I’ve been taking notes in all kinds of ways for years — especially as daily, weekly, monthly and yearly to-do lists. But the method I started using most recently is, I think, the best one so far.

Before I talk about how I take notes, you need to break things down in detail. For example, I turned my wall into a pegboard. Let’s look together at how I brought this board to life by taking notes.

Now, if your to-do list for the board above looks like this, you’ll never actually get around to building it:

“1: Start building the board on the room’s wall” or “1: Build the board”

If you set out with sentences like these and don’t detail your to-do list, starting the job will feel like a burden. In long-haul projects like this, detailing matters. Looking at this board: there are parts to be 3D printed, decisions about what goes on the board, sizing the board, the LED strips to be laid behind it and their wiring. So let’s now look at how detailed note-taking is done;

1. Browse example boards on Pinterest
2. Order the board from company X.
3. Paint the board white with door paint.
4. Apply the second coat.
5. Decide on the equipment to add to the board.
6. Browse the parts needed for the board on Thingiverse.
7. Start printing the suitable ones from Thingiverse. (This can be detailed further too. E.g. “Print the spray holders. Print the punch set box.”)
8. Mount the printed parts.
9. Design the parts you need on Tinkercad. (This should also be detailed. E.g. “Design a holder for the keys. Design a box for the LED power supply.”)
10. 3D print these parts the same way.
11. Assemble the parts.
12. Do the LED wiring.
13. Extend a power outlet nearby.
14. Prepare a Reels video about this build.
15. Prepare a blog post about this process.

Detailing like this will make your job so much easier. We could call it the divide, break down, conquer strategy. Otherwise, while saying “where do I start, let me do this, let me buy that”, you won’t even understand what you’re trying to do. The things you buy may go to waste. You need short-term plans first so you can pin down exactly what you’ll do. The smallest piece you can split off may be the best chunking style for you. Otherwise you’re in for a hard time.

Now let’s get to how we should take the note — or how I take it. We learned the logic of note-taking above; now I’ll tell you how I physically do it. I can’t take notes on my phone, or on Notion for now. Or rather, since I don’t enjoy it, taking notes in a notebook feels better. Let me explain in 4 steps.

1. With a blue ballpoint pen, write the current day and date at the top of the page.
2. In the same way, add the tasks you’ll do one by one, in detail, with a blue ballpoint or a similar pen.
3. When you complete an item, cross it out with a yellow or other marker.
4. When you complete all the items of that day, cross out the date at the top with a red pen that still lets the text show through.

Now, here’s the part you need to watch out for: don’t overload a single day. For example, to give yourself a quick win, you can set the first item as “make your bed” — because crossing that item out after making it will make you genuinely happy. You’ve taken the first step and completed an action. These little rewards work exactly like playing a game where you have quests and you complete them. That’s precisely what this is. By the way, if you overload a day and notice things aren’t getting done as days pass, your energy drops. Remember the board example above — I didn’t cram all those items into one day. That little board took nearly 20 days, because my life isn’t built around it and I have other work to do and people who need my time. So manage your time well and only write down as much work as you can actually finish. Also, order the items well. Calculate carefully what takes priority, or the system falls apart. Many items start piling up undone on the to-do list, and over time that starts building stress on you.

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