How to think on paper? How to organize your notes? This document shows a simple yet effective method. Moreover, it contains ideas on a comparison between the method described and mind maps, Cornell notes and digital note-making.

1. How to
Think on Paper
Ideas on Note-Making

2. You want to think
through a problem?
Note-making
is arguably
one of the best tools
this world has to offer.

3. Here are some ideas
that work for me.

4. 17.12.2014 1
How to start:
- take a blank A4 sheet
- use it in landscape format
- separate it in 4 columns
- add a page number and a date

5. 17.12.2014 1
Here are some variations:
- use A3 sheets with 6 columns
- use A4 sheets with 2, 3, or 4 columns

6. 1A| What is this sheet about?
- it shows a way of note-making,
a way of “thinking on paper”
_____________________________________
1B| What do you need?
- blank paper in A4
- a non-smear pen
- e.g. mechanical pencil + eraser
_____________________________________
1C| What's the basic layout?
- use paper in landscape format
- draw lines to form 4 columns
Or:
- try A3 in landscape format with
6 columns
- lots of space for your ideas
_____________________________________
17.12.2014 1
How to organize the notes:
- organize your notes in “text boxes”
- number these boxes with
1A, 1B, … in column 1
2A, 2B, … in column 2 etc.
- write your notes in a box
- draw a horizontal line when a box is finished

7. 1A| What is this sheet about?
- it shows a way of note-making,
a way of “thinking on paper”
_____________________________________
1B| What do you need?
- blank paper in A4
- a non-smear pen
- e.g. mechanical pencil + eraser
_____________________________________
1C| What's the basic layout?
- use paper in landscape format
- draw lines to form 4 columns
Or:
- try A3 in landscape format with
6 columns
- lots of space for your ideas
_____________________________________
1D| How to make text boxes
- number the boxes
- in column 1 with 1A, 1B etc.
- write the headline + underline it
- questions make good headlines!
- write down your thoughts
- short but intelligible
- use “outlining”
- indent your lines
- to show hierarchies
- like this
- when you're finished with a box:
- draw a horizontal line
- start a new box
17.12.2014 1
How to fill the text boxes

8. 1A| What is this sheet about?
- it shows a way of note-making,
a way of “thinking on paper”
_____________________________________
1B| What do you need?
- blank paper in A4
- a non-smear pen
- e.g. mechanical pencil + eraser
_____________________________________
1C| What's the basic layout?
- use paper in landscape format
- draw lines to form 4 columns
Or:
- try A3 in landscape format with
6 columns
- lots of space for your ideas
_____________________________________
1D| How to make text boxes
- number the boxes
- in column 1 with 1A, 1B etc.
- write the headline + underline it
- questions make good headlines!
- write down your thoughts
- short but intelligible
- use “outlining”
- indent your lines
- to show hierarchies
- like this
- when you're finished with a box:
- draw a horizontal line
- start a new box
2A| More things you can use
- page numbers
- date
- footnotes at the column bottom1)
- numbering
- underline, colour
- tables
- diagrams
- equations ...
____________________________________
________________________________________________________________
1) Useful for later remarks
and other things
17.12.2014 1
Other useful
elements

9. 1A| What is this sheet about?
- it shows a way of note-making,
a way of “thinking on paper”
_____________________________________
1B| What do you need?
- blank paper in A4
- a non-smear pen
- e.g. mechanical pencil + eraser
_____________________________________
1C| What's the basic layout?
- use paper in landscape format
- draw lines to form 4 columns
Or:
- try A3 in landscape format with
6 columns
- lots of space for your ideas
_____________________________________
1D| How to make text boxes
- number the boxes
- in column 1 with 1A, 1B etc.
- write the headline + underline it
- questions make good headlines!
- write down your thoughts
- short but intelligible
- use “outlining”
- indent your lines
- to show hierarchies
- like this
- when you're finished with a box:
- draw a horizontal line
- start a new box
2A| More things you can use
- page numbers
- date
- footnotes at the column bottom1)
- numbering
- underline, colour
- tables
- diagrams
- equations ...
____________________________________
2B| How to deal with
sudden ideas
- you can mark ideas for
follow-up with a check box :
- work out a more detailed
check box system 
- you can later tick off these boxes:
- add some remarks on
cross-referencing 
(see 2C)
- you can store unrelated
ideas at the bottom of column 4
- look at the example!
________________________________________________________________
2C| How to cross-reference
- there are examples in 2B and 3B
- referencing box 4C on page 2:
- see 2:4C
________________________________________________________________
1) Useful for later remarks
and other things
17.12.2014 1
_____________________________________
4Z| image search on “note-
making” 
How to deal with sudden ideas?
How to cross-reference?

