A note-taking method is the structure you use when you write information down: how you divide the page, what you keep and what you skip, and whether you connect your notes to each other.
Most people have already figured out how to take notes. What they have not figured out is how to come back to them. Notes pile up, and you know the sentence you are looking for is somewhere, but you cannot tell where. That is why a note-taking method is really not a writing method but a finding method.
Below are four methods. For each one we explain when it works, how to apply it and what it looks like in Pumpynotes.
Short answer: which note-taking method fits you?
Your goal picks the method, not your subject. If you need to memorize something, Cornell fits. If ideas build up over time and connect to each other, Zettelkasten. If the structure of the topic is known in advance, the outline method. If you need to write at the speed of speech, the bullet method.
The four are not rivals. The same person can use Cornell while studying and the bullet method in a meeting.
First ask: what is this note for?
This is the question to answer before you choose a method. In a single day you take notes for three different goals, and the three do not ask for the same structure.
- To remember: You will need this information again in an exam, a presentation or a meeting. Rereading does not help you remember; the questions you write into the note do.
- To understand: You are trying to digest something you read or heard. What does the work here is not the note but deciding what to keep and what to leave out.
- To find: You are not taking the note for today but so you can find it six months from now when you need it. The note has to be searchable and connected.
If you choose a method without knowing your goal, you end up collecting well-kept notes that never get opened again. Keep this question in mind as you read the methods below; you will be able to tell which one fits your goal.
The Cornell method: when you need to remember
The Cornell method splits the page into three parts: you write your notes during the lecture in a wide area on the right, you add keywords and questions later in a narrow column on the left, and you write a summary of a few sentences at the bottom.
What makes the method work is not the notes on the right but the column on the left. After the lecture you go back to your notes, ask "which question does this paragraph answer?" and write that question in the left column. The note turns into a test sheet you can quiz yourself with.
How to apply it: Set the note up in three parts. While listening, fill in only the wide section on the right. Come back the same day, ideally within a few hours, and write the questions in the left column and the summary at the bottom. When you review, you cover the right side and look only at the questions, so instead of just rereading the note, you can test yourself.
In Pumpynotes you can turn the columns on paper into sections stacked inside a single note: write your lecture notes inside a Toggle block, then add "Questions" and "Summary" headings below it. When you review, you collapse the toggle and look only at the questions. If you do not want to build the same skeleton by hand every time, you can prepare the empty version once and use it like a template with Duplicate.
Zettelkasten: when ideas build up over time
Zettelkasten is the method of keeping small, single-idea notes instead of one big document and linking them to each other. Each note covers one thought and makes sense on its own. The value builds up not inside the notes but in the connections between them.
Here is how it differs from folders: a folder asks you to put a note in one single place. A link connects the same note to as many topics as it touches. When you look for an idea six months later, you reach it from whichever linked note you happen to remember.
How to apply it: Do not write long notes. Make each note one idea, and let its title state that idea like a sentence. When you write a new note, stop and ask: which of my earlier notes is this related to? If you make the link right then, months later the note can come back to you together with the cluster it belongs to, not on its own.
In Pumpynotes you make the link while you write: type @ inside a note and search for another note's name, and that note is added to the text as a link. This is how you can connect your single-idea notes. We also explain how to make your notes part of a bigger system in our digital second brain guide.
The outline method: when the structure is known
The outline method means writing information as headings and sub-points in an indented hierarchy. The main topic sits at the top, subtopics below it, and details below those.
This method works very well when you know the structure of the topic in advance and slows you down when you do not. If you have to keep asking "which heading does this point go under?" while listening, you end up doing both the writing and the listening halfway.
How to apply it: Set up the headings in advance if you can. For a meeting, the agenda items become your headings; for a book, the chapter titles. While listening, you only add points under the right heading, so the note is already organized the moment the meeting ends.
