Writing things down and taking notes are important parts of, well everything. Work and career, home and social. All parts of your life can be better served if you just take some notes. Doubt me? Fair enough, but let me explain.
Writing it down helps with clarity for one thing. It allows you to be sure of what was said for later reference and understanding, which could be vitally important. Let’s use an example. You accept a job doing some rather detailed work like designing a website. You and the client talk and work everything out beforehand verbally, but neither of you take notes. You agree on a price, time frame and what’s included for the amount to be paid. Two weeks pass, and you have completed all the work as agreed. Then you receive a phone call asking about four or five things they thought were included. You see where this is going, right? I do too. I lived through it. Trust me, it wasn’t pretty. We both thought we were acting on good faith and neither of us was concerned the other would seek to take advantage. Misunderstandings happen. Write down notes to minimize confusion.
Need another example? Let’s say you are setting up a show and they need four comics. You talk about all kinds of things, writing it all down just like we have discussed. A few hours after the call, you look back over your notes and realize you never asked if adult content was appropriate. You call back and discover that, no, it would not be since its for a children’s show. Being able to look back over your notes at the end of a phone conversation will help you think of more questions for later on or request clarification. Let’s not forget that you could easily forget an important date or time that you need to do something or be somewhere. I had learned from the previous example, luckily, but this could have been a bit of a disaster.
Having perfect recall is an amazing gift – one I don’t enjoy. Perhaps you do, but can you count on the person you are dealing with to have as great a memory as you? I wouldn’t, and you shouldn’t. Some people use recording devices to do this, and that’s fine for accuracy. If you are like me though, writing it down helps you commit it to memory. Use your best judgment, and just remember that the person you are talking to may not have as good a memory as you. So write it down and avoid any misunderstandings.