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Taking good notes can be a challenge, especially if your a student and your professor is a fast talker. You may want to use note taking shortcuts to take quicker notes during your lectures and seminars.

I used a lot of note taking shorthands when I was at uni, I still use this shorthand in my every day life, so learning this skill can be a huge benefit to improve your life.

Below is a list of symbols and abbreviations which are the most commonly used. These shorthands can level up your note taking skills and help you take faster notes.

This post is all about note taking shortcuts.

NOTE TAKING SHORTCUTS

What are note taking shortcuts?

Note taking shortcuts are when abbreviations and symbols of words or phrases are used as a shorthand instead of the writing the full words. For example:

as soon as possible- becomes 'asap'
at - becomes '@'
before - becomes 'b4'
because - becomes 'b/c'
with - becomes 'w/'
without - becomes 'w/o'

Why Are Note Taking Shortcuts Important?

Lectures and seminars go by so far and your professor may be speaking so fast that you struggle to keep up when taking your notes in real time during lectures. Using abbreviations in your note taking is an important skill to learn and it will make your life so much easier because in college and university, you have to write ALOT of notes. Especially, if you want to be properly prepared when you are studying and preparing for your exams.

Abbreviation Methods For Note Taking Shortcuts

1. Use Initials For Words Or Phrases

For example:

Compare - becomes 'cp'
For example - becomes 'e.g.'
Against, Versus - becomes 'vs'
Morning - becomes 'am'
Afternoon, Evening - becomes 'pm'

2. Use The First Few Letters Of The Word

For example:

Minimum - becomes 'min'
Maximum - becomes 'max'
Important - becomes 'imp'
Problems - becomes 'probs'
Subject - becomes 'subj'
Establish - becomes 'est'

3. Use The First Letter Of The Word

For example:

United Kingdom - becomes 'UK'
United States of America - becomes 'USA'
For your information - becomes 'FYI'
As soon as possible - becomes 'asap'

4. Remove The Vowels From The Word

For example:

Years - becomes 'yrs'
Forward - becomes 'fwd'
Department - becomes 'dept'
With respect to - becomes 'wrt'
People - becomes 'ppl'

Symbols As Abbreviations Of Note Taking Shortcuts

You can use symbols for notes just like you do when you're messaging a friend on social media or sending text messages.

For example:

And - becomes '&'
At - becomes '@'
Equal - becomes '='
More than - becomes '>'
Less than - becomes '<'
Pound, Money - becomes '£'
Minus - becomes '-'
Additional - becomes '+'
Number - becomes '#', or 'no.1'

Combination Of Abbreviations For Note Taking Shortcuts

Using note-taking symbols and abbreviations in emails may look unprofessional. However, such shorthand symbols for with (w/) or without (w/o) are very handy when it comes to taking quick notes.

For example:

Before - becomes 'b4'
Someone - becomes 's/o'
With - becomes 'w/'
Without - becomes 'w/o'
Because - becomes 'b/c'
For you - becomes '4u'
20th Century - becomes 'C20'

Problem with using Note Taking Shortcuts

Here's the caveat, note-taking symbols for interpreters can be a challenge. If you're not careful, you could end up taking notes that don't make sense and even you won't know what it means as the moment that you wrote them (when you were in the know), has passed and it now looks like random nonsense.

For example:

u sld tk nts in cls ('you should take notes in class')

advantages and disadvantages of Shorthand

What is the advantages of shorthand?

Pros

Below are the 5 importance of shorthand:

Faster than writing full words.
Take more accurate notes.
Improves your memory because you are writing the words down.
Improves your attention and listening skill as you have to actively think about each word you write.
Create your own language that you understand to reduce copycats.

What is the disadvantages of shorthand?

Cons

Distracting uses of shorthand:

Can cause confusion, you may forget what a symbol or abbreviation mean.
Hard to learn, its and acquired skill
You may lack motivation to learn and use shortcuts when making your notes.

Final Thoughts on Note Taking Shortcuts

There will never be a fully exhaustive list of abbreviations to use for your note taking shortcuts. I encourage you to create some of your own abbreviations that specific to the subjects your studying to shorten the time it take you to write down your notes.