Microsoft OneNote: Your new best friend

Law students are forced to deal with many challenges. They have to juggle courses like Contracts, Criminal Law and Civil Procedure in the same semester while making sure they can remember the details of complicated fact patterns. If a law student is unable to organize this information, it will add further stress come exam time.

I didn't want to fall prey to disorganization, so I began researching ahead of time how I could keep my information straight. The answer: Microsoft OneNote - a powerful organization tool that can keep your academic life in shape. Since learning about OneNote, I have used it to organize the notes I take in class and at home. (Full disclosure: I am not being paid by Microsoft to promote OneNote, but I really wouldn't mind. Are you listening, Steve Ballmer?)

From what I've observed, most people have no idea what OneNote can do - all they know is that it came with Microsoft Office and has been left untouched since they installed Word, Excel and Powerpoint. This is a shame because OneNote is particularly useful to students who need to organize a lot of information and access it quickly.

To the uninitiated, OneNote may not seem like much. "Why should I use OneNote when I can take notes in Word?" they ask.

Let me count the ways:

• OneNote makes switching between class notes easy. For those who take notes in Word, you have to manually locate the files you want, which may involve going through several folders and sub-folders, depending on how organized you are. With OneNote, you can create separate "notebooks" or "sections" for each class, and flip over to them with one click. Likewise, you can create separate "pages" for each day's worth of notes without having to open multiple documents. You can also search across all these pages simultaneously.  

 Here, "notebooks" run down the side, while "sections" run along the top. It's up to you how to organize, but OneNote makes switching easy. 

I have created a page for each day of notes, and can switch to and search all of them with ease.

• Never lose your files again. OneNote automatically saves your work while you type. You don't have to worry about accidentally exiting without saving, or having a sudden crash wipe out your data. 

• Type where you want, how you want. One of the best parts about taking notes by hand is the ability to write anywhere on your paper.  But in Word, you are limited to where you can type. For instance, you have to hit tab several times if you want to start typing at an indent. In contrast, OneNote allows you to start typing anywhere on the screen with one click. In practice, I use this feature to write small side notes in the margins while I am in class. OneNote restores the freedom to write anywhere.  

 Try getting Word to create text like this!

• Tag notes for easy retrieval. This is perhaps OneNote's greatest strength. With just a couple keystrokes, you can "star" your notes as important, classify them as definitions, or mark them as questions to review later. I love this feature, especially the definitions. You can highlight important definitions, and then use OneNote to compile them all in a single list. You can even use OneNote to specify what class you'd like to see definitions for. Thus with little effort, you can build a dictionary for each of your classes.

All the definitions/important notes I've tagged for Civil Procedure.

I understand that people are used to taking notes with Word and may not be willing to learn a new program. But OneNote is simple to use and can keep your law school life organized and keep your stress levels down. Unfortunately, my Criminal Law professor for next semester is banning laptops completely, which means I will have to live without my trusty OneNote.