Simple and effective notetaking in Outlook
In my job, it is critical to take notes. This helps me process and summarize meetings, store the most important information and keep track of multiple tasks and projects at the same time. Even the act of taking notes immediately forces me to summarize the most important information. Most of the time I remember that information by heart, without ever reading my notes back. Note-taking has proven benefits: Taking notes helps reinforce learning and understanding of information [1], facilitates long-term memory storage and retrieval [2], note-taking encourages increased focus and attention on the topic and discussion [3] and critical thinking [4], helps create a logical framework for the material [5]. So, if you are not taking notes in meetings. Start today!
For years I’ve been trying to use various notetaking apps effectively: Evernote, Google Keep, Microsoft OneNote, Notion, Joplin. The problem is that I haven’t been able to get into the habit of keeping notes effectively using these apps. There has always been something that didn’t work.
What I expect from a Note-taking app:
- Easy to use. I want to create a new note in a matter of seconds. And I should be able to do it while actively participating in the discussion.
- A rich text editor that (at least) allows me to easily add tables and images. As I make notes I want to structure information as best as possible right away. After using Joplin for some time I’ve come to learn that I’m not a fan of using Markdown for styling. I want to have a GUI for styling.
- Something that works well across multiple devices. I typically write notes on my laptop, but want to read them on my phone or tablet. If needed I should be able to jot down a note on my phone as well quickly.
- A good search functionality. I don’t want to bother myself with tagging or categorizing notes whenever I’m taking notes. I’ve come to learn that my categories either grow to a massive amount, or notes get miscategorized completely and I lose them. I’d rather search for the specific note that I’m looking for.
Recently I’ve discovered that with some simple tweaks, Outlook can be a great note-taking tool that fulfills all my requirements. With some simple automations I’ve been able to replace any note-taking application simply by using Outlook. Below I’ll explain to you how you can set this up.
Why this is awesome?
I use Outlook every single day. Even though I’m not a big fan of e-mail (I actually think it should be one of the least used communication media), most of my daily work is structured via Outlook. This means that I have it open most of the time, I know how to use it, and it has a rich text editor. Furthermore, since most companies offer Outlook to their employees, this is a tool that is available to many people so you can also use it.
How to setup Outlook for notetaking
Essentially we’re going to use e-mails for notetaking. We’ll be sending ourselves e-mails which we will automatically put into a dedicated folder and categorize as a note. Finally, we’ll create a Quick Step so we have a single button to create a new note.
1. Create a new folder for your Notes
In your inbox, create a new folder (right-click) for your notes. I’ve labeled it 02 My Notes. (I use the numbers to order the folders)
2. Create a rule to put all your e-mail marked as note into the folder
On your Ribbon find the item ‘Rules’ and select ‘Manage Rules & Alerts’. In your new rule you need to determine what ‘tag’ you want to put in your Subject to mark an e-mail as a note. I’ve kept things simple and use ‘[Note]’ as an identifier.
In the Rule Wizard you select the options ‘with specific words in the subject’ and ‘from people or public group’. Click on specific words and add the keywords you want to use to the list. The click on people or public group and add your own e-mail address. This makes sure that only e-mails from yourself to yourself are categorized as notes.
Move on to select what to do with the message once it comes in. I’ve set it to be marked as read, moved to a folder and categorized as note.
That’s it. Your rule summary should look something like the summary below
3. Create a Quick Step to start a new note
There is a great function in Outlook called Quick Steps. We’ll use this to create a new e-mail that already has the right keyword added to be picked up by our newly created rule.
Click on ‘Create New’ in Quick Steps. In the Quick Steps overview create a new Quick Step.
- As an Action: select a New Message.
- Under To: add yourself as the recipient.
- Under Subject add the keyword you specified. In my case ‘[Notes]’.
- (Optional). Add a keyboard shortcut. I’ve added CTRL + SHIFT + 2 as a keyword. This enables you to use this Quick Step without clicking the button.
- (Optional). Add a description for yourself to remember what the action does.
- (Optional). Fun: Click on the top-left on the icon and select an icon that you find representative for your new Quick Step.
All set!
That’s it. You are now fully setup for quick and effective notetaking in Outlook. If you now click on the Quick Step button you will immediately get a new e-mail that will be handled as note. Once you send it, Outlook will mark it as read, categorize it as note and stored it in your notes folder.
References
[1] Peverly, S. T., & Garner, J. K. (2014). The Importance of Note-taking During Reading. Psychology Press.
[2] Reference: Kiewra, K. A. (1989). A Review of Note-taking: The Encoding Storage Paradigm and Beyond. Educational Psychology Review.
[3] Bunce, D. M., & Bonk, W. J. (2000). Note-taking in Class: Effects of Encoding on Retrieval Processes and the Learning of New Material. Journal of Educational Psychology.
[4] Davis, S. F., & Ludvigson, H. W. (1995). Additional Evidence of the Effects of Full and Outline-structured Text on Organized-recall. Journal of Educational Psychology.
[5] Mueller, P. A., & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2014). The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note-taking. Psychological Science.
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