Taking too long on writing lecture notes

BatmanGta2019

Hi, I’ve realised I’m spending around 2 and a half to 3 hours just writing notes for a single lecture, which feels way too long. I try to make them clear and detailed, but it ends up taking up most of my study time and leaves me behind on other modules.

Does anyone else struggle with this? How do you make your notes faster without losing important details? I’d really appreciate any tips or methods that have worked for you — whether it’s a different note-taking style or using certain apps. I prefer to write over typing as i retain the info longer.

Reply 1

LJMUStudentReps

Official Rep

Hi there,

I used to have the same issue — I’d spend ages making super detailed notes that I rarely looked back at or actually remembered! Condensing information really helps with both retention and time management.

One method I’ve found useful is the Cornell Method, which helps keep each lecture’s notes to roughly one page of key information. You just divide your page into three sections:

•

A large right-hand notes column for main points

•

A narrower left-hand cue column for keywords or questions

•

A small summary section at the bottom for the main ideas

It’s a great way to stay organised without going overboard on detail. There are loads of other methods too, so it might be worth searching note-taking methods online to see which one fits your learning style best.

For example, you could also look into:

•

The Mapping Method – great for visual learners who like seeing how concepts connect

•

The Outline Method – ideal if you prefer structured, hierarchical notes

•

The Boxing Method – useful for separating topics and keeping things tidy

Hope that helps!

Megan (LJMU Rep)

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

Hi, what course are you doing? I would not spend too long on writing everything word for word from the slides. I would put it in to my own words. Also what assesment do you have for that module? if it is coursework based it might be better to write your notes in bullet points instead of writing long sentences and quotes. You could print the presentation out also and use a higlighter and write notes down that way and see if that helps reduce time spent on note taking.

Reply 3

ARU Graduate

Official Rep

Original post

by BatmanGta2019

Hi, I’ve realised I’m spending around 2 and a half to 3 hours just writing notes for a single lecture, which feels way too long. I try to make them clear and detailed, but it ends up taking up most of my study time and leaves me behind on other modules.
Does anyone else struggle with this? How do you make your notes faster without losing important details? I’d really appreciate any tips or methods that have worked for you — whether it’s a different note-taking style or using certain apps. I prefer to write over typing as i retain the info longer.

Hey!

I completely get that…it’s so easy to fall into the trap of trying to make your notes perfect and detailed, then suddenly realising you’ve spent hours on just one lecture. You’re definitely not alone in that!

When I was studying, I found the key was focusing on understanding first, perfecting later. During lectures, I’d jot down the main ideas, key terms, and anything the lecturer emphasised…not full sentences, just short points or symbols that made sense to me. Then later, instead of rewriting everything neatly, I’d quickly tidy up or add small clarifications if I needed to. That way, I wasn’t doubling my workload but still ended up with notes I could revise from.

Since you prefer handwriting (which makes sense… lots of people retain info better that way), you could try using a condensed format like the Cornell method. Split your page into two columns: the left for main keywords or questions, and the right for your detailed notes. After class, spend a few minutes filling in any gaps or summarising the page in a few sentences at the bottom. It keeps things structured and saves time later when revising.

You could also use sticky tabs or highlighters to mark sections you want to go back to, rather than rewriting them…that way, you don’t get stuck polishing every lecture straight away.

It might sound small, but setting a time limit for note-taking can help too. For example, give yourself 45 minutes max per lecture, it forces you to be more selective and focus on what’s genuinely useful.
Basically, try to think of your notes as a tool, not a finished product. You can always build on them later when exams get closer, but having shorter, clearer notes that you actually understand will take you so much further (and save a ton of time).

Good luck moving forward! Sophie 🙂

Reply 4

Kingston Eve

Official Rep

Original post

by BatmanGta2019

Hi, I’ve realised I’m spending around 2 and a half to 3 hours just writing notes for a single lecture, which feels way too long. I try to make them clear and detailed, but it ends up taking up most of my study time and leaves me behind on other modules.
Does anyone else struggle with this? How do you make your notes faster without losing important details? I’d really appreciate any tips or methods that have worked for you — whether it’s a different note-taking style or using certain apps. I prefer to write over typing as i retain the info longer.

