How can I concentrate without taking notes?

March 14, 2006 3:44 PM

I used to concentrate during lectures, seminars, and meetings by taking copious notes on what was said. While this worked well, I now have a wrist injury that makes doing so undesirable. What are some good ways to keep concentrating?
posted by grouse to grab bag (18 comments total)

in Wittgenstein's class at Oxford it was actually VERBOTEN to take notes -- the great man was convinced that you either concentrate on what the speaker's saying or you're concentrating on your note-writing.
hence, he thought that if you take notes you're actually more distracted.
posted by matteo at 3:49 PM on March 14, 2006 [1 favorite]

it was Cambridge of course, sorry
posted by matteo at 3:50 PM on March 14, 2006

Make yourself repeat everything the speaker says to yourself in a slighty different way/form to make yourself process it (ie, if they say "the sky is blue because little airborne bacteria are floating around and their wings are blue" say to yourself "there are little bacteria in the air. they have blue wings. this is why the sky is blue." This also helps you realize if you actually knew this or not, so, if you're taking notes at all, you can decide if you really want to write it down (rather than writing every little point the speaker has).
posted by devilsbrigade at 3:50 PM on March 14, 2006

You could record lectures with an iTalk or similar and listen to them while doing other tasks. I've never been a huge fan of this (why spend twice as long for every lecture?), but if you're not taking notes, it could be a good way to solidify material.
posted by rossination at 3:51 PM on March 14, 2006

Listening to recorded lectures doesn't require the same time--you can speed them up.
posted by maledictory at 4:07 PM on March 14, 2006

Since I'm a PhD student there's very little of this stuff I will actually have to recall for an exam or anything. So I'm not going to listen to a recording of it—I barely have time to go to the seminar in the first place.

I'm a bit of a visual learner, and writing notes was always great because I could read the notes while I was writing them. Now I can't do that, which impairs my intake of the information.

I would like to be able to get more out of the seminars while I'm there without spending extra time or using my hands.
posted by grouse at 4:07 PM on March 14, 2006

Laptop? Does the wrist injury prevent you from typing? Does the class prevent you from using a laptop?

Another possibility -- completely change your note-taking style so that you're taking less notes more effectively? Cuts down on the overall strain by cutting down on the total amount of writing.
posted by frogan at 4:20 PM on March 14, 2006

It's not a class. We're talking about random seminars, lectures, group meetings, and conferences.

I would like to avoid writing and typing as much as possible. I try to avoid taking non-essential notes now—but non-essential notes really helped me concentrate and understand the material before.
posted by grouse at 4:27 PM on March 14, 2006

I'm also a grad student and subjected to similar seminars. The best advice I have: focus really hard on coming up with a question for the speaker. Even if you don't ask it, try to look for something that you could ask a question about.

If you've ever been in a low attendance seminar where you felt obligated to ask a courtesy question, you know that this can force you to focus really hard even if you aren't entirely excited by the material.
posted by divka at 4:52 PM on March 14, 2006

Write with the other hand. That's what I did when I had a wrist injury. Because you can't write as fast with your off-hand, it makes you summarize better. Has the benefit of allowing you to write adequately with either hand after a couple weeks.
posted by Hildago at 5:26 PM on March 14, 2006

I've repeatedly heard throughout my life that taking notes increases recall (sorry, too busy to find a cite) --even if you never look at the notes again. I'm inclined to say, come up with your own shorthand or code for use with the other hand. Or maybe just do a mind map.
posted by kimota at 5:42 PM on March 14, 2006

Visualize the text of every word you hear in your mind?
posted by callmejay at 6:05 PM on March 14, 2006

Some people find that doing a repetitive, monotonous activity with your hands (e.g. knitting) helps them listen better. Of course, knitting may exacerbate your wrist injury. Maybe some kinds of small movements (needlepoint? stress ball squeezing?) won't hurt your injury?
posted by equipoise at 6:37 PM on March 14, 2006

What this means is that you're a kinetic learner. It's not about the notes themselves, it's that a body motion diverted your excess mental energy and allowed you to concentrate. The knitting suggestion is excellent, but if you can't knit, just find another physical action that you can do in class. Perhaps even doodling with your other hand.

I've seen this quite a bit as an educator, and am a kinetic learner myself. When I taught the early grades, there were some kids we'd give a 'stress ball' to so they could have something to handle while they listened. It works wonders.
posted by Miko at 8:25 PM on March 14, 2006

Miko has it right. But both hands are injured, so I'd rather not use the other hand either.
posted by grouse at 12:49 AM on March 15, 2006

Do you have a physical therapist? They can give you strenghtening excercises to do with "thera-putty," if you're far enough along...
posted by stratastar at 9:23 AM on March 15, 2006

Yes, I do have a physical therapist and an extremely boring daily physical therapy regime.
posted by grouse at 11:50 PM on March 15, 2006

Well, grouse, I hesitate to recommend this since it drives everyone who knows me crazy, but when sitting in a chair I tend to jog my leg to draw off energy.
posted by Miko at 6:54 AM on March 16, 2006