why am I stressing over notes

I just started uni armed with a macbook and several paper notebooks.

I wouldn't say I'm a perfectionist, but things all over the place and messiness get on my nerves sometimes. I've bought several notebooks to take lecture notes in, but there are already lecture notes online and slides, but I think I prefer writing them out in one place (or just because I bought the books already and have started like, only a few pages, and don't want to feel I'm wasting money).
But it feels like I'm just copying out the lecture notes on paper mindlessly, and with so many work on already, I can't make everything look nice the way I want, and there are so, so many gaps in my notes that I'm procrastinating to fill in... And there are more lectures coming and already did, and I don't really understand them, and I'm just stressing over how to make notes look nice and should I stick to the online notes instead and forget all the gappy paper notebooks I've started.
I feel so stupid stressing over this tiny thing instead of actually studying and doing work.
I'm thinking of getting an ipad, would that solve all these problems?

Reply 1

M1.xo30

9

Original post by Anonymous

I just started uni armed with a macbook and several paper notebooks.

I wouldn't say I'm a perfectionist, but things all over the place and messiness get on my nerves sometimes. I've bought several notebooks to take lecture notes in, but there are already lecture notes online and slides, but I think I prefer writing them out in one place (or just because I bought the books already and have started like, only a few pages, and don't want to feel I'm wasting money).
But it feels like I'm just copying out the lecture notes on paper mindlessly, and with so many work on already, I can't make everything look nice the way I want, and there are so, so many gaps in my notes that I'm procrastinating to fill in... And there are more lectures coming and already did, and I don't really understand them, and I'm just stressing over how to make notes look nice and should I stick to the online notes instead and forget all the gappy paper notebooks I've started.
I feel so stupid stressing over this tiny thing instead of actually studying and doing work.
I'm thinking of getting an ipad, would that solve all these problems?

You should consider writing digital notes rather than hand written notes.
There aren't that much benefits of writing notes compared to going digital and it is RLLY time consuming.
As long as u include active recall into your study method then going digitally should be fine plus you can add diagrams and stuff online.
If your still not sure, there are many videos on yt that explain the pros and cons of each so make sure u watch those.

Reply 2

Lilyanne2

8

Original post by Anonymous

I just started uni armed with a macbook and several paper notebooks.

I wouldn't say I'm a perfectionist, but things all over the place and messiness get on my nerves sometimes. I've bought several notebooks to take lecture notes in, but there are already lecture notes online and slides, but I think I prefer writing them out in one place (or just because I bought the books already and have started like, only a few pages, and don't want to feel I'm wasting money).
But it feels like I'm just copying out the lecture notes on paper mindlessly, and with so many work on already, I can't make everything look nice the way I want, and there are so, so many gaps in my notes that I'm procrastinating to fill in... And there are more lectures coming and already did, and I don't really understand them, and I'm just stressing over how to make notes look nice and should I stick to the online notes instead and forget all the gappy paper notebooks I've started.
I feel so stupid stressing over this tiny thing instead of actually studying and doing work.
I'm thinking of getting an ipad, would that solve all these problems?

That must be frustrating buying lovely things then not having the time to use them to your satisfaction. I think many people put things off, and do everything but the thing they are supposed to be doing - you are not alone. If you feel you are already a bit concerned about the lectures and all the notes, you might want to see if the careers office (will be called different things depending on your university) can provide advice - they don't just deal with career issues. It also might be useful to start a study group where you discuss the lectures with 2 or 3 other students (although choose your study mates wisely!). By the way, if the subject area you are taking is new to you, or even if it is not, it would be quite unusual to understand much at all in the first few months.

Original post by Anonymous

I just started uni armed with a macbook and several paper notebooks.

I wouldn't say I'm a perfectionist, but things all over the place and messiness get on my nerves sometimes. I've bought several notebooks to take lecture notes in, but there are already lecture notes online and slides, but I think I prefer writing them out in one place (or just because I bought the books already and have started like, only a few pages, and don't want to feel I'm wasting money).
But it feels like I'm just copying out the lecture notes on paper mindlessly, and with so many work on already, I can't make everything look nice the way I want, and there are so, so many gaps in my notes that I'm procrastinating to fill in... And there are more lectures coming and already did, and I don't really understand them, and I'm just stressing over how to make notes look nice and should I stick to the online notes instead and forget all the gappy paper notebooks I've started.
I feel so stupid stressing over this tiny thing instead of actually studying and doing work.
I'm thinking of getting an ipad, would that solve all these problems?

Hi,

For me I found in first year I would write all the notes from the slides but then come out of lecture realising I didn't understand it as I wasn't listening to the explanation of my lecturer but rather just writing notes from the slides. A lot of the time the lecturer would talk quick as well so after lecture there would be a lot of time spent writing up notes I couldn't in class.

I would recommend potentially reading over the class slides before hand to maybe get a basic idea and then you can write it in your own words in class.

Or what I have started to do is more write the notes they say that aren't in the slides as this information is much more valuable. I also remind myself that the slides are up on Blackboard (the system Edge Hill use's) all year so I can just use them within an assignment rather than flicking through my notebook.

I try to now only write any key points whether this is a definition or something that will definitely help in an assignment, or any new key concepts. This allows me to then actually take in what is being said and make sure I understand it.

An iPad or any kind of tablet could come in handy as you could then write on the lecture slides and then be able to add any key details your lecturer says. I would say maybe write up a pro's and con's to doing this as it is an expensive investment if you won't use it properly. One thing to remember with that is it will need to be charged so don't forget to do that or you will be screwed 😂

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any questions :smile:

Rebecca
3rd Year Geoenvironmental Hazards Student

why am I stressing over notes

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