to do! Can you do a video on what you majored in?

Love how honest and realistic you are! I’m a senior in high school but this is my second year of college classes and I’m trying to boost my gpa so this is really helpful! Thank youu😇

Omg I am NOT surprised that you were a 4.0 college student😂 that is extremely impressive!

This is the absolutely best video regarding note taking. I hadn't heard about most of the tips you talked about, and I'll definitely try to apply all of them this semester. Thank you!!

Do more of your College hacks please! It has helped me a hundredfold ❤️

4.0 student as well great noting tips used them all at one point or another I’ve found what works for me. On top of note taking if you’re someone like me I sometimes can’t focus in class maybe a bad night sleep etc or any early morning class record the lecture. I’ll write down notes that I may have missed or a sentence I didn’t catch from professor. Helped me immensely in my undergrad.

I love that you’re so genuine. Thanks for the tips!! I’m in my third year of college and am starting to take more difficult classes so this will definitely help me up my note taking game.

You’re a life saver with these college tips! Keep em coming♥️

I'm taking online classes and am guilty of the 'doing unneeded things to feel better'. I recently decided to work on studying effectively instead of just re-reading some stuff and I instantly started understanding things better. A big problem people have is looking at something that's hard and not trying to learn it further. If I don't understand something in math, I too want to throw it against the wall, but it's so much more rewarding to explain it to yourself by searching it up, using apps & asking others in the class. Don't just write the notes, understand what you're writing. Don't fully understand? Go deeper into it on another page. If you have the luxury of having an iPad Pro: Use Goodnotes. Let's you write notes, move around text and add pages in between if you need to understand something better. Doing the deepdive first is saving so much time compared to looking at the same problem and re-writing the same notes from the book that you didn't understand. What a realtalk! Also, I can't stop looking at your nails. They are like the perfect length with the perfect color!

this feels like my older sibling calling me out for my pretty note taking style and i really needed it, thank you 🥺♥️

The way I learned how to write notes in high school was the Cornell way. I still have used this method throughout college and have found that it’s the only way I can retain information. This method focuses on main ideas and condensing phrases and sentences. Color coding helps with important and remembering them! I tried writing notes from the text the day before like You mentioned but I never felt like it helped lol.

i love the point you made about figuring out what your classes expect of you and adjusting accordingly. far too often people will try to push a one size fits all note taking approach when that simply isnt the case.

Great video Olena!!💕 I’m a big fan, keep up the good work!!💗🔥

Thanks so much for this video! I am 40 and starting a degree online. I've been out of school for 20yrs and things have changed considerably since then lol. I started making "pretty" notes and found I spent so much time doing that, I was not grasping the information. Love love love your real deal rundown on this. I will definitely be doing things this way moving forward.

I’m going into my third year of college and I’m so freaking thankful for coming across your video and your channel!!! You truly gave me honest advice and I loved your eye contact! ❤️

Great video! I felt relieved afterwards especially when you said the note-taking method depends on the class. I feel the same. Also the paper vs digital is a great point to note. Thanks a lot!

Loving these types of videos, making me so motivated for the new semester! Thank you ❤️❤️

This has been the most helpful video ive found on notes! Thank you!

LOVING this series!!💕

this is probably the best note taking video i've watched

I know it's been almost a year since you released this but I just wanted to say: thank you so much for this advice! I'm so glad you weren't being generic and saying "re-write your notes by hand" etc. things that everyone says in study-type videos. I'm definitely gonna implement these in school :)

Thank you for actually giving good, useful advice. I've seen so many videos on note taking and yours is by far one of the best I'vd watched. Your tips are so real and will actually help us

I love your no bs approach to taking notes! lol definitely put things into perspective for me. I realized I waste a lot of time trying to structure my notes a certain way when it really doesn’t matter. Mix and match girrrrl

I love how down to earth you are thanks so much for this I love it

Depending on the math class, taking the notes on graph paper helps me space things out easily and be able to graph problems. This is especially useful for when you're doing functions and stuff like that

This is so helpful! I really needed to look at this, I’m in a early college program. Getting out of the high school mindset helps so much, I am very grateful for this video!! Thank youuu

I don’t have kids yet, but I hope this video will still exist when I do lol Some of my best exam scores were made when I studied like this. However, the key thing is being able to ADAPT; adapt to the subject at hand and the professor’s teaching style, then incorporating that into your preferred learning method. The idea of using plain black/blue ink as the foundation of your notes, then building on it with color as you review and understand more of it is in a way mirroring your own brain’s grasp on a new topic. Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for being down to earth and to the point. A lot of how to take notes are the same cliche tips but this has a lot of useful information I will be using this school year

Thank you! Girl.. you are so right.. trying to make notes pretty is extra stress for me. your tips I know will help me. I’m currently 3.5 I need that 4.0. Subscribed 😁

Thank you so much for sharing these tips! They're really helpful!

Thanks a ton for your input, I'm heading back to college after being out 10 years and getting geared up as best as possible and this helped get me back on track to document lectures as efficiently as possible.

I’ve watched so many note taking videos and this was the best one I’ve seen!

I used to be OBSESSED with pretty note taking, and I know it’s a waste of time but I still do it. I really needed someone to tell me this. Thank you so much!!!!

Yassss hunnnay!!!!

Thank you so much for this video! I’m starting college in a few weeks and your study tips are great!!

Thanks so much for this! It's nice to see something more realistic. From a visual learner though, something aesthetically pleasing or more colorful can aid in my memory. But when people focus solely on aesthetics, it drives me nuts because 1.not everyone has the time 2.not everyone is a visual learner 3.even visual learners require more than just aesthetically pleasing notes 4.it is simply lacking, in summary. Super helpful, thank you!!

