# Note-taking methods, each with a template Cornell for lectures, an outline for a talk, PARA for everything you keep, a daily note for the day itself. Pick the method that fits the work, then copy its template or open it as ready notes in your browser. Updated 7 November 2026 ## At a glance - **Methods:** Nine, from Cornell to a commonplace book. - **Each has:** A template to copy, or to open as a ready thread with no account. - **Mix them:** One project can keep a daily note and a decision log side by side. ## Which method fits - Lectures and reading: Cornell, or an outline. - Everything you keep, sorted by how soon you need it: PARA. - A head full of open loops: GTD. - Ideas you want to build on for years: Zettelkasten, or a commonplace book. - Days that slip away: interstitial journaling, daily notes, or an end-of-day report. ## The Cornell method, with a notes template Walter Pauk devised it at Cornell University. Divide the page into cues on the left, notes on the right and a summary at the bottom. During the lecture you write notes; afterwards you add questions as cues and a two-line summary, then quiz yourself from the cues. The Cornell method, with a notes template: ``` Topic: Date: Cues and questions: Notes: Summary: ``` Keep one thread per course, with a note per lecture, so the summaries read in order before an exam. ## The outline method Main points at the left edge and details indented under them. It works when the speaker or the book is well organized, and it turns into an essay plan almost by itself. The outline method: ``` Topic: - Main point - Detail - Detail - Main point - Detail ``` [Use this template](https://thread.page/app) Lists keep their indents in a note, and a heading can start each main part. ## PARA Tiago Forte’s method: sort everything by how soon you need it, into Projects with a finish line, Areas you look after with no end, Resources for later, and an Archive for what’s done. PARA: ``` Projects: things with a finish line Areas: things you look after Resources: things to look up later Archive: done or paused ``` [Use this template](https://thread.page/app) In ThreadPage, make three folders, Projects, Areas and Resources, and use the built-in Archive as the fourth. ## Getting Things Done, with notes David Allen’s method: capture every open loop, decide its next action, and review the lot every week. Notes hold the thinking; the next action is one line you can do. Getting Things Done® is a registered trademark of the David Allen Company. Getting Things Done, with notes: ``` Inbox emptied: Each project’s next action: Waiting for: Someday or maybe: ``` [Use this template](https://thread.page/app) ThreadPage has no task list or calendar. Keep next actions as checklists in notes, mark a thread Waiting when it waits on someone, and set a reminder to bring it back. ## Zettelkasten The sociologist Niklas Luhmann kept one for decades: one idea per note, written in your own words, linked to the notes it builds on. Over years the links matter more than any folder. Zettelkasten: ``` Idea, in one sentence: In my words: Source: Builds on: ``` [Use this template](https://thread.page/app) Link notes with note references. ThreadPage shows no backlinks and no graph, so write in each note what it builds on. ## Interstitial journaling Tony Stubblebine gave it its name. Between two tasks, write a line: what you just finished, what’s next and how you feel. The day becomes a log you can read back, and switching takes a breath instead of a scroll. Interstitial journaling: ``` Just finished: Next: How I feel: ``` [Use this template](https://thread.page/app) Each note keeps its time, so the log is already in order. ## Daily notes One note a day for whatever comes up: plans, thoughts, links. It’s the easiest habit to start, because you never decide where something goes. Daily notes: ``` Today: Done: Notes: Tomorrow: ``` [Use this template](https://thread.page/app) Keep them in one thread, and move anything that grows into a project into a thread of its own. ## An end-of-day report Four lines before you log off: done, in progress, blocked and tomorrow. Your future self, or your manager, reads the week in a minute. An end-of-day report: ``` Done today: In progress: Blocked on: Tomorrow: ``` [Use this template](https://thread.page/app) Share the thread with your manager on Can view, and they read each day’s report without a meeting. Sharing needs Pro. ## A commonplace book Quotes, facts and ideas from what you read, each with its source and why it caught you. Writers kept them for centuries; tags make them easy to find again. A commonplace book: ``` Quote or idea: Source: Why it matters: #tags: ``` [Use this template](https://thread.page/app) Write #tags in the note, and search finds every quote with them. ## Questions ### What is the best note-taking method? The one you keep using. Cornell and outlines suit lectures, PARA suits everything you keep, and a daily note suits people who won’t sort as they go. ### Can I use more than one method? Yes. You can keep daily notes and move what grows into a project thread with its own decision log. ### Does ThreadPage need an account for these templates? No. Use this template opens the thread in your browser on Free. With Plus or Pro, your notes sync across your devices. ## Limits - ThreadPage shows no backlinks and no graph of links. - There is no task list or calendar: next steps live as checklists in notes, with a Waiting status and reminders. - Handwriting and drawing aren’t supported. Getting Things Done, PARA, and Cornell University are the names of their owners. ThreadPage is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by them. ## Start with one thread. [Start writing](https://thread.page/app) Free in your browser. No account needed to start. Read next ### [Project notes: one running log per project](https://thread.page/use-cases/project-notes.md) Keep notes, tables and screenshots with each project. Before you switch, leave the next step in its thread. When you return, the context is there. Free · nothing to set up ### [A lab notebook your script fills in](https://thread.page/use-cases/lab-notebook.md) Every run arrives with its parameters, table and plot. Your chapters link to the run behind each claim. Pro · results from a script [How to keep a work log](https://thread.page/guides/work-log.md) [How to keep a decision log](https://thread.page/guides/decision-log.md) [A meeting notes template](https://thread.page/guides/meeting-notes.md) [Glossary of notes and project words](https://thread.page/glossary.md)