making notes is taking too long and i'm already behind!!!
in desperate need of some advice as i have no clue how to be a uni student THIS IS ALL SO CONFUSING SO HERE IS WHAT I DO JUDGE ALL YOU WANT (i'm a first year student doing biochemistry):
my uni provides the slides and uploads recordings of all our lectures. so before a lecture, i don't really do much. i may look through the powerpoint and that's it. during a lecture, i'd annotate the slides with what the lecturer is saying (if it's not on the slide already). then i waddle home and rewatch the lecture (some other day as i seem to be too tired once i get home (commuters gang wya)) and write down anything that i may have missed. this is when i like to go at my own pace and understand everything. if i have any questions i'll write them down on the side and try to find answers to those after the rewatching. then i make notes which. takes. the. bloody. longest. time. these are the notes i will be using to study from hence why i take extra time to make sure theyre neat and organsied. but after having spent 3 hours on making notes for one powerpoint i soon realise i have 12 more lectures to make notes on ((': mind you, im also the biggest procrastinator so this whole system im working with is not the one. IF ANYONE HAS ANYTHING TO SAY PLEASE HELP i tried the internet for tips but im still so lost ): feels like i need someone to tell me what to do step by step, before, during and after a lecture
my uni provides the slides and uploads recordings of all our lectures. so before a lecture, i don't really do much. i may look through the powerpoint and that's it. during a lecture, i'd annotate the slides with what the lecturer is saying (if it's not on the slide already). then i waddle home and rewatch the lecture (some other day as i seem to be too tired once i get home (commuters gang wya)) and write down anything that i may have missed. this is when i like to go at my own pace and understand everything. if i have any questions i'll write them down on the side and try to find answers to those after the rewatching. then i make notes which. takes. the. bloody. longest. time. these are the notes i will be using to study from hence why i take extra time to make sure theyre neat and organsied. but after having spent 3 hours on making notes for one powerpoint i soon realise i have 12 more lectures to make notes on ((': mind you, im also the biggest procrastinator so this whole system im working with is not the one. IF ANYONE HAS ANYTHING TO SAY PLEASE HELP i tried the internet for tips but im still so lost ): feels like i need someone to tell me what to do step by step, before, during and after a lecture
Listen to the lectures on your computer without your headphones connected and use dictation software to transcribe what’s being said?
Original post by ROTL94 3
Listen to the lectures on your computer without your headphones connected and use dictation software to transcribe what’s being said?
i usually rewatch lectures in 1.75 speed so i don't really have much of a problem when it comes to that. it's mainly the actual making notes after a lecture that has been taking up most of my time
i feel like i've never really learnt how to study either so im just doing the same thing i did during a levels (making notes that have everything i need to know for a topic then memorising it for an exam,very bad i know!!)Consider switching to digital note taking, with a laptop.
Original post by CaptainDuckie
Consider switching to digital note taking, with a laptop.
i have an ipad with a keyboard
Original post by pipthesqueak
i have an ipad with a keyboard
Now, I feel like you’re trying to make notes on every single word the lecturer says. Don’t. I guarantee you that half of the things they say is waffle, now if you have a good lecturer, they will verbally tell you what’s going to be on the assessment, what’s expected of you.
If not, you’d need to use some sort of initiative and try to condense and summarise the information with key, important, points. I can’t tell you exactly what to do step by step, it’s something you just have to attempt yourself, really.
