I Tried Sketchnoting for a Month — Here's What My Notes Actually Looked Like

I am not an artist. My drawings look like they were made by a five-year-old. So when I heard about sketchnoting — the practice of combining simple drawings, icons, and text in your notes — I was skeptical. But I was also bored with my standard notes and willing to try something different.

Here's my honest account of one month of sketchnoting.

What Sketchnoting Actually Is

Sketchnoting doesn't require artistic skill. The basic idea is to use visual elements — simple icons, boxes, arrows, banners, and basic drawings — alongside text to make notes more visual and engaging. The icons don't have to be good. A stick figure is fine. A simple box with a label is fine. The goal is to engage a different part of your brain, not to make beautiful art.

Week 1: Slow and Awkward

My first sketchnotes took about twice as long as regular notes. I kept stopping to think about how to represent something visually, which meant I was falling behind during lectures. I had to slow down my note-taking significantly.

The fix: I started doing sketchnotes after class, not during. I'd take regular notes during the lecture, then convert them to sketchnotes in the evening as a review activity. This was slower but much less stressful.

Weeks 2–4: Getting the Hang of It

By week two, I had a small library of icons I used repeatedly: a lightbulb for key ideas, a question mark for things I didn't understand, an arrow for cause-and-effect relationships, a star for important points. Having these standard icons made the process faster.

The most useful thing I discovered: the act of deciding how to represent something visually forced me to understand it more deeply. If I couldn't figure out how to draw a concept, it usually meant I didn't understand it well enough.

Did It Help?

My notes were more memorable — I could visualize the pages when I was trying to recall information during exams. Whether that translated to better grades is hard to say; I had a good semester but I also studied more consistently.

The honest answer: sketchnoting is a useful tool for some subjects (anything conceptual or process-based) and not very useful for others (anything that requires precise technical notation, like chemistry equations or mathematical proofs).

Would I Recommend It?

Yes, but with realistic expectations. It's not a magic solution, and it requires more time than regular note-taking. But it's a genuinely different way of engaging with material, and the variety alone might be worth it if you're bored with your current approach.

Getting Started With Sketchnoting

If you want to try sketchnoting, here's the minimal starting point:

Build a basic icon library. Before your first sketchnoting session, spend 10 minutes drawing simple icons for common concepts: a lightbulb (idea), a question mark (confusion), an arrow (cause/effect), a star (important), a clock (time/deadline), a person (individual), a group of people (society/community). Practice drawing each one until you can do it quickly.

Start with post-lecture conversion. Don't try to sketchnote during lectures at first. Take regular notes during class, then convert them to sketchnotes afterward. This removes the time pressure and lets you focus on the visual representation.

Use structure, not just drawings. Effective sketchnotes use visual hierarchy: big text for main ideas, smaller text for details, boxes to group related concepts, arrows to show connections. The structure is as important as the drawings.

When Sketchnoting Works Best

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need to be able to draw to sketchnote?

No. Sketchnoting uses simple shapes and icons, not realistic drawings. If you can draw a circle, a square, and a stick figure, you have all the artistic skill you need. The goal is visual organization, not artistic quality.

Q: How do I get faster at sketchnoting?

Practice and repetition. Build a consistent library of icons you use repeatedly. The more you use the same icons, the faster you can draw them. Most experienced sketchnoters have a core set of 20–30 icons they use for 80% of their notes.

Q: Can I sketchnote digitally?

Yes. Apps like Notability, GoodNotes, and Procreate work well for digital sketchnoting on a tablet. The advantage of digital is that you can easily undo, resize, and rearrange elements. The disadvantage is that it requires a tablet and stylus.

Q: Is sketchnoting better than regular note-taking?

Not universally. It's a different approach that works better for some subjects and some learners. The research on visual note-taking is mixed. The most consistent finding is that any note-taking that requires active processing (rather than passive transcription) improves retention.