I've seen a few posts recently expressing frustration with neurotypical people and the secret implications an interaction can have. This might be obvious to a lot of people but I've been trying to figure out how I can be useful to others.
Just got out of an "attendance discussion" (quotes because it was scheduled electronically with that title) because i had a week off from covid (tested and documented) after being injured and having my compo claim accepted.
I brought a notebook with a folder in it and a pen. I wrote down the date and time of the meeting and the people present.
Just presenting that you're keeping a record of things is enough to change the entire dynamic between you and a supervisor. Unless you're being managed by the owner of a small company your supervisor has a supervisor and so on. When you show them that you are taking notes you are also showing them that you would have more credibility in a dispute that goes above their head.
Even if you're the dishwasher's assistant and you bring out a ratty looking notepad and scrawl something in it when your boss calls you into the office for being late. "Arrived 2:07pm for afternoon dish shift, dishpit empty, meeting with dylan"
I don't want to ramble too much but beyond this specific scenario of being in trouble you can use it to empower yourself at work. Writing down every day that you work and the times you show up and leave can help you defend a shorted paycheque or let you fudge the numbers a bit and go home early without approval because you keep a record "it says i left at 10pm bro I don't remember leaving early"
Use your phone if you want but older people will not respect your notes as much because they perceive electronic records to be more susceptible to manipulation than pencil on paper because idk. Better than no record, though. Plus when someone asks what you're doing in your phone you can say oh I'm just writing something down.
That's the post thanks
i appreciate that you spoke to the kind of "performance" element of notetaking and pads. my entire career has been punctuated by wrinkled white men who are actively irritated i don't take notes even at times when no meetings ever provide me new information or information that i did not already have recorded. even as an adult i occasionally get caught in a situation where the corpos get themselves in a certain mood because they're the only one that has a notepad and they think everyone has a goldfish brain like they do
e: me saying 'goldfish brain' is probably ableist
as someone who takes notes but also forgets to bring their notebook, my brain is like that of a goldfish, especially when i dont have to keep a thought in my head after writing it down.
I specifically didn't mention the utility of taking notes because i very much do not take notes. It's all performance for me. And yes wrinkly old white men do get upset but it's not because they think you have a poor memory it's because they think it's a sign of respect
oh yeah for sure. i wanted to try to describe the two different types. theres the old dudes that think im "coming unprepared" (and not learning and reacting to trends) and then there are the weirdos who think they have a chance to metagame you and then
when you recall something from a meeting correctly, they can't remember, check their notes, and find you remembered correctly and they cant somehow git yaYeah that guy uses his notes for the same reason but evil. Good on you though for standing up for yourself