Original post by pipthesqueak
in desperate need of some advice as i have no clue how to be a uni student THIS IS ALL SO CONFUSING SO HERE IS WHAT I DO JUDGE ALL YOU WANT (i'm a first year student doing biochemistry):
my uni provides the slides and uploads recordings of all our lectures. so before a lecture, i don't really do much. i may look through the powerpoint and that's it. during a lecture, i'd annotate the slides with what the lecturer is saying (if it's not on the slide already). then i waddle home and rewatch the lecture (some other day as i seem to be too tired once i get home (commuters gang wya)) and write down anything that i may have missed. this is when i like to go at my own pace and understand everything. if i have any questions i'll write them down on the side and try to find answers to those after the rewatching. then i make notes which. takes. the. bloody. longest. time. these are the notes i will be using to study from hence why i take extra time to make sure theyre neat and organsied. but after having spent 3 hours on making notes for one powerpoint i soon realise i have 12 more lectures to make notes on ((': mind you, im also the biggest procrastinator so this whole system im working with is not the one. IF ANYONE HAS ANYTHING TO SAY PLEASE HELP i tried the internet for tips but im still so lost ): feels like i need someone to tell me what to do step by step, before, during and after a lecture
my uni provides the slides and uploads recordings of all our lectures. so before a lecture, i don't really do much. i may look through the powerpoint and that's it. during a lecture, i'd annotate the slides with what the lecturer is saying (if it's not on the slide already). then i waddle home and rewatch the lecture (some other day as i seem to be too tired once i get home (commuters gang wya)) and write down anything that i may have missed. this is when i like to go at my own pace and understand everything. if i have any questions i'll write them down on the side and try to find answers to those after the rewatching. then i make notes which. takes. the. bloody. longest. time. these are the notes i will be using to study from hence why i take extra time to make sure theyre neat and organsied. but after having spent 3 hours on making notes for one powerpoint i soon realise i have 12 more lectures to make notes on ((': mind you, im also the biggest procrastinator so this whole system im working with is not the one. IF ANYONE HAS ANYTHING TO SAY PLEASE HELP i tried the internet for tips but im still so lost ): feels like i need someone to tell me what to do step by step, before, during and after a lecture
Hi there
It is completely normal to be feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work and how to note take. I felt the exact same way when I first started uni. For months it took me ages to watch the lecture, pause every few seconds or minute and make notes on everything (I also used to hand write my notes because I found that I could absorb the information better). After a few months of me doing this I realised that you don't actually have to write down everything that the lecturer is saying. Most lecturers go off on a tangent, they can over complicate some things by giving you lots of information, sometimes they phrase things in multiple ways or give numerous examples. These are all really great for helping you to understand the topic but in most cases they will not come up in exams so there is no need to write everything down. It really is a case of trial and error to see which method of note taking works for you. I watched the pre recorded lectures and hand-wrote my notes for the first 2 years and now I'm typing up my notes in lectures and handwriting them as a form of revision. As time goes on your note taking skills will improve and you will find it easier to identify what is worth writing down and what isn't. It took me until after Christmas to get into a solid routine so please just be patient and keep trying to condense notes. I personally find that writing up powerpoint notes before the lecture gives me a good understanding of the topic and then I am able to fill in any gaps during the lecture. This means that I dont spend long periods of time after a lecture going over it, unless its a really difficult topic. Hope this helps a bit!
Please try not to worry too much as it is normal for it to take time to learn new skills and form good routine. Let me know if I can help in anyway
Best wishes
Joanna
-Uni of Kent Rep
Original post by CaptainDuckie
Now, I feel like you’re trying to make notes on every single word the lecturer says. Don’t. I guarantee you that half of the things they say is waffle, now if you have a good lecturer, they will verbally tell you what’s going to be on the assessment, what’s expected of you.
If not, you’d need to use some sort of initiative and try to condense and summarise the information with key, important, points. I can’t tell you exactly what to do step by step, it’s something you just have to attempt yourself, really.
If not, you’d need to use some sort of initiative and try to condense and summarise the information with key, important, points. I can’t tell you exactly what to do step by step, it’s something you just have to attempt yourself, really.
You're right, I guess I will have to go through a period of trial and errors till I find something that works for me. Thank you for your help! I try to convince myself that I'm not writing down everything the lecturer says, but I find myself slipping at times
Original post by University of Kent Reps
Hi there
It is completely normal to be feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work and how to note take. I felt the exact same way when I first started uni. For months it took me ages to watch the lecture, pause every few seconds or minute and make notes on everything (I also used to hand write my notes because I found that I could absorb the information better). After a few months of me doing this I realised that you don't actually have to write down everything that the lecturer is saying. Most lecturers go off on a tangent, they can over complicate some things by giving you lots of information, sometimes they phrase things in multiple ways or give numerous examples. These are all really great for helping you to understand the topic but in most cases they will not come up in exams so there is no need to write everything down. It really is a case of trial and error to see which method of note taking works for you. I watched the pre recorded lectures and hand-wrote my notes for the first 2 years and now I'm typing up my notes in lectures and handwriting them as a form of revision. As time goes on your note taking skills will improve and you will find it easier to identify what is worth writing down and what isn't. It took me until after Christmas to get into a solid routine so please just be patient and keep trying to condense notes. I personally find that writing up powerpoint notes before the lecture gives me a good understanding of the topic and then I am able to fill in any gaps during the lecture. This means that I dont spend long periods of time after a lecture going over it, unless its a really difficult topic. Hope this helps a bit!
