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5 Ways to Take Notes from YouTube Videos Faster

youtube notesproductivitystudy tips

Taking notes from YouTube videos is painful. You hit pause, type a sentence, hit play, miss something, rewind 10 seconds, repeat. A 30-minute video turns into an hour-long note-taking marathon. There are better ways.

1. The Timestamp Method

Instead of pausing constantly, watch the video at normal speed and just jot down timestamps with a few keywords:

  • 3:20 - dopamine and habit formation
  • 7:45 - the 2-minute rule
  • 14:10 - stacking habits with existing routines

After the video ends, go back to only the parts that matter and write proper notes. This cuts your note-taking time roughly in half because you skip the low-value sections entirely.

Best for: Lectures, long-form content where only parts are relevant.

2. Speed Up and Skim

YouTube lets you play at 1.5x or 2x speed. Combined with the timestamp method, you can “scan” a 1-hour video in 30 minutes and still catch the key points.

Tips for speed watching:

  • Start at 1.5x and increase if the speaker talks slowly
  • Turn on captions so you catch words your ears miss at high speed
  • Pause only for genuinely complex ideas

Best for: Familiar topics where you are looking for specific new insights.

3. Use YouTube’s Built-in Chapters

Many creators add chapters to their videos. These show up as labeled segments in the progress bar. Use them as your note outline:

  1. Look at the chapter titles first
  2. Decide which sections are worth watching
  3. Skip directly to relevant chapters
  4. Take notes only from sections that matter

If the video does not have chapters, check if the description has timestamps. Creators often list them there.

Best for: Tutorial videos, how-to content with clear sections.

4. Screenshot Key Slides

For presentations, workshops, or any video with visual information on screen:

  • Use your OS screenshot shortcut when an important slide appears
  • On Mac: Cmd+Shift+4, on Windows: Win+Shift+S
  • Organize screenshots in a folder named after the video
  • Add text notes only for things the speaker says that are not on the slides

This works especially well for conference talks and courses where the slides contain the core information.

Best for: Slide-based presentations, coding tutorials, visual demonstrations.

5. Let AI Do the Heavy Lifting

The fastest method: skip manual note-taking entirely. AI summarization tools can watch the video for you and produce structured notes in seconds.

How it works:

  1. Copy the YouTube link
  2. Send it to an AI summary tool
  3. Get a structured summary with key points

The output is not a replacement for deep understanding, but it is excellent for:

  • Deciding whether a video is worth your full attention
  • Getting the key takeaways when you are short on time
  • Creating a first draft of notes that you then refine

For example, Get Summary AI on Telegram lets you paste any YouTube link and get both a quick summary and a detailed breakdown with timestamps. Send a link, get notes. Done.

Which Method Should You Use?

It depends on your goal:

GoalBest Method
Deep learning, exam prepTimestamp method + review
Quick overview of a topicAI summary
Catching up on a seriesSpeed watching
Presentation with slidesScreenshots
Long video, only parts relevantChapters + skip

Combining Methods for Maximum Speed

The real power move is combining these approaches:

  1. Start with AI: Get a summary to understand the video structure
  2. Use chapters/timestamps: Jump to the sections that matter most to you
  3. Speed watch those sections: At 1.5-2x with captions on
  4. Take focused notes: Only on the parts the AI summary flagged as important

This workflow turns a 1-hour video into 10-15 minutes of focused, high-quality note-taking.

The Bottom Line

The worst way to take notes from YouTube is the most common one: watching at 1x speed, pausing every 30 seconds, and transcribing everything. It is slow and you end up with too many notes to actually review later.

Pick one of the methods above based on your situation. Or better yet, start with a quick AI summary and only go deeper on the parts that genuinely need your attention. Your future self will thank you for the time saved.

Try Get Summary AI on Telegram for instant summaries of any YouTube video. It is free and takes about 10 seconds.

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