For some people, a computer will never replace a pen and paper for note-taking during meetings. But for others, electronic notes may make more sense, especially if they have to share them electronically anyway. Here are three questions to determine which way is best.

High-speed presentations, rambling discussions, unclear decisions, and vague action items at meetings without agendas make life hard for meeting note-takers, writes Lynn Gaertner-Johnston. Here are a few of her tips for organizing meetings that are easier to record.

Not surprisingly, 85% of executives are dissatisfied with the efficiency and effectiveness of their companies’ meetings, reports Harvard Business Review. Here are two ways to help drive better decision-making during a meeting—and boost your boss’s efficiency:

Taking minutes wasn’t getting any easier for Terri Michaels, even after years of practice. “I had become wordy, and the minutes were sometimes eight pages. Each new director or company wanted them done differently,” she says. Finally, she enrolled in a workshop, and things changed. Now she uses these 10 best practices:

At Progress Energy’s quarterly “compliments and concerns” meeting, senior administrative assistant Amy Finelli uses a template for minute taking. As a result, she can quickly send out notes after the meeting “because I don’t have to figure out how to organize the topics,” she says. Here are a few more of Finelli’s power tools for meetings:

Tasked with recording minutes? Designate a “parking lot,” where all off-topic ideas can reside. It can be a real or figurative whiteboard where you list ideas as they pop up. Participants can pursue those ideas at a more appropriate time.