For lecture notes, I have always worked from an outline. Unfortunately, I am also a stickler for form and have always tried to make the lecture content fit into an outline form. By this I mean that there should be at least two points for every heading or subheading to be considered good form for an outline.
I have found Information just doesn't always fall in an outline form to be easily presented. I am anxious to rewrite some notes in the tree diagram form. I think it will provide the flexibility I was never able to find in my rigid outlines. Actually, I'm just disappointed I didn't think of this idea earlier myself but rather read about this idea in this course!