Everyday productivity
Turn meeting notes into actions
You will have a clear action list with an owner and a due date on every line, and a short list of open questions.
Before you start
- Notes from a real meeting or call, however messy
- A notes app, a document or a piece of paper
- An AI assistant is optional. You can do every step by hand, and nothing here needs a paid plan
Separate three kinds of line
Meeting notes usually mix three things together: what was decided, what someone must do, and what is still unclear. Read through your notes once and mark each line as a decision, an action or a question.
- Decision: something agreed. “We will move the launch to November.”
- Action: something a person must do. “Ravi will send the revised quote.”
- Question: something nobody could answer yet. “Who is booking the venue?”
Anything that does not fit one of the three is background. You can leave it out of the action list.
Write each action in a standard shape
Every action needs a verb, an owner and a date. Write it on one line so it can be scanned and ticked.
[Owner] will [verb + specific thing] by [date].
If the notes do not name an owner or a date, do not guess. Write “owner unknown” or “date unknown” and move the line to the open questions.
Check the dates
Words like “next week” or “Friday” are easy to misread days later. Replace each with the actual date. Check that no action is due before the thing it depends on is ready.
If you use an AI assistant
An AI assistant can do a first pass, but you stay responsible for the result. Paste only notes you are happy to share with that tool, and remove names or details you would not want shared. An account with an assistant is optional and not needed to follow this guide.
Here are my meeting notes. List only what is in the notes: (1) decisions, (2) actions as “Owner will do X by date”, (3) open questions. If an owner or date is not stated, write “unknown” rather than guessing. Do not add anything that is not in the notes. [paste notes]
Then read the result against your original notes, line by line.
Worked example
A small team is planning a community open day. This is a made-up example. Here are rough notes.
Open day moved to 16 Nov. Lena to ask the council about the permit. Need someone for tea and coffee. Ravi sending posters, probably this week. Parking?
- Decision: the open day is on 16 November.
- Action: Lena will ask the council about the permit by (date unknown).
- Action: Ravi will send the posters by (this week, check the date).
- Open question: who will run tea and coffee?
- Open question: what is the parking plan?
Two of the five lines have no firm date or owner. Saying so is more useful than a tidy list that hides the gaps.
Send it and follow up
Send the list to everyone who was there, ideally the same day. Ask people to reply only if something is wrong. Put a reminder in your calendar for the earliest due date.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Guessing an owner or date to make the list look complete
- Leaving vague dates such as “next week” in the final list
- Mixing decisions, actions and questions into one long list
- Trusting an AI summary without checking it against the notes
- Waiting days to send the list, when people have already forgotten
Final checklist
- I marked each line as a decision, action or question
- Every action has an owner and a date, or is marked unknown
- I replaced vague dates with real ones
- I compared the final list with the original notes
- I know when and how I will send it