How Can I Use My Own Notes?

i was having a chat over the phone with an a level student yesterday. He was studying philosophy, politics and ways at english rature. And i it seemed like the way he was working was that he was putting these ankleweights on himself,. Like he was painstakingly writing out his own notes. So i asked him if he had friends in the year above who got stales in all there subjects? And he was that year, and was, wouldn't use their notes! It just seemed like such an obvious thing for me to say - but he hadn't thought about that. I think opening people's eyes to the possibility that there are easier ways of going about things rather than the standard