My notes seriously went from “I have no idea what I’m looking at” to actually being useful, and in this video I break down the simple changes that made the biggest difference. The first thing I fixed was my format: instead of dumping everything into a blank doc, I made a template I can duplicate for every lesson. Now I have headers/footers for the key info and heading blocks to structure sections—plus in Google Docs, those headings automatically create an outline so I can jump around my notes way faster. I also leveled up my color coding. I used to stick to red and black for everything, but switching to a different color scheme per course gave me instant visual cues so I can associate concepts with the right class without wasting time. Another change was using structured bullet points with different symbols to label where information came from (lecture vs textbook vs articles, etc.), which matters a lot because in college you’re learning from so many sources. Finally, I changed my organization system and my app. Instead of one massive document per course, I now keep separate documents per lesson (labeled with course code, lesson number, and title). And the biggest switch: Microsoft Word to Google Docs, because having everything synced across devices and being able to link concepts, add trackers, and bookmark key points fits my workflow so much better.