Please try not to worry too much as it is normal for it to take time to learn new skills and form good routine. Let me know if I can help in anyway
Best wishes
Joanna
-Uni of Kent Rep
It is completely normal to be feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work and how to note take. I felt the exact same way when I first started uni. For months it took me ages to watch the lecture, pause every few seconds or minute and make notes on everything (I also used to hand write my notes because I found that I could absorb the information better). After a few months of me doing this I realised that you don't actually have to write down everything that the lecturer is saying. Most lecturers go off on a tangent, they can over complicate some things by giving you lots of information, sometimes they phrase things in multiple ways or give numerous examples. These are all really great for helping you to understand the topic but in most cases they will not come up in exams so there is no need to write everything down. It really is a case of trial and error to see which method of note taking works for you. I watched the pre recorded lectures and hand-wrote my notes for the first 2 years and now I'm typing up my notes in lectures and handwriting them as a form of revision. As time goes on your note taking skills will improve and you will find it easier to identify what is worth writing down and what isn't. It took me until after Christmas to get into a solid routine so please just be patient and keep trying to condense notes. I personally find that writing up powerpoint notes before the lecture gives me a good understanding of the topic and then I am able to fill in any gaps during the lecture. This means that I dont spend long periods of time after a lecture going over it, unless its a really difficult topic. Hope this helps a bit!
Please try not to worry too much as it is normal for it to take time to learn new skills and form good routine. Let me know if I can help in anyway
Best wishes
Joanna
-Uni of Kent Rep
Thank you so much Joanna!! It truly is overwhelming just how much we cover at such a fast pace, I need my time when it comes to understanding content so I find myself daydreaming during a lecture since I can't seem to focus once I've fallen behind. My main problem is just how much time I spend hand-writing my notes (I've gone digital and type as well but the whole process is just not efficient at all it seems!). I find myself spending 3-4 hours on the whole process of rewatching lectures and making notes, even though I try to condense it down as much as I can but having to fit 30-50 slides onto 5 pages of notes is difficult
Would you recommend another system? I will definitely try writing my notes up before a lecture once I have caught up for sure 
Original post by pipthesqueak
Thank you so much Joanna!! It truly is overwhelming just how much we cover at such a fast pace, I need my time when it comes to understanding content so I find myself daydreaming during a lecture since I can't seem to focus once I've fallen behind. My main problem is just how much time I spend hand-writing my notes (I've gone digital and type as well but the whole process is just not efficient at all it seems!). I find myself spending 3-4 hours on the whole process of rewatching lectures and making notes, even though I try to condense it down as much as I can but having to fit 30-50 slides onto 5 pages of notes is difficult Would you recommend another system? I will definitely try writing my notes up before a lecture once I have caught up for sure
Would you recommend another system? I will definitely try writing my notes up before a lecture once I have caught up for sure It really is overwhelming! I felt the exact same whenever i got lost in the lecture or didn't understand a difficult theory. That is what prompted me to make the change and pre write notes so that I knew what to expect and nothing would throw be off guard. It also means that if you get a bit lost during the lecture its easier to bring your attention back. There are numerous ways you can note take. If you're finding that retyping powerpoint notes and adding lecturer notes takes too long, you could always just save the powerpoints onto your laptop and add whatever the lecturer says in the notes section under the slides? That way you're wasting less time trying to write all the information down and that could work better if perhaps you're a visual learner. It really is a case of playing around with it and working out which method works best for you.
Best of luck and let me know if you have any other questions!
Joanna
-Uni of Kent Rep
I thibk the slides plus your notes on the lecture ARE your notes
Only thing I add are -where I had a follow up question and I go off and find the answer.
Then when I come to revise I summarise the notes /readings for that topic onto 1 page -very high level but shows how the readings fit into the topic and which bits didn’t have key cases or readings so I can find something on them.
(This was law and doing open book exams)
Only thing I add are -where I had a follow up question and I go off and find the answer.
Then when I come to revise I summarise the notes /readings for that topic onto 1 page -very high level but shows how the readings fit into the topic and which bits didn’t have key cases or readings so I can find something on them.
(This was law and doing open book exams)
Okay I think I've got the answer to solve your problem here
It seems to be that your biggest issue here is that writing out the notes is what is consuming all your time and energy. You need these notes to study from so its not an option to just not do it, but what you need is a method to cut corners to help you get everything done and complete revision without burning out. The key to your problems is a free revision app called Jamworks. Here is a step by step guide for you as requested:
1. When your lecture starts, open the Jamworks app on your ipad and have it running alongside the powerpoints. At any point during the lecture that you would typically want to rewatch later, make a highlight clip. You can then add any annotations or questions alongside the clip in the notes feature. Make as many highlight clips as you need to during the lecture. These are what you will rewatch when you get home as opposed to the full 3 hour recording, thus cutting down revision time.
