This article includes useful note taking techniques, a must have skill that every one of us needs to master.

Whether you are an employee, student, manager, or the boss, you have and will be in situations where you need to jot down notes. Here are some tips that will help you take better notes during meetings:

• Prepare yourself for the meeting. Read the pre-meeting material provided so that you can predict the structure of the meeting. This will help you prepare your mind on how to structure your notes

• Sit as near to the source as possible. Forget about sitting at the back. Sitting at the back has a lot of disadvantages such as easily being distracted by people sitting in front of you. Distractions will hinder your understanding and note taking process.

• Ensure you give a lot of attention to listening. It is very important to jot down notes but make sure that you understand the concept before you go ahead and start writing down notes.

• Be as concise as possible. Writing down long sentences will slow you down and draw your attention away for a long period of time. You might then loose some important information delivered by the speaker.

It pays to be early for an important meeting or conference. There are several advantages of being early and this post is going to highlight 3 of them. Make sure that next time you will be early to benefit from the advantages listed below.

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“The television, that insidious beast, that Medusa which freezes a billion people to stone every night, staring fixedly, that Siren which called and sang and promised so much and gave, after all, so little.”
-Ray Bradbury

How many hours a day do you spend watching television? How many times did you watch yet another reality TV show or a re-run of some drama series?

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“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”
-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

How many times have you said I don’t have enough time? Be honest to yourself. How often have you failed to complete a task, meet a deadline, and keep a promise? Simple promises such as to meet a person, or take out your children for a family day out. Although these promises are simple they are of utmost importance.

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