10. 1A| What is this sheet about?
- it shows a way of note-making,
a way of “thinking on paper”
_____________________________________
1B| What do you need?
- blank paper in A4
- a non-smear pen
- e.g. mechanical pencil + eraser
_____________________________________
1C| What's the basic layout?
- use paper in landscape format
- draw lines to form 4 columns
Or:
- try A3 in landscape format with
6 columns
- lots of space for your ideas
_____________________________________
1D| How to make text boxes
- number the boxes
- in column 1 with 1A, 1B etc.
- write the headline + underline it
- questions make good headlines!
- write down your thoughts
- short but intelligible
- use “outlining”
- indent your lines
- to show hierarchies
- like this
- when you're finished with a box:
- draw a horizontal line
- start a new box
2A| More things you can use
- page numbers
- date
- footnotes at the column bottom1)
- numbering
- underline, colour
- tables
- diagrams
- equations ...
____________________________________
2B| How to deal with
sudden ideas
- you can mark ideas for
follow-up with a check box :
- work out a more detailed
check box system 
- you can later tick off these boxes:
- add some remarks on
cross-referencing 
(see 2C)
- you can store unrelated
ideas at the bottom of column 4
- look at the example!
________________________________________________________________
2C| How to cross-reference
- there are examples in 2B and 3B
- referencing box 4C on page 2:
- see 2:4C
________________________________________________________________
1) Useful for later remarks
and other things
3A| When to start new columns
and new boxes?
- for important new ideas:
- start a new column
- start a new box
- after leaving some space
_____________________________________
3B| Some advice on
“deep” thinking
- work patiently
- from one box to another
- from one page to another ...
- … always pursuing
- open questions,
- things you don't understand
- things you can make better
- use basic questions
1) What would be logical?
2) What's bothering me here?
What's the key problem here?
3) What can I do now?
- use a “Q” section
- “Q” stands for Questions
- use it at the end of a box,
of a column to find open topics
Q
- is there a more refined
system of thinking tools? 
- how can the note-making system
be improved? 
- pros & cons of this method? 
(see 4A)
17.12.2014 1
_____________________________________
4Z| image search on “note-
making” 
All this is about
layout!
What about content?

11. 1A| What is this sheet about?
- it shows a way of note-making,
a way of “thinking on paper”
_____________________________________
1B| What do you need?
- blank paper in A4
- a non-smear pen
- e.g. mechanical pencil + eraser
_____________________________________
1C| What's the basic layout?
- use paper in landscape format
- draw lines to form 4 columns
Or:
- try A3 in landscape format with
6 columns
- lots of space for your ideas
_____________________________________
1D| How to make text boxes
- number the boxes
- in column 1 with 1A, 1B etc.
- write the headline + underline it
- questions make good headlines!
- write down your thoughts
- short but intelligible
- use “outlining”
- indent your lines
- to show hierarchies
- like this
- when you're finished with a box:
- draw a horizontal line
- start a new box
2A| More things you can use
- page numbers
- date
- footnotes at the column bottom1)
- numbering
- underline, colour
- tables
- diagrams
- equations ...
____________________________________
2B| How to deal with
sudden ideas
- you can mark ideas for
follow-up with a check box :
- work out a more detailed
check box system 
- you can later tick off these boxes:
- add some remarks on
cross-referencing 
(see 2C)
- you can store unrelated
ideas at the bottom of column 4
- look at the example!
________________________________________________________________
2C| How to cross-reference
- there are examples in 2B and 3B
- referencing box 4C on page 2:
- see 2:4C
________________________________________________________________
1) Useful for later remarks
and other things
3A| When to start new columns
and new boxes?
- for important new ideas:
- start a new column
- start a new box
- after leaving some space
_____________________________________
3B| Some advice on
“deep” thinking
- work patiently
- from one box to another
- from one page to another ...
- … always pursuing
- open questions,
- things you don't understand
- things you can make better
- use basic questions
1) What would be logical?
2) What's bothering me here?
What's the key problem here?
3) What can I do now?
- use a “Q” section
- “Q” stands for Questions
- use it at the end of a box,
of a column to find open topics
Q
- is there a more refined
system of thinking tools? 
- how can the note-making system
be improved? 
- pros & cons of this method? 
(see 4A)
4A| Pros & Cons 17.12.2014 1
- compare these notes with
- mind maps
- Cornell Notes
- digital note-making
- other note-making systems
(they all have their pros & cons!)
- look at the following points:
- can you focus on your work?
- no distractions from apps etc.?
- can you develop
long coherent lines of thought?
- can you store away sudden
ideas and examine them later?
- can you switch to other
lines of thought without much
document fiddling?
- do you have an overview
of your notes?
- is straightforward, organized
thinking encouraged?
- are your notes still
comprehensible after
3 days, 2 months, 1 decade?
- is the use of tables, diagrams,
equations encouraged?
Q
- digital version of this method? 
- table for above comparison? 
_____________________________________
4Z| image search on “note-
making” 
Some Pros & Cons

12. Thomas Teepe
Stuttgart 2014