Hack Your Note-Taking With the Morse Code Method

If you do a lot of reading or research in your job, taking notes the old-fashioned way can really slow you down as you're wading through tons of white papers or reams of reports. But here's a hack that's guaranteed to speed things up: an approach called the Morse Code Method.

Ph.D. student Cal Newport developed the method to fine-tune his note-taking in a demanding graduate seminar, but it'll work just as well in the workplace.

The basics:

1. Don't stop reading to jot down or highlight an interesting or important concept. You'll lose critical momentum. "One continuous pass is the fastest, most energy-efficient possible way to get through a reading. It's also the least painful," says Newport.
2. If you come across a sentence that seems to be laying out a big, interesting idea, draw a quick dot next to it in the margin. If you come across an example or explanation that supports the previous big idea, draw a quick dash next to it in the margin. Says Newport, "In the end, your article will be a sequence of dots and dashes (like a Morse Code message!), effectively breaking down the reading into a useful sequence: big idea!, support, support, big idea!, support, support, support..."
3. When you've finished reading, review your dots and dashes and take your notes. For dots you still consider important, paraphrase the main idea in your own words, so you force your brain to process the concept. For each supporting dash you consider important, paraphrase it in a bullet point.
4. Condense your findings by asking, "What is the main question being asked in this article and what's the conclusion the authors point toward?" Record this question and conclusion in your notes. Don't skip this last step, warns Newport, because it's here you'll isolate the big-picture ideas.

Oh, and if you do much of your research online, consider using the Morse Code Method via Sketcher, a useful Firefox add-on.

(image by mrbill via Flickr, CC 2.0)