2. The Jamworks app will upload the session to your recordings page once you have finished your lecture. When you get home, watch back the recording clips you made. The benefit here is that each clip will be automatically transcribed, so the information is typed out for you. To then make your notes simply copy and paste the relevent content into a premade template that you can make on any apps such as Canva, Notably, Procreate etc. This is going to cut your note taking time down to half an hour (if that!)
3. Additionally, there are further features that the Jamworks app has to aid your revision and make things even simpler for you, such as the sumamries feature and Jam Quiz. With a Jamworks Pro account you can access an automated summary for each highlight clip (basically a summarised version of the transcript) which you can also copy and paste to your typed up notes. And the Jam Quiz will create questions for you based on the content in the clips to test your knowledge. The Jamworks Pro subscription is currently on offer for only 99p via UNiDAYS so if you're thinking of trying it out, now would be an affordable time! But the app works well with the free version also (and there's no ads dont worry !)
I really hope that this makes sense and that you finally get a breakthrough with your studying. Give yourself a break as well, you're clearly working very hard and shoudl give yourself some credit! Good luck! xx
It seems to be that your biggest issue here is that writing out the notes is what is consuming all your time and energy. You need these notes to study from so its not an option to just not do it, but what you need is a method to cut corners to help you get everything done and complete revision without burning out. The key to your problems is a free revision app called Jamworks. Here is a step by step guide for you as requested:
1. When your lecture starts, open the Jamworks app on your ipad and have it running alongside the powerpoints. At any point during the lecture that you would typically want to rewatch later, make a highlight clip. You can then add any annotations or questions alongside the clip in the notes feature. Make as many highlight clips as you need to during the lecture. These are what you will rewatch when you get home as opposed to the full 3 hour recording, thus cutting down revision time.
2. The Jamworks app will upload the session to your recordings page once you have finished your lecture. When you get home, watch back the recording clips you made. The benefit here is that each clip will be automatically transcribed, so the information is typed out for you. To then make your notes simply copy and paste the relevent content into a premade template that you can make on any apps such as Canva, Notably, Procreate etc. This is going to cut your note taking time down to half an hour (if that!)
3. Additionally, there are further features that the Jamworks app has to aid your revision and make things even simpler for you, such as the sumamries feature and Jam Quiz. With a Jamworks Pro account you can access an automated summary for each highlight clip (basically a summarised version of the transcript) which you can also copy and paste to your typed up notes. And the Jam Quiz will create questions for you based on the content in the clips to test your knowledge. The Jamworks Pro subscription is currently on offer for only 99p via UNiDAYS so if you're thinking of trying it out, now would be an affordable time! But the app works well with the free version also (and there's no ads dont worry !)
I really hope that this makes sense and that you finally get a breakthrough with your studying. Give yourself a break as well, you're clearly working very hard and shoudl give yourself some credit! Good luck! xx
Hello, ik im very late to the conversation but have you found an effective way to write notes or stud in general as a stem student ? Im going through exactly the same experience as you verbatim and im really confused and lost about the note taking aspect. Im averaging 45 hr weekly of self-study and im just writing notes and learning nothing ):
(edited 5 months ago)
Original post by honeyyybee
Hello, ik im very late to the conversation but have you found an effective way to write notes or stud in general as a stem student ? Im going through exactly the same experience as you verbatim and im really confused and lost about the note taking aspect. Im averaging 45 hr weekly of self-study and im just writing notes and learning nothing ):
hiya!! honestly, i’m still quite behind having started second year (it’s on me since i’ve taken up a lot of extra things outside of oops) but here are some things that i do (or don’t do) now:
- i don’t go into lectures as i feel like i only learn when i pause and take the time to actually process what’s going on. ik attendance is compulsory but fortunately we get recordings and i can always use the textbook
- i still have a bad habit of writing down everything the lecturer says but im not gonna lie you just never know what’s gonna be in the exam so better safe than sorry. what i do is screenshot the lecture slides onto onenote, and then alongside it i write down whatever the lecturer has mentioned that isn’t on the slide. if it’s something i still don’t understand, i use chatgpt (not for cheating purposes!!!) to help me understand. i ask a prompt by giving it context and asking it to explain in simpler terms. i then copy this down onto my notes so it helps me later down the line when i start revision or use your textbook or ask your lecturer (my uni has a FAQ section for each module, does yours? USE IT!!!)
