Happy Monday, here are brutal truths about note-taking. You can also read & clap for this on Medium.​

Let’s face it…

Note-taking is supposed to make our lives easier, but it often ends up being just another thing we overthink, procrastinate, or straight-up ignore.

I’ll say the quiet parts about note-taking out loud so you don’t have to:

1. “I’m a meticulous note-taker” is code for “I highlight everything and never look at it again.”

Highlighting can feel productive, but if your entire document is yellow, are you even highlighting anymore?

2. The real reason people switch to a new note-taking app is because their current one makes them feel guilty for neglecting it.

Every time you open the app you’ve been ignoring for months, you’re reminded of your own chaos. Easier to just download the next shiny tool, right?

3. If your notes are too pretty, you probably spent more time formatting than actually learning.

Perfectly spaced headers and rainbow color codes might look great, but they won’t save you when you actually need to recall the content.

4. Your future self will never decipher the shorthand you wrote in a rush.

No matter how obvious it seemed at the time, “TPS report — remind Liam?” won’t make sense three months later.

5. A perfect note is one you never actually need to reference.

The process of writing it down is often the thing that cements it in your memory. Ironically, the better your note, the less likely you are to use it.

6. “I use Obsidian for my notes” often translates to “I set it up once and now just admire the aesthetic of my graph view.”

Knowledge graphs are fun to look at, but let’s be honest — they’re just eye candy for productivity nerds.

7. Writing down everything in a meeting is the fastest way to miss the one thing that actually matters.

Trying to transcribe a meeting word-for-word means you’re too busy typing to pick up on the big picture.

8. The difference between “organized notes” and “a random pile of thoughts” is whether you open them later.

No system, no matter how advanced, will save you if you never actually use it.

9. “I’m going paperless” is the prelude to buying five new notebooks because they “spark joy.”

Minimalism sounds great until you walk past the stationery aisle.

10. Most “master note-taking techniques” are just excuses to avoid starting.

You don’t need a fancy method — you just need to write something down.

11. “I just jot stuff down in my phone” is how ideas get buried in a digital graveyard.

If your Notes app looks like a junk drawer, good luck finding that brilliant idea you had three months ago.

12. Color-coded systems are a procrastination tool disguised as productivity.

No one needs a rainbow spreadsheet to remember to buy eggs.

13. The best note-taking system is the one you actually use.

Stop overthinking it. A scrap of paper, a basic app, a whiteboard — whatever works for you is better than chasing the perfect system.

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If you’ve been overwhelmed by note-taking advice, take comfort in this: everyone’s system is a little messy. Notes aren’t supposed to be perfect — they’re just there to help you think, remember, and create.

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But check out the deal below.

The price will go up at the end of the week.

Merry Christmas.

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Keep going-

Josh / CreateMakeWrite

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