the importance of good notes

Recent developments in the US between Comey and Trump sharply bring into focus the importance of taking good notes. And not just from a legal or a cover-your-ass (CYA) perspective.

Good notes, including journaling, sharpen our thinking and make us better writers and communicators.

It's a struggle sometimes to take good notes during meetings because you can only do one thing at a time (write or talk). The compromise is to take brief, bullet-form notes during the meeting, then leave yourself some extra time afterward to flesh it out, either by an email to all participants or in your notebook.