- i treat uni as a 9-5 (well 11-7 as i hate waking up early) so everything that i need to get done must be done within this timeframe. if not, then i absolutely must get it done by the end of the week at least!
- please make time for your hobbies and stuff outside of uni otherwise you will burn out
- take it easy. you know you’re going to catch up by the time exams start so just take the time to understand and absorb the content for now!
- start revising for exams 1-2 months before (first year exams i just crammed oops but it’s best to avoid that), so this is when you stop with the note taking and you actively revise (this is now up to you how you revise as not everything works for everyone so try out different techniques and see what’s best for you! i personally like to pretend i’m teaching someone and i also use flashcards occasionally for things like diagrams and small details that you might forget)
45 hours is way too much on top of your classes, you definitely have to reflect on your study methods and see what changes you can implement
remember
study smarter, not harder 🫶
Original post by pipthesqueak
hiya!! honestly, i’m still quite behind having started second year (it’s on me since i’ve taken up a lot of extra things outside of oops) but here are some things that i do (or don’t do) now:
- i don’t go into lectures as i feel like i only learn when i pause and take the time to actually process what’s going on. ik attendance is compulsory but fortunately we get recordings and i can always use the textbook
- i still have a bad habit of writing down everything the lecturer says but im not gonna lie you just never know what’s gonna be in the exam so better safe than sorry. what i do is screenshot the lecture slides onto onenote, and then alongside it i write down whatever the lecturer has mentioned that isn’t on the slide. if it’s something i still don’t understand, i use chatgpt (not for cheating purposes!!!) to help me understand. i ask a prompt by giving it context and asking it to explain in simpler terms. i then copy this down onto my notes so it helps me later down the line when i start revision or use your textbook or ask your lecturer (my uni has a FAQ section for each module, does yours? USE IT!!!)
- i treat uni as a 9-5 (well 11-7 as i hate waking up early) so everything that i need to get done must be done within this timeframe. if not, then i absolutely must get it done by the end of the week at least!
- please make time for your hobbies and stuff outside of uni otherwise you will burn out
- take it easy. you know you’re going to catch up by the time exams start so just take the time to understand and absorb the content for now!
- start revising for exams 1-2 months before (first year exams i just crammed oops but it’s best to avoid that), so this is when you stop with the note taking and you actively revise (this is now up to you how you revise as not everything works for everyone so try out different techniques and see what’s best for you! i personally like to pretend i’m teaching someone and i also use flashcards occasionally for things like diagrams and small details that you might forget)
45 hours is way too much on top of your classes, you definitely have to reflect on your study methods and see what changes you can implement
remember
study smarter, not harder 🫶
hiya!! honestly, i’m still quite behind having started second year (it’s on me since i’ve taken up a lot of extra things outside of oops) but here are some things that i do (or don’t do) now:
- i don’t go into lectures as i feel like i only learn when i pause and take the time to actually process what’s going on. ik attendance is compulsory but fortunately we get recordings and i can always use the textbook
- i still have a bad habit of writing down everything the lecturer says but im not gonna lie you just never know what’s gonna be in the exam so better safe than sorry. what i do is screenshot the lecture slides onto onenote, and then alongside it i write down whatever the lecturer has mentioned that isn’t on the slide. if it’s something i still don’t understand, i use chatgpt (not for cheating purposes!!!) to help me understand. i ask a prompt by giving it context and asking it to explain in simpler terms. i then copy this down onto my notes so it helps me later down the line when i start revision or use your textbook or ask your lecturer (my uni has a FAQ section for each module, does yours? USE IT!!!)
- i treat uni as a 9-5 (well 11-7 as i hate waking up early) so everything that i need to get done must be done within this timeframe. if not, then i absolutely must get it done by the end of the week at least!
- please make time for your hobbies and stuff outside of uni otherwise you will burn out
- take it easy. you know you’re going to catch up by the time exams start so just take the time to understand and absorb the content for now!
- start revising for exams 1-2 months before (first year exams i just crammed oops but it’s best to avoid that), so this is when you stop with the note taking and you actively revise (this is now up to you how you revise as not everything works for everyone so try out different techniques and see what’s best for you! i personally like to pretend i’m teaching someone and i also use flashcards occasionally for things like diagrams and small details that you might forget)
45 hours is way too much on top of your classes, you definitely have to reflect on your study methods and see what changes you can implement
remember
study smarter, not harder 🫶
Thanks !Do you type your notes or handwrite them? Also what about those modules where the Prof just reads out the slides no other info is there?
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