A quest for faster handwriting
Generally, I prefer to take notes by hand because it's what I'm used to and can be more convenient compared to typing up notes on a laptop. (typing speed: approximately 60 wpm)
I can already write by hand relatively quickly but I figured it might not hurt to try and get faster. So I decided to look into shorthand, something I've never formally attempted to learn. I don't think I know anyone who knows shorthand, at least that I'm aware of.
I read a little bit about the different varieties of shorthand writing and decided they all seemed a bit too complex than I wanted to deal with learning. That being the case, I decided that I'd just try to come up with my own personal form of semi-shorthand.
I already have certain phrases/words that I abbreviate when trying to take notes quickly, so from here it's just a matter of expanding on that. (I think what I will do is try to eliminate vowels when possible, as in Teeline)
One of the simpler forms of shorthand writing to learn is called Teeline and it's a system that British journalists are required to learn at a speed of at least 100 wpm (I did not know that!). I don't know how common the use of shorthand is in the American journalism business, but apparently the variety typically used in the US is Gregg shorthand.
Anyways, I figured I'd take inventory of my preexisting abbreviations and maybe come up with a few new ones as well. Some of the following abbreviations aren't entirely proprietary to me. Here they are:
(for reference to see what abbrevations/shorthand I already use, I'm looking at some notes I took at a transportation event, so the terms here may be a bit transpo-heavy)
CE: county executive (eg Elrich)
CM: councilmember (eg Riemer/Glass/Rice/etc)
TkPk: Takoma Park
GT: Germantown
RV: Rockville
SS: Silver Spring (also: DTSS for downtown Silver Spring)
Gburg: Gaithersburg
Cburg; Clarksburg
QO: Quince Orchard (while we're on this topic, schools generally can be referred to by their abbreviations provided that I know the abbreviation and it will not be confused with another school. eg SVHS, RMHS, NWHS, LBES, etc.)
btw: between
k: thousand (eg 5k students)
bil/mil: billion/million
pkg: parking
BW: Brunswick (as in the MARC line)
cty: county (also upcty: upcounty)
MoCo: Montgomery County
transpo: transportation
infra: infrastructure
xwalk: crosswalk
abt: about
CCT: Capital Crescent trail and/or Corridor Cities Transitway (dependent on context -- maybe cap. cres is a clearer abbreviation for the trail)
BRT: bus rapid transit
ctr: center
ppl: people
w/: with
b/c: because
diff: different
MC: Montgomery College (obviously!)
& or +: and
P&R: park and ride
mgmt: management
env: environment(al)
bldg: building
smth: something
WP: Washington Post (related: NYT, New York Times)
cont.: continued
sta: station
Arl.: Arlington (VA)
FFX: Fairfax
PG: Prince George's
Alex.: Alexandria
circ.: Circulator (bus, DC)
WOD: Washington-Old Dominion trail (in VA)
WMATA or Metro: self-explanatory
Use initials to refer to people when possible/practical/it will make sense. (eg: ST, the professor)
Buildings at MC have abbreviations; use those (RV: CC, CB, HU, MT, TA, SC, SW, SB, TC. GT: SA, HT, BE, PK, HS).
Anything that is commonly abbreviated that I haven't mentioned here, I probably still use those abbreviations, I just didn't think of them while making this list.
Potential abbreviations:
Bthsd: Bethesda
Mont. Vil (MV?): Montgomery Village
SG: Shady Grove (station)
To be continued?
I can already write by hand relatively quickly but I figured it might not hurt to try and get faster. So I decided to look into shorthand, something I've never formally attempted to learn. I don't think I know anyone who knows shorthand, at least that I'm aware of.
I read a little bit about the different varieties of shorthand writing and decided they all seemed a bit too complex than I wanted to deal with learning. That being the case, I decided that I'd just try to come up with my own personal form of semi-shorthand.
I already have certain phrases/words that I abbreviate when trying to take notes quickly, so from here it's just a matter of expanding on that. (I think what I will do is try to eliminate vowels when possible, as in Teeline)
One of the simpler forms of shorthand writing to learn is called Teeline and it's a system that British journalists are required to learn at a speed of at least 100 wpm (I did not know that!). I don't know how common the use of shorthand is in the American journalism business, but apparently the variety typically used in the US is Gregg shorthand.
Anyways, I figured I'd take inventory of my preexisting abbreviations and maybe come up with a few new ones as well. Some of the following abbreviations aren't entirely proprietary to me. Here they are:
(for reference to see what abbrevations/shorthand I already use, I'm looking at some notes I took at a transportation event, so the terms here may be a bit transpo-heavy)
CE: county executive (eg Elrich)
CM: councilmember (eg Riemer/Glass/Rice/etc)
TkPk: Takoma Park
GT: Germantown
RV: Rockville
SS: Silver Spring (also: DTSS for downtown Silver Spring)
Gburg: Gaithersburg
Cburg; Clarksburg
QO: Quince Orchard (while we're on this topic, schools generally can be referred to by their abbreviations provided that I know the abbreviation and it will not be confused with another school. eg SVHS, RMHS, NWHS, LBES, etc.)
btw: between
k: thousand (eg 5k students)
bil/mil: billion/million
pkg: parking
BW: Brunswick (as in the MARC line)
cty: county (also upcty: upcounty)
MoCo: Montgomery County
transpo: transportation
infra: infrastructure
xwalk: crosswalk
abt: about
CCT: Capital Crescent trail and/or Corridor Cities Transitway (dependent on context -- maybe cap. cres is a clearer abbreviation for the trail)
BRT: bus rapid transit
ctr: center
ppl: people
w/: with
b/c: because
diff: different
MC: Montgomery College (obviously!)
& or +: and
P&R: park and ride
mgmt: management
env: environment(al)
bldg: building
smth: something
WP: Washington Post (related: NYT, New York Times)
cont.: continued
sta: station
Arl.: Arlington (VA)
FFX: Fairfax
PG: Prince George's
Alex.: Alexandria
circ.: Circulator (bus, DC)
WOD: Washington-Old Dominion trail (in VA)
WMATA or Metro: self-explanatory
Use initials to refer to people when possible/practical/it will make sense. (eg: ST, the professor)
Buildings at MC have abbreviations; use those (RV: CC, CB, HU, MT, TA, SC, SW, SB, TC. GT: SA, HT, BE, PK, HS).
Anything that is commonly abbreviated that I haven't mentioned here, I probably still use those abbreviations, I just didn't think of them while making this list.
Potential abbreviations:
Bthsd: Bethesda
Mont. Vil (MV?): Montgomery Village
SG: Shady Grove (station)
To be continued?
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