Hey @BatmanGta2019!

One of the best note-taking strategies I developed during my undergraduate degree was writing down a short summary of key content at the end of every lecture. The summary was usually only 2-3 sentences long and took me roughly a minute, but it saved me a lot of time when I was revising as I could skim through the summaries to find out which lecture I needed to follow up on. I could then read over my in-class notes from that lecture and look at any additional resources online to focus my revision further.

By writing that summary, I had to figure out what the most important take-aways from the lecture were and convey them in a concise manner. Whilst it can be tempting to write every single thing down in a lecture, the truth is not all of the content will be relevant or useful - being able to figure out what's most important will save you a lot of time when writing up notes.

As mentioned above, printing out and annotating the slides from your lectures could help speed up your note-taking process as well.

Best of luck,
Eve (Kingston Rep).

Reply 5

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post

by BatmanGta2019

When you say "writing notes for a single lecture", what exactly do you mean by this? Do you mean writing (again) from notes you made during the lecture and/or from recordings/slides etc? Or adding to your notes made during a lecture after reviewing material in e.g. other textbooks and academic sources besides, trying and then correcting worked examples and including these in your notes, etc? Or just typing things up afterwards?

Reply 6

BatmanGta2019

Original post

by artful_lounger

Like in lectures I try to pay attention but I zone out and get lost afterwards. Then i just go library and go through the powerpoints and make notes

Reply 7

Uni of Southampton Students

Official Rep

Original post

by BatmanGta2019

Hi, I’ve realised I’m spending around 2 and a half to 3 hours just writing notes for a single lecture, which feels way too long. I try to make them clear and detailed, but it ends up taking up most of my study time and leaves me behind on other modules.
Does anyone else struggle with this? How do you make your notes faster without losing important details? I’d really appreciate any tips or methods that have worked for you — whether it’s a different note-taking style or using certain apps. I prefer to write over typing as i retain the info longer.

Hi there,

I hope you are doing well! This is completely normal do not worry, i felt the same way during my first year. There are many methods that you can use to reduce this:

•

cornell method (left hand side for keywords, right hand side for main points)

•

mind map (write the topic in the middle and write brief notes along the stems)

•

timed note taking - dedicated a certain amount of time to write all notes (I normally do about an hour and focus entirely on this for one hour only)

Hope this helps and good luck! :smile:

Rachel (UoS Student Room Rep)

Reply 8

EssexStudentRep

Official Rep

Original post

by BatmanGta2019

Hi, I’ve realised I’m spending around 2 and a half to 3 hours just writing notes for a single lecture, which feels way too long. I try to make them clear and detailed, but it ends up taking up most of my study time and leaves me behind on other modules.
Does anyone else struggle with this? How do you make your notes faster without losing important details? I’d really appreciate any tips or methods that have worked for you — whether it’s a different note-taking style or using certain apps. I prefer to write over typing as i retain the info longer.

Hi @BatmanGta2019 👋

Hope you are well. That is a common problem to have! I also used to have that problem last year actually until i started to condense my notes into sections using the cornell method. Even just highlighting the important bits or using trigger words can make the notes more easier to read and quicker to do 😊
Hope this makes sense and helps 😊

Essex Student Rep- Lavanya 💜

Reply 9

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Original post

by BatmanGta2019

Like in lectures I try to pay attention but I zone out and get lost afterwards. Then i just go library and go through the powerpoints and make notes

So you're spending more than the length of the lecture to just make the original lecture notes it sounds like? This is probably the root of your problem. You ideally want to make your "core" notes during the lecture (granted you can't write down everything verbatim but you should be able to note down the key ideas and make reference to e.g. "check slides for example" in relevant sections) and then use the time outside of the lecture to build on/expand those/do practice problems/work through examples/etc (as applicable to your field). You should probably aim to spend about 2 hours outside of each hour of lecture time doing "additional work" generally (including assignments/coursework/revision etc).

