Advice on note taking. Alternatives?

in Off-Topic
I seem to take good notes and it happens to be a good method, but it's TIME CONSUMING. Plus the fact that I'm trying to study for the CCNA, 70-642, and CWNA at the same time since I am taking classes dedicated to those, restricts study even more. I do labs at the school, but I still feel like I need to dive into the books to get the best out of the subject. Anyone here care to share note taking advice or alternatives to note taking when reading books?