How To Choose The Best Meeting Journal Notebook For You

A meeting journal notebook is immensely useful to keep a record of discussions, agreements, actions, and other details that you may need in the future. This simple tool can make meetings more productive and add accountability to actions. Your meeting notes are done in point form to capture the essence of discussions. Also, note who brought the topic up, and what was agreed. Studies show that we cannot rely on our memory as much as we think. An aid such as a meeting journal notebook is important when two people believe two opposing views or agreements were decided.

A record of the meeting minutes will then be a deciding factor and can be a tool for keeping good relationships. Participants can see that someone is keeping notes and writing throughout the meeting and therefore can trust the minutes of the meeting. It is also most important to send the meeting minutes to all participants as soon as possible. This ensures that the record of the meeting is accurate and agreed upon by all participants. These are key reasons to purchase a meeting journal notebook that is right for you. There are several key factors to making that decision that I will mention here. Before I do that, allow me to tell you why you should consider my advice.

Me and My Advice

As a business consultant for the last three-plus decades, I have noticed that most companies need to have better more productive meetings. This is something that affects both large and small companies. The truth about it is that most companies do not spend enough effort to get the most out of their meetings. Implement meetings training, a policy on how meetings are conducted and use a meeting journal notebook. When two or more people meet for business, they should use a meeting journal for the reasons we know that have already been mentioned. The amount of action items agreed upon but not followed up from meetings can be quantified in the cost of the same issues arising repeatedly. It is a large quantity that most businesses can’t afford but don’t do enough to fix it. Keep an accurate record of meetings and increase your productivity.

Five Factors to Consider when Choosing Your meeting journal notebook

There are five factors to consider when choosing your notebook which will lead to better more productive meetings. You may also want to review The Twenty Essential Elements For Conducting Productive Business Meetings by clicking here. There are many meeting notebooks on the market today. Many of them have similar page features and are designed for specific meetings. There are very few that are designed for all types. The five factors to consider for yourself are as follows:

1. Style
2. Type of meetings
3. Frequency of meetings
4. Structure of pages
5. Features

Let’s look at these five in greater detail. My pick is located at the bottom of the page.

The look of the book says a lot about the person

There are many meeting journal notebook styles available to the consumer. The book style includes, color, design, binding, size, and hardcover or paperback. Various journals come in many book colors. From bright colors like neon pink to simple but elegant black and white. Bright colors may be appropriate for informal meetings while a book with classic colors can be used for both formal and informal meetings. The design of the cover will also convey whether the person using it is serious about taking meeting minutes, and the meeting itself.

There are many binding types also available from spiral to perfect bound. A spiral binding is good for most meetings but will not be seen in the same way as a perfect bound binding book. The perfect bound binding has a more sophisticated and serious tone for the most serious meetings as well as more casual ones. The size of the meeting notebook will also convey a subtle message and so will the cover. It is a different message whether your meeting notebook cover is paperback or hardcover. Your style pick depends on your tastes and the type of meetings you will attend.

Type of Meetings

The size of the meeting and whether it’s for formal meetings matter.

There are many types of meetings that you may attend, from one-on-one meetings to large group meetings. You may also attend formal and informal meetings. An informal meeting may be a meeting with one or two other colleagues, while a formal meeting example is a board meeting with up to a dozen or more meeting participants. The meeting settings and environment will also influence the choice of your meeting notebook. If all your meetings are in coffee shops then a less formal notebook can be considered. For all types of meetings, in different settings and environments, choose a flexible option where the meeting notebook fits in both environments.

Frequency of Meetings

The number of meetings you attend per week is worth considering.

Most people never consider the frequency of meetings that they attend as part of the equation when choosing the right meeting notebook. Most meeting journals on the market today will only have meeting minute pages. These types of books are great when you are not planning on having or attending many meetings. However, if you are having a large volume of meetings you should choose a meeting notebook that has an index. This will become very important when you are trying to find previous meeting details as you will be flipping many pages looking for the specific one. An index allows you to quickly go to the pages numbered on the index so that you can find the specific meetings you’re looking for easily. If you are having more than a couple of meetings per week, then choose one with an index in it.

Structure of Pages

The number of details you want on a page is important.

There are many structured types of pages available today. All have prompted sections for the details of the meeting. Some of the notebooks will be designed to record basic information while others will have more sections to record greater details. The basics include the date, location, attendees, time, meeting topics and action items. More comprehensive notebooks will contain other prompt sections including, facilitator, timekeeper, topic presenter, time allocated, action items responsible person, and due dates for each action item.

Formal meetings require a meeting notebook that has detailed page structures so that you can record all necessary details. The number of pages you need should also be on your mind. Someone who attends many meetings doesn’t want to purchase a meeting notebook with a small number of pages. A meeting notebook with a larger number of pages means that you don’t have to bring a few notebooks to ongoing meetings. This is handy should you need to revert to previous meetings.

The number of features to make it easier on you also counts

The number of features a meeting journal notebook has is important to you, as not all meeting journals are alike. These features include the ability to locate meetings and notes throughout the book easily in the form of an index. The ability to track short and long meetings alike by using several pages or just one as required. The ability to track all your action items in one centralized location is important. No one wants to constantly flip pages to find the actions for various meetings. Well-structured pages enable you to have the flexibility to capture all necessary information easily. Even the look of the book is important as already mentioned. Consider these features before you purchase your meeting notebook.

My Choice!

My choice of meeting journal notebook is the Konnect Meeting Minutes Journal. It has a well-designed classic black and white cover. It has approximately 300 pages to enable the recording of many meetings. There is an index for easy referencing of past meetings. A separate section for all the action items from your meetings, This meeting journal also has well-structured prompt pages for any type of meeting, including board meetings. This meeting journal also has separate meetings at a glance page for ongoing daily, weekly, or monthly meetings. It is a professional meeting notebook for any setting and environment and is available in both hardcover and paperback editions. It simply has more features than those in the market and was created to make meetings more productive.

Conclusion

This is now the time to make your choice. The five factors mentioned will provide you with a great choice designed for you. Choose one with a style that fits your situation, with the features that you need and want. Apply good meeting minute practices and not only make your meetings more productive but watch your accomplishments grow.