How to remember information faster and get more done with sketchnoting
Miscellaneous / / November 04, 2023
You will succeed, even if the last time you drew was in kindergarten.
What is sketchnoting
This is a way to take notes using not words, but small pictures-symbols, as well as arrows, exclamation and question marks, frames and schematically drawn emoji. Such sketches can be called pictograms, sketches, sketches - whatever you like. Of course, you can, and sometimes even need to, add words to them in order to turn the sketches into a full-fledged summary. The main thing is that even after a while you can understand what you wanted to remind yourself of with their help or what thought you were trying to capture.
The main advantages of sketchnoting are speed, clarity and emotionality. Graphic notes are often faster to take and easier to decipher than simple notes made hastily and in not always clear handwriting. Scientists have proven: those who not only record data, but also draw at the same time, remember more. And emotional sketches will help you absorb information better than dry definitions and formulations.
This effect is possible if you master the skill of quick drawing well. An artist's talent is not required: the simpler the pictures are, the easier you will understand them.
How does sketchnoting work?
Imagine that you are at a lecture. Or at a meeting, and you want to write down the main points that the employees of your department are discussing. Or maybe you are participating in a brainstorming session, during which you need to record all the ideas so as not to lose any.
You listen to what the lecturer or your colleague is saying, highlight the main idea, and then diagram it using a simple picture and a couple of sentences.
This includes visual and verbal perception, as well as visual, auditory and motor memory.
It happens that during a lecture, students often mechanically write down what they heard, and then have difficulty remembering what the teacher meant. Sketchnoting requires a meaningful perception of information: you first imagine an image, then depict it in the form of a picture. Then you add words, numbers, arrows and signs.
Your sketch helps capture the image both on paper (or tablet screen) and in memory. Such a sketch can remind you not only of the words that were heard in the audience, but the entire episode will emerge in your imagination. You can remember the voice of the speaker, your emotions, and even the weather outside the window.
How to master sketchnoting
Here's another advantage of the method: you don't have to buy anything to sketch. You probably have blank sheets of paper, a notebook or notepad. You can also find a pen - preferably a gel or liner pen, but a ballpoint pen will also work. You can take a simple pencil, but promise not to use an eraser: it will take time, and you don’t need to create masterpieces.
If you want, over time you can add colored materials - pencils, markers, paints. And if you're used to taking notes with a tablet and stylus, use them.
Build your own image library
It should contain schematic images of various objects, situations and actions. For example, if you want to create a schedule for the day, an icon with a smartphone may be useful - these are scheduled calls. Or the image of a dumbbell represents a trip to the fitness center. A shopper with a baguette protruding from it is a symbol of the need to stop by for groceries, and an open book is a reminder of an online or offline course.
Remember that any pictures can be made from basic shapes: line, point, circle, square, rectangle, triangle, oval.
Think about how to use them to depict your pictograms. For example, a shopper is a rectangle with an arc on top that represents handles. If you want to visit a specific store, you can write its name on the package. A smartphone is a rectangle with icons in the form of circles or squares. You can write the time large on the screen above - this way you will remind yourself what time you have call or a Zoom meeting.
The need to do cleaning can be indicated by an inverted trapezoid with a handle - a bucket. Or a mop - a vertical thick line and a rectangle. The student can draw a flask as a reminder of tomorrow's lab. And the teacher is a lot of little people with mustaches, beards and glasses, so that they don’t forget to prepare for the parent-teacher meeting.
Come up with your own simple symbols. This can be an interesting and fun activity. You can draw people: a circle head, a short segment instead of a body, arms and legs in the form of lines. Or depict a face with dotted eyes and an arched mouth.
Practice drawing and abstract concepts. Think about how you would portray e.g. Love. Maybe for you this is not the usual heart, but the rising sun. Over time, you will be able to quickly draw a symbol of any phenomenon. Well, while you are trying to imagine what you associate this or that abstraction with, you will learn a lot of new things about yourself.
You can draw icons by section. For example, come up with your own symbols for the topics “Electronics”, “Monthly Shopping”, “Basic Concepts of Thermodynamics”, “The Most Frequent Customer Objections” and more. When you have compiled a library with the icons you need, you can move on to the next step.
Start with the simplest notes
To begin with, you can draw a plan for the day. Try to arrange all the pictograms on the sheet vertically, and write explanations for them in a few words next to them. For example, the name of the client with whom you are scheduled to call. Or a grocery shopping list. Urgent matters can be marked with an exclamation point. Or even three, if you can’t forget about them.
If you're going to introduce a few new healthy habits, try pictographing your daily activities.
For example, an apple can remind you that you need to eat several vegetables and fruits a day, running little man - that it’s worth practicing, and the first letters of the Latin alphabet - that you need to remember English. Draw all these symbols on the diary page and also place them vertically.
When the task is completed, you can circle the corresponding symbol. Or put a tick next to it. If necessary, add 2-3 explanatory words nearby. For example, the length of the distance you ran. Over time this diary will help you track your progress or see where you need to put more effort. To do this, you should pay attention to the icons, which often remain without completion marks.
Move on to more complex entries
Try taking notes on an online lesson. Or take notes about a book you read.
This task is more difficult than the previous one, because first you will need to formulate the main points from the new material. To do this, you need the skill of highlighting the main thing in any text - oral or written.
Watch a small but complete part of the lesson. State and repeat the main conclusions. And then draw them using simple pictograms, arrows, clouds with direct speech, like in comics, and emotional faces. Add the necessary verbal explanations, as well as formulas and definitions. Stop when you realize the sketch is finished.
Then take another sheet. Watch the next part of the lesson or go to the second thesis from the book, and so on until the end. Finally, sketch out the main conclusions. You will get several sheets - a ready-made recording of a lesson or book theses.
At first, it will take you a lot of time to complete each of these notes. But then you will be able to take notes much faster and gradually bring your drawing skill to automaticity. In addition, you will have excellent practice in highlighting the main thing and finding the necessary emotional images. And maybe you'll see: when you draw, it's easier for you remember new information, and then it is more difficult to forget it.
Try sketchnoting in real work or school tasks
For example, start with sketches in preparation for an important presentation. Here's what you need to do to do this:
- Plan your message. In the previous paragraph, you were dealing with a ready-made lesson or lecture. Their structure was determined by the author, and you only recorded them. But now you are the author. Therefore, think about the sequence in which you will present your arguments.
- Depict each point of the plan in the form of a small sketch. Place all the drawings on one sheet of paper.
- Connect the scratches with arrows and add short explanations. Think about what you should explain to your listeners so that it is clear why you move from one picture to another. Maybe some icons will have to be swapped. Then the connection will be better visible, and the overall picture will look more logical. If you draw on paper, you can cut out all the designs, rearrange them and combine them. If on a tablet, use the appropriate editor function.
As a result, you will receive a sheet with a brief summary of your presentation. Looking at it, you can easily remember any part of the message and are unlikely to you'll forget at least one argument. You can also use pictures for slides to figuratively and emotionally illustrate your thoughts.
Over time, sketchnoting can become a great tool that you can use for both self-development and work.
Other Useful Methods👇
- 7 Memory Skills That Will Make You Smarter
- How to Take Useful Notes: 9 Effective Note-Taking Methods
- Personal experience: how I learned to remember 50 dates in 10 minutes and what it gave me