This was so, so helpful. It's good to see someone who really cares about notes being practical and useful, rather than all these beauty study gurus who make their notes beautiful but almost useless to study from.

This is literally the only video I was looking for. I wanted to have those pretty pretty notes but can't really seem to get more efficient from it and rather spend more useless time from trying to do it. Damn really spoke what I needed to hear. Thank you so much Didn't regret entering this channel 💜 love ya😊

I agree with everything u said. Especially that the process of taking notes is different for every class. Like science I take notes from the textbook in black pen. Then when my teacher is going over the chapter, I write what I missed and charts they draw on the board in pencil or a colored pen. I also highlight the main things the teacher talks about.

I really wish a new this in high school! So helpful!!💓

Wow. You're so honest about the whole thing! Thank you! ❤️

I love your tips and thank you so much. I have to say that everyone has their own ways and methods on taking notes. I agree that people just need to keep exploring till they find what suits best for themselves on notes taking and studying. ✨✨😊

The most beneficial note taking video I’ve watched, thank you so much.

Thanks for the video. I am starting back to school pursuing an online degree and wasn't good at college the first time I went. I am the person who wants to have very nice looking notes but it is very time consuming. I really appreciated the tip about the different colored highlighter for things that are understood and things that are not. Once again thanks for taking the time to help me out.

Excellent tips! Thank you for getting to the point quickly, unlike hundreds of study videos I've noticed online. These tips are going to be great for my child in high school. She will take the info from you way better than I could have ever said it without sounding like I'm lecturing. Liked and subscribed, thank you!!!

I'm not in college myself, but your videos have helped me so much. Thank you!

Your advice is soo helpful, I'm actually going to use your tips!!! I have a similar method, but I've tried doing pretty notes to see if it will help me but it didn't.

thanks for mentioning the highlighting method. I have bad handwriting and always thought if I “cleaned up” my notes a bit, that when they’re prettier, it will be easier for me. that’s why my main goal was to rewrite all the notes I put down but in color and with boxes and such... however, I have a medical condition that affects my joints and that’s not realistic. that would drain me very much. still wish my handwriting was neater, but I will likely have a note taker in college as an accommodation and so hopefully it will be easier for me to organize everything.

I'm going back to college after taking two years off so this is so helpful considering that I was the worst at taking notes so thanks so much for this!

Best advice ever given for notes. It's not BS this video is truly valuable

Great tips! I needed this! Also you look BOMB in this, so please do a GRWM or tutorial with this look. Thank you!!

I graduated this year and your college calendar hack was the best thing that happened to me. I have a 3.8 and i wish you had made this video a year early, i could have cracked those 4.0s lmao. Love you 💕

an honest video, Thankyou Olena!!

The highlighter tip for understanding things helped me so much thx sm I got the highest score in my grade thanks to this ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Love the honesty and real vibes ur giving

I love color coded notes!💚❤️🧡💙💜

Thanks for the video keep being amazing!! ❤❤

Omg this video is so helpful! Thank you so much😊❤️

i feel like this is the most realistic note taking video there is, ty

Helpful and realest video ive seen so far

Thank you so much for this video!! So gonna start doing this 😊 its really helpful!

Omg!! Thank you for the tips!! 😍

I think that taking time to make your notes neat and some what pretty makes the whole study process more fun. For me it makes me want to to study and look forward to studying

Active learning is MUCH more efficient than re-reading and rewriting notes, for instance, things like a mindmap. I can relate to you soo much!!

The multi-colored thing hurts my head. It's so hard for me to concentrate with that much color. Thank you for keeping it real!

My note takin processs is at the begenning of th chapter go in the text book and for every paragraph or page summarize it In the middle of the unit I would keep studying the notes and add things the teachers said At the end of the chapter I would take it out, do the practice problems and mini tests in the text book and underline important stuff

FINALLY a guide on how to make effective notes and not just making them pretty. THANK YOU ❤️

i love how you kept it real in the beginning

I'm glad you mentioned keeping notes in one place whether it's digital or paper! I am more of a digital note taker unless the class requires math of course.

The best take notes guide i've seen!

Finally some real and practical advice that doesn't involve extreme calligraphy skills and a room full of colorful stationery... Also your method is already similar to mine, but upgraded! Thanks!

Thank you so much this is actually so freaking efficient and helpful for me!!

I'm not really used to study, but I'm happy that now that I'm starting e found this video because it's basically what I started doing!!

Hands down the best realistic and helpful note taking video I have ever watched 👐👏🌹

Wow thank you so much!! This helped me like crazy!

Thank you! I did not think in highlighting in orden of understanding!

okay wait!!!! i’m definitely gonna start taking notes from the textbook the night before a lecture now!!

why do i feel like my mom has caught me writing notes and she's now reprimanding me for doing that

This was very helpful! THANKYOU!!!

I needed this!!!

Thank you so much for this! 💯💕

loved this tysm! this was sooo helpful

The thing about making cute notes or "spacing them out" is usually, the people that do make their notes in all types of elaborate ways, get interested for about 30 mins, complete the notes, and then never study them. Believe me, your shooting yourself on the foot by only taking notes and revising them later, one of the most important life skills aside from "cOlOr CoDiNg" your notes is being able to retain information during a lecture. Unless what your doing is math or your barely breaking into the vocabulary of a subject, you won't really need to use notes all that often, don't follow the hype of everyone with a macbook taking insane notes but not ever digesting a syllable of what the proff actually said.

I do like your highlighting with green, yellow, or red highlighters based on the level of understanding. Although I was taught to not highlight, I believe my teacher was mostly referring to highlighting textbooks. However, she might have referred to notes, as well. I also like that you space out your notes to leave room for extra notes. Although I was also taught to space, it was not enough space to add notes that a professor might suggest.

great video olena