In Pumpynotes you build the layers with Heading 2 and Heading 3 blocks and write the details as a Bullet List; you can move a point under the one above it with Indent. If the note gets too long, you can open a Sub-page for a section and write that section there; a link to that page stays in the note.
The bullet method: when you need speed
The bullet method is the simplest one: you write what you hear as short bullets, without worrying about structure. The goal is to capture, not to organize.
That is also its weak spot. When the meeting ends you are left with thirty bullets, and it is not clear which is a decision and which is an idea. That is why the bullet method is not used on its own but together with a short sorting step.
How to apply it: During the conversation, just write; do not organize. As soon as the meeting ends, take five minutes and sort the bullets into three groups: decision, task, information. You tie the tasks to a date that same day, so the work that came out of the meeting does not stay stuck in the note.
In Pumpynotes you can do this sorting inside the note: you gather the tasks in a To-Do List block and tick each box as the work gets done. When you link the note to the meeting's calendar event, you find the note right there when you open the event.
Which one should you choose?
Match it to your goal:
- If you are preparing for an exam or a presentation · Cornell. Note-taking and review in a single method.
- If you will work on a topic for months · Zettelkasten. A note that seems meaningless today gains value six months later when it connects to another one.
- If the agenda is known in advance · Outline. With the headings ready, writing gets easier.
- If you need to write at the speed of speech · The bullet method, followed by five minutes of sorting.
- If you cannot decide · You can start with the bullet method. It is the method with the fewest rules; when you come back to the note, you will already see which structure it wants.
Three rules that work whatever method you use
The methods differ, but after a while they all get stuck in the same place: you cannot find the note. Three habits solve this, and none of them depends on the method.
1. Write titles that say something. Twelve notes titled "Meeting notes" cannot be told apart. "Decision to update the price list in September" shows up in search six months later. In Pumpynotes, note search looks at titles and tags, not content; that is why a title should say what the note says, not what it is about.
2. Use tags for topics, not dates. The app already keeps track of dates. A tag should say which piece of work the note belongs to. In Pumpynotes you tag a note with Add tag; then, when you pick that tag from the Tag filter at the top of the notes page, all the notes on the same topic come up together.
3. Link your notes to each other. When you write a new note, you can take a minute to link it to the related older note with @. Links work in one direction; if you also want to see the new note when you open the old one, add a link to the new note inside the old one too. That way your notes stop being an archive and become a network of notes that connect to each other.
You can read how notes come together with your calendar and budget in our personal productivity system guide, and how structure works inside a note in our block editor and linked pages article.
Pumpynotes is free. Bring your notes, calendar and budget together in one workspace and keep everything on your mind in a single place.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best note-taking method?
There is no single best method; it depends on your goal. If you need to memorize, Cornell fits; if you are building up ideas over the long term, Zettelkasten; if you are in a meeting with a set agenda, the outline; if you need speed, the bullet method. It is normal for the same person to use two different methods in a day.
Can the Cornell method be used digitally?
Yes. You just turn the columns on paper into sections stacked inside the note: your lecture notes first, the questions below them, the summary at the very bottom. If you put the notes inside a block that opens and closes, you can hide them while reviewing and look only at the questions; that is the digital version of covering the right side of the page.
Is Zettelkasten too complicated?
The method itself comes down to two rules: one note, one idea, and link the new note to an older one. It usually looks complicated because of numbering systems and folder setups; those are not a required part of the method. You can start with the two rules and add the rest as the need arises.
Is handwriting or typing better for taking notes?
If your goal is to remember, handwriting has an advantage, because writing slowly forces you to summarize what you hear. If your goal is to find, typing is far ahead: notes are searchable (Ctrl+K), taggable and can be linked to other notes. Keeping Cornell on paper and Zettelkasten digital is a sensible split.
How should I take meeting notes?
During the meeting, just capture with the bullet method; do not try to organize. As soon as the meeting ends, sort the bullets into decisions, tasks and information. Tie the tasks to a date the same day; work that stays in a note does not get done.
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