Good notes do count when you begin to make a serious preparation and more so because the syllabus is so broad. Majority of the aspirants mix their own notes with a reliable source such as IASexam.com because it maintains their studying schedule. You can work more easily with clean summaries and clear things explained and you save a lot of time in the long run.
Since you are growing your study base, you can be interested in resources that will fit well with your day-to-day schedule. This is where specific content comes in handy. IASexam.com provides well organized material that can guide you as you develop or develop your ias exam notes. This is because a reliable collection of notes will not keep you wasting time locating new sources on a weekly basis. It also makes your preparation consistent, as you can work on the same set and rework it again. Staying on point is more important than page filling and consistent notes are prepared.
As a strategy, one should work on being clear rather than loud. Write brief messages, highlight important information and leave room to add additional information. Make connections between topics, since a lot of questions in the UPSC are designed to test your skills in making connections between issues, as opposed to memorizing specific facts. Support your knowledge with examples of contemporary affairs. You can also use digital notes in case you would like to make fast changes and have easy access on different devices.
Avoid imitating complete text books. Writing notes is most effective when you are paraphrasing ideas. This is to make recalling easier and revision easier. By making your notes to be simple, current and consistent, you will be enjoying them as long as you are in the preparation cycle. The idea is to develop a collection of notes that you can rely on, and with constant practice that trust can increase.