I don’t naturally have a great memory, but if you asked people who know me, they’d be surprised to learn that. You see, I’m the person that when a coworker is questioning a recent change, can say, “Oh, that was brought up at the meeting last Friday. Here are the details.”
Then I give them the jist without referencing the meeting minutes or anything and they are all amazed.
Here’s the thing, though: at meetings, I’m often the only person taking notes.
It started in school, where my social anxiety made focusing in a crowded class difficult. So unlike a lot of kids, I didn’t just copy the stuff on the board, but actually took notes about everything. Focused listening and parsing what was worth remembering quieted the distractions in the room around me.
I didn’t need to.
To be honest, this did not improve my relationship with my fellow students, but other kids were mentally exhausting for me anyway. It did, however, build a habit that has served me well since.
People learn and remember things very differently, but considering how few people take notes in meetings these days, it probably wouldn’t hurt for people to at least try.
Keep a little notebook beside the bed or within reach of wherever you tend to make phone calls. Have a memo app on your home screen so that you can quickly access it when needed.
Because even now, when I decide not to write something down, I almost always regret it.
