Before the shift to remote work due to the pandemic, I had a habit of always bringing a notebook to meetings. And I took notes during the execution of tasks. Then I slowly stopped using it.
Negative effects without notebook 🔴
Consequences did not manifest immediately, but they were there:
- Occasionally losing focus during long-running meetings
- Forgetting important aspects or remarks about features or tasks
- In my eyes, this lead to a clear decline in the quality of my work, because I made more mistakes
- It may not reflect well on me, asking questions about topics that were previously discussed
Positive effects with notebook 🟢
By reintroducing the habit of taking notes in general and during meetings, even the brief and spontaneous ones, these negative effects may reduce again:
- My focus during meetings will definitely increase
- I do not expect to not forget stuff at all or to not have any questions later, but at least there is a chance, my notes help clarifying some of them, before I have to ask someone else
- There’s also a long-term advantage: I can revisit the notes later to recall details that I wouldn’t find in Confluence or the source code. For instance, I could understand why a particular decision was made or why a change was implemented in a certain way.
Moving ahead: my notebook returns
So, moving forward, I will reintroduce the notebook in my work routine. It won’t fix everything straight away, but over time, it can help improve my memory of details and increase my focus.