When you get out of class at the end of the day, does it feel like your hand is going to fall off?  Is the side of your palm all black from ink and lead?  You've got pages and pages of notes from all your classes.  Do you just want to rub the side of your hand for the rest of the day but you can't because you have even more notes to take for homework?  Why do teachers get such pleasure out of causing students so much pain?

Your teachers probably aren't assigning you notes to make your lives hell.  In fact, they're actually saving you a step and helping you prepare ahead of time for the test that you know you're going to have to take.  Believe it or not, note taking can serve as a way to study as well as a study guide and it doesn't have to be a painful and hated experience.

There's no one best way to take notes and there are different methods that work for each person.  Some people like outlines, others like bullets, and others like paragraphs.  Whatever your method, most students usually write down too much that isn't important.  If you cut out the unneeded words and just stick to the facts, not only will it shorten how much you write but your hands won't hurt so much at the end of the day.

Read on for some tips on how to: 1. Take better notes from books 2. Listen to what is being said, and 3. Only write down the key phrases and words.  This will save you time while you're taking the notes and you'll have a study guide ready for you when the time comes for the test.  Who knew note taking could be so easy?