If you’re not taking notes, every time you read a book, watch a YouTube video, or hear someone speak, you’re missing out on knowledge that could make your life better. However, you must take the right kind of notes for the situation you are in – using the right note-taking template is key. Remember, taking notes isn’t about looking studious, building a library of notebooks to make you look smart, or even trying to help you remember stuff. It’s about taking action. Knowledge is meaningless if you don’t act on it. So here are some of the best note templates that will help you take action today.
Copy and paste any of the following note-taking templates and start using them in your favorite notes app.
1. Meeting Notes Template
Before you walk into that meeting (or click join on Teams), copy and paste this Meeting Notes Template so you can capture critical points, action items, who is responsible for them, and some next steps. I’ve added an “Ideas” section at the bottom because we all know what it’s like in a meeting when something pops into your head – you just need somewhere to put it before it pops back out.
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Meeting Name:
Attendees:
Agenda:
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Discussion Points:
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Action Items:
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Next Steps:
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Ideas:
•2. Bible Notes Template
Bible notes can be as simple as a word or two written in the margin of your Bible or as complex and full essays, breaking down a passage from every possible angle. I wrote a whole piece on Taking Better Bible Notes, so if you want to go into more detail and create a system for your Bible notes, look there. If you just want to take some useful notes right now, this simple Bible Notes Template is all you need.
Scripture Reference:
Passage Summary:
How can I apply this to my life?
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3. Class Notes Template
Sitting in class, don’t be one of those people who write everything the lecturer says, worried that you might miss something important. By doing that, you miss the entire lecture, and you go back home to read the entire lecture because you didn’t listen the first time. Instead, be a better student, sit, listen, and write something down when it strikes you as interesting, confusing, or important – your brain will tell you when.
In this simple template, every time the professor talks about a new topic, note it down in the Topics section, then write any subpoints, examples, explanations, or things of interest in the “Explanations” section. This way, you can quickly see what the lecture was about by looking at the topics section at the top (this is useful months later when you need to find and revise a certain topic.) When there’s something confusing that you don’t understand or a question you have, write it down in the last section so you don’t forget it and can ask after class.
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Course:
Class:
Topics:
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Explanations:
Questions:
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•4. Literature Notes Template
Making literature notes isn’t just about helping you remember what you’ve read; it’s about really understanding what you read and linking it to other things you’ve read. Use this literature notes template and fill in the key themes and characters first. Keep it open as you continue to read so you can note down quotes you like (although Obsidian has awesome plugins that will import your highlights directly from your Kindle.) After a chapter or section, you can reflect on what you’ve read, and at the end of the whole book, you can write your personal insights and really decide what you just read and how it should affect your life.
Title:
Author:
Key Themes:
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Characters:
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Quotes:
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Reflections:
Personal insights and actions:
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•5. YouTube Notes Template
Anyone who finds Face Dragons is watching more than cat videos on YouTube; I’m sure you frequently watch lectures, experts, podcasts, and other great content meant to learn new things and make you stronger. But I doubt many of you take notes while watching YouTube. Those who do already use a template for taking YouTube notes may make your notes more consistent and better organized. For those of you who don’t, this will be a game-changer.
Video Name:
URL:
Main Ideas:
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Timestamped Notes: (you probably won't need this)
Takeaways:
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Actions to Take:
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•6. Language Learning Notes Template
I recommend you structure your language learning notes in separate pages for things like vocabulary, grammar, practice and lesson notes, but here’s a quick template you can use if you want to keep it all together. It’s great if you have a chapter of the book to get through or want to keep each lesson together. Keep vocab, example sentences, and grammar notes separate, as you’ll likely want to review them individually later. Keeping your new vocabulary within your grammar notes and explanations makes them really hard to find and memorize later.
The last section, “cultural notes,” is really helpful! My teachers often tell me a bit of historical, religious, or societal background when they explain a sentence or word, and for the longest time, I had nowhere to put that stuff. This section solves that problem.
Class or Book Chapter:
Theme:
New Words:
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Example Sentences
Grammar Notes:
Practice Sentences:
Cultural Notes:7. Daily Note Template
I write a daily to-do list every day. After I make coffee, it’s the first thing I do in the morning, and I keep it on my desk so it stares at me all day. My daily list is really simple; it has a date at the top and (usually three) bullet points that list my most important tasks for the day. The real magic comes next, though: I number the tasks. This tells me what order I’m going to do them in. So I’m no longer looking at a list of possible items and need to decide which to do. I just have one task up at any time.
I’m leaving sections for ideas and reflection here in case you need them; however, I usually do that somewhere else.
Date:
Priorities:
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2.
3.
Notes/Ideas:
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End-of-Day Reflection:
8. Blog Post Ideas Template
When you write for a living, inspiration can hit at any moment, no matter where you are. But without somewhere to park those ideas, they are inevitably going to be forgotten. Copying and pasting this template when you want to start writing isn’t enough. As soon as you decide you want to write on a topic, you need to create a file to store ideas. Make sure it’s accessible on your phone or a device that you carry around with you, too! You can sync Obsidian to all your devices for free, making it a great choice.
Title:
Keyword:
Keyword Volume:
Intro & Interesting Hook or Datapoint:
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Content Plan:
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•9. Gratitude Journal Entry Template
A daily gratitude habit can be difficult to stick to partly because deciding what to write (especially after a long day) can be too taxing for the mind. So, using a template can help to get you straight to writing instead of thinking, bypassing the brain and its tendency to say “no!” You don’t need to journal on all of these. Just pick the one that seems easiest to write about today.
Date:
A Person I'm Grateful for:
Something that Happened that I'm Grateful for:
Something Small I'm grateful for:
Something am I looking forward to tommorrow:
Why I'm Grateful:10. Diary Entry Template
Different people keep diaries for different reasons, but mostly, they fall into three categories:
- To Document what they did that day
- To document their physical or mental state that day
- To write things they’ve learned that day that may help their lives in the future
This Daily diary template will help with all three, or check out more journaling ideas.
Date:
Today's Events:
Feelings/Emotions:
Lessons learned:
11. Zettelkasten Template
The Zettelkasten Method is great for systematically storing knowledge and making it retrievable and browseable later. Originally intended to be an analog system with index cards in boxes, trying to recreate it in software can be a challenge. I’d suggest using a PKM app like Obsidian, Logseq, or VimWiki if you want to build your own Zettelkasten. Regardless of which application you use, here’s a zettelkasten note template you can utilize.
Unique ID:
Title:
Content:
Links:
Tags: 12. Bullet Journal Template
I once gave up GTD for Bullet Journaling. It was an experiment to see what the fuss was all about and whether the Bullet Journal Method really was a complete productivity system or not. Eventually, I did go back to GTD, but I took a little part of the Bullet Journal with me; even now, I write out a page each day for my daily note, something similar to the Bullet Journal’s Daily Log. The Daily Log is what this bullet journal template focuses on bullet points for tasks, circles for events, and dashes for notes. Or use whatever you want. It’s your journal!
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Tasks:
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Events:
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Notes:
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Meet Gregory, a writer and the brains behind Face Dragons. He's the go-to guy for getting things done.
Gregory's been living the digital nomad life in Asia for as long as anyone can remember, helping clients smash their goals. He writes on topics like software, personal knowledge management (PKM), and personal development. When he's not writing, you'll catch him at the local MMA gym, nose buried in a book, or just chilling with the family.
