Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to take notes when you're in appointments
Speaker 1: with professionals. Write down anything you need or want to remember.
Speaker 1: That way, when you leave the appointment, you'll feel confident
Speaker 1: that you understand the information you heard and you know
Speaker 1: what steps you need to take. In a recent episode,
Speaker 1: I suggested preparing for appointments with professionals by keeping track
Speaker 1: of the questions you want to ask and the concerns
Speaker 1: you want to bring up. So often, when we are
Speaker 1: asked if we have any questions or concerns, we draw
Speaker 1: a blank, only to remember these things in the car
Speaker 1: on the way home. Better to keep a list. Taking
Speaker 1: notes during appointments builds on that preparation and offers another
Speaker 1: way for you to make the most of the professional's expertise.
Speaker 1: There's pretty good evidence that when students take notes in class,
Speaker 1: they do indeed remember more of the material. When you
Speaker 1: are paying good money or taking the time to seek
Speaker 1: the advice of a professional on something, remembering more of
Speaker 1: the material helps you get a good return on this investment.
Speaker 1: You can go pretty low tech for taking notes, just
Speaker 1: get a notebook and use that. If you or a
Speaker 1: family member has a complex condition requiring a lot of appointments,
Speaker 1: that person might need his or her own notebook, But
Speaker 1: if everyone is pretty healthy, you could just use one
Speaker 1: for health matters. You might have a separate notebook for
Speaker 1: home projects if you're doing a lot of stuff there.
Speaker 1: For appointments that happen in other places, you will have
Speaker 1: to remember to take the notebook with you, so honestly,
Speaker 1: if you forget, it is not that big a deal.
Speaker 1: You can use any piece of paper you can find
Speaker 1: and staple that into the notebook later. If you are
Speaker 1: more digitally oriented, a word file can work the same way.
Speaker 1: No need to take your computer with you. Two appointments,
Speaker 1: you can take notes on your phone, email the notes
Speaker 1: to yourself, and then paste them into the document. Whether
Speaker 1: you take a digital or paper approach, it's valuable to
Speaker 1: have a record of what was discussed and the plans
Speaker 1: you agreed upon. Often appointments go really fast, and depending
Speaker 1: on the topic, you may feel a little and anxiety
Speaker 1: during them. Having a written record means that when you
Speaker 1: are back home from your doctor's appointment or after the
Speaker 1: contractor has left, and you don't have the same time
Speaker 1: pressure or anxiety. You'll be able to review your notes
Speaker 1: and feel confident in your takeaways. An added benefit of
Speaker 1: taking notes is that it communicates to the professional that
Speaker 1: you are paying attention. And what's more, you may feel
Speaker 1: more comfortable asking clarifying questions when you're taking notes. Now.
Speaker 1: I know that doesn't necessarily make sense. It is not
Speaker 1: more valid to ask a question to make sure your
Speaker 1: notes are right than it is to ask a question
Speaker 1: to make sure you understand. But be that as it may.
Speaker 1: Plenty of people feel less self conscious asking questions when
Speaker 1: they're taking notes. Let me make sure I'm understanding what
Speaker 1: I'm writing down. I should give my kid this meta
Speaker 1: some with meals, or did I get this right what
Speaker 1: I've written here? That I can invest ten dollars in
Speaker 1: my solo four oh one K even though we're past
Speaker 1: the end of the calendar year. You want to make
Speaker 1: sure that everyone has a shared understanding of what is
Speaker 1: going on. Taking notes is a great way to make
Speaker 1: sure that everything is clear and that you remember what
Speaker 1: you need to do, even when it is no longer
Speaker 1: convenient to ask questions. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod that's the number four, then Breakfast p
Speaker 1: o D. You can also shoot me an email at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
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