As to why that's happening - it's hard to tell from what you've written. Do you have any kind of SpLD or other condition which impacts your focus/attention? If so, you should definitely go through the process with your uni to see what reasonable adjustments they can make to help accommodate your condition. If you aren't aware of any, it may still be worth seeing if your uni offers screening for SpLDs, as it may be you have one that hasn't been identified before which is what is the cause of things - which would then enable you to access further support :smile:

If you definitely don't have any SpLDs or other conditions and have been screened for SpLDs recently and know there's no other conditions, then it's going to be a case of trying to make sure you use your lecture time productively by avoiding distractions etc. Some of these can still be helpful even if you do have an SpLD or other condition as well! For example, I would suggest turning your phone on silent (if you don't already) and keeping it in your bag, or turning it off altogether if that's not possible/doesn't work, to avoid getting distracted by checking the time on your phone then seeing a message and responding to that etc for example (it's easy to do!).

You've indicated you prefer handwriting notes which is probably a good option to avoid any distractions from a computer/tablet. However other people's computers and tablets can also be distracting (even if you don't realise it!). Studies have shown that, unfortunately, even just seeing another person's screen can significantly impact student's attention and later recall of material. One way to avoid this potentially is to try and sit at the front so there's no other screens in front of you.

With these things, you can hopefully make more use of the actual lecture time itself so you don't have to spend as much time out of lectures "catching up" on the lecture rather than building on the lecture and notes you've made :h:

That said, once you're outside the lecture, to make sure you're using your time efficiently, maybe think about what is the best way to approach things so when you go to sit down and do some studying (e.g. in the library, at home, etc), you have a plan from the get go.

Probably ideally try and find ways that you can practice actively recalling and using the information, for example a lot of the things already mentioned previously are good options - going through worked examples, practice problems, writing summaries of things etc. Another good way to identify gaps in your knowledge is try and explain the material to someone else - they might ask questions about something you don't know the answer to (which is a good sign it might be worth looking more into that potentially!), or you might find a particular topic is difficult to explain effectively (which can indicate you don't understand the underlying principles as well as you need to yet).

Also in general - remember not everyone learns best in the same way. It might be that making handwritten notes outside lectures in general isn't an effective learning method for you! There might be other methods you can explore, although it might be a bit hard for people to make any specific suggestions without knowing what subject area you're in.

Reply 10

hallamstudents

Official Rep

Original post

by BatmanGta2019

Hi, I’ve realised I’m spending around 2 and a half to 3 hours just writing notes for a single lecture, which feels way too long. I try to make them clear and detailed, but it ends up taking up most of my study time and leaves me behind on other modules.
Does anyone else struggle with this? How do you make your notes faster without losing important details? I’d really appreciate any tips or methods that have worked for you — whether it’s a different note-taking style or using certain apps. I prefer to write over typing as i retain the info longer.

Hi there,

I have struggled with this too and I think a lot of people tend to be unsure about how to take lecture notes when they first start university so you are not alone in this!

I would agree that printing the notes and annotating them is a good first step. This way you can go through and highlight things and annotate them which should not take too long, and then you can see which bits you understand more and you don't need to write as much up about them, and then see which parts you don't understand and you can spend more time writing these up.

I would also say that finding a method which works for you will come to you. First year is a great time to try out a few different methods and see what works for you! I like to just type mine up so haven't tried loads, but I know the Cornell method which has been mentioned here already works quite well for me if I do write handwritten notes.

You could also ask your tutor if they have any advice for you with this. They might be able to offer you some advice on how they would do it seeing as they will have been in your position too before!

Also, seeing if the library puts any skills sessions on to help with this is a good idea too and will help you out with this. They often do put sessions on where you can go through certain things and note taking may well be one of these so have a look!

I hope some of this helps.

Lucy -SHU student ambassador 🙂