If you write the same kind of note every week, deciding how to lay it out each time is unnecessary work. A useful template leaves room for the details you tend to forget.
Copy a template into a new note. Replace the bracketed fields and delete sections you do not need. Use the copy button or select the text if your browser restricts clipboard access.
Meeting notes
Record decisions and ownership rather than transcribing every sentence. Someone who missed the meeting should be able to find the next action.
MEETING: [Topic]
Date: [Date]
Attendees: [Names]
Decisions
- [Decision and short reason]
Actions
- [Task] — [Owner] — due [Date]
Open questions
- [Question and person checking it]
Next check-in: [Date]Check recipients and remove confidential remarks before sharing. Our sharing guide explains link access.
Daily plan
Leave room for interruptions. Three priorities are often easier to maintain than a schedule for every minute.
DAILY PLAN: [Date]
Top priorities
1. [Most important outcome]
2. [Second outcome]
3. [Third outcome]
Appointments
- [Time] — [Event]
Small tasks
- [ ] [Task]
End of day
Completed:
Carry forward:Put appointments in your calendar too. This template does not send reminders.
Study sheet
Choose questions that require an explanation, not just a familiar-looking definition. See our study workflow for a full routine.
STUDY: [Subject / topic]
Source: [Lecture, chapter or link]
Key ideas
- [Idea and example]
Questions to answer without looking
1. [Question]
2. [Question]
Summary in my own words
[Two or three sentences]
Still unclear:
Next review:Weekly review
Start with what remains open. You do not need to score every part of the week to decide what happens next.
WEEK OF: [Date]
Finished
- [Outcome]
Still open
- [Task] — next step [Action]
What got in the way?
[One useful observation]
Next week's focus
1. [Priority]
2. [Priority]
Something to stop doing:Project kickoff
Make the scope specific enough for someone else to tell whether the work is finished.
PROJECT: [Name]
Purpose: [What this should achieve]
Finish by: [Date]
Deliverables
- [Concrete result]
Outside this project
- [What will wait]
People
- [Person] — [Responsibility]
Next milestone
[Result] — [Date]
Questions and risks
- [Question] — [Who will check]Save a master, then copy it
Keep a blank master and copy its text into a new note for each meeting or project. Avoid overwriting the master.
Bookmark the masters in a note index. If you always skip a field, remove it. The best template fits the way you actually work.
