I find I retain info better using pen and paper.

I can type pretty fast on a full keyboard, so for me writing is slower. But because it is slower, I find it can be more thoughtful. About two years ago I started making an effort to hand write notes to help me think, learn, and remember things.

Pen and paper are also pretty great. You can take them anywhere. They don’t require electricity or a battery. They are small and lightweight. You can use them on a hike. You can use them if the power goes out. The format will never become unsupported.

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So many things in my life require me to use a computer screen. Writing on paper is a way to escape that, distance myself from distractions and feel peaceful

At the beginning of every workday I write a to-do list on paper with pen and cross the items out as soon as I’m done with them. I also take notes on paper when I read and review papers, it helps me retain the information better. My phone and my computer screen are often the main source of distraction for me and my notebook helps me keep the focus on the task.

Tons.

I apply the Getting Things Done methodology my personal task management. Additionally, I employ the Zettelkasten method, as described by this: https://www.soenkeahrens.de/en/takesmartnotes

In case that you might be familiar with those methodologies, there is a mandatory temporary or previous stage of everything that I process that I do in paper. As such, I use pen and paper for capture and for meeting notes. Afterwards, I process those into the right places using digital tools for later review. I could not fathom capturing these snippets of information using digital tools. Pen and paper is simply faster and more convenient.

I work in IT, specifically managing projects and coordinating teams. They always give me weird looks when I wipe out my notebook and pen and start taking notes. I am unyielding in this matter. Additionally, I always prefer using a whiteboard when discussing something with other people, instead of using some kind of bloated online app. It is faster, and future-proof.

Also,

There is scientific evidence that taking quick notes with pen and paper has cognitive advantages over keyboard typing.

For instance, the Amazon AWS CTO always takes notes in pen and paper. Here he briefly talks about it: https://www.allthingsdistributed.com/2023/06/a-few-words-on-taking-notes.html

I would say that the biggest difference between taking notes in pen or keyboard is that, using pen and paper I’m able to synthesize and draw information in a more free-form and unstructured manner. While taking notes with a keyboard feels more like I’m an stenographer, merely transcribing word by word what is being said.

I work in an environment where the accuracy and detail in my notes is critical, and the faster I write, the better both are. More than once, notes I took on something that seemed unrelated at the time were the key to figuring out what went wrong. Additionally, it’s common in my field to work in places where the best case for being caught with an unauthorized device is said device being nuked from orbit, and worst case, still that but also being charged with treason 🙃

Plus, it’s just really satisfying to take notes in whatever color I feel like for the day 😁

I have a hybrid system. I use a combination of both depending on context. In the end though, it all gets loaded into Obsidian unless it is work related. It makes it easier to decide what is important enough to keep and archive in a searchable format.

Usually something very information heavy like lectures will go directly to digital. I have a hard time keeping up in a legible way if I try to do it by hand.

Fast notes and anything that I can take my time with will go onto pen and paper. Same with when I’m away from my desk. I hate taking notes with my phone in general. The only exception is if the note contains a URL beyond the basic name.domain type deals. I do this stuff by hand because scribbling a note when I’m out is faster than getting the phone out and opening a notes app. When I’m at the desk, it is just nice to slow down and think about what I’m writing some times. Other times it’s just easier to grab a writing utensil and scribble down contact information in a full screen application or on the phone.

Back in this January I decided to start writing morning pages and decided to use fountain pen. Also thought to spend a little bit much more on a nice fountain pen. While at the time I thought I was rushing to just buying things, this purchase was really great! I still write with it every single day, morning pages and daily notes.

When I’m on the phone and need to take notes duh.

Writing on your phone is fine for structured notes that aren’t going to change much but they really really suck for free form writing.

I use an A5 Leuchtturm1917 Weekly Planner for my work shifts, appointments, reminders, tasks, to do’s, etc. It has blank sections for each day allowing you to format your daily plan how you like and you can cross things out and add to it as needed (really great for paying bills as you can note it down then write “paid” next to it).

While you don’t get audible alerts from it, I have found that after using google calendars for years that 95% of the entries don’t need an audio alert & have the downside of disappearing from your notifications at the end of the scheduled time or day which can be a pain when you want to push a task to the next day. With pen and paper things stay until you mark them as done (and there is many different ways to do that).

I have a couple of A5 ruled notebooks for my lists, longer term to do lists, messages etc. When you cross something out it doesn’t disappear or move to another place in an app, it sits there easily visible for future reference or reminders.

There is certainly something freeing from using physical pen and paper to write how you want and structure your notes how they work for you without having to spread them across multiple apps.

• Need to make graphs or make plans or maps? Use graph or dot grid paper.
• Need to write structured notes? Use one of the many lined papers with your preferred line density and spacing.
• Want to free form your notes &/or draw? Use plain paper or sketch paper.
• Want to write music? Use paper printed with staff’s.
• Need to plan your day? Use one of the great many daily, weekly, monthly or yearly planners ranging from structured all the way to free form.
• Have a need to keep track of “to do’s”? There a great number of pads, notebooks, planners and journals that are all about to do lists (there are even systems that have set ways to mark items as in progress, on hold, completed, etc to make things more consistent).
• Want to keep a record of books, movies, recipes, plants, travel, babies etc? Guess what, there are journals formatted especially for these. topics

After trying to do 100% of my notes, planning, to do’s, reminders, etc on my phone for over 15 years and having constant issues with notification spam, missed reminders and finding information I have moved back to using planners and notebooks.

They allow me to write how I want, cross things out, add thing in, highlight, draw diagrams, maps, plans etc and most important of all it allows me to make mistakes and correct them.

I have found that I am reaching far less for my phone to look up daily plans & notes as I am remembering them more reliably after writing them down by hand.

A6 notebook + mechanical pencil are an indispensable part of my travel kit. i always worry that i will lose my phone at some point so important addresses are written there.
pen and paper can be very useful in places with a different language/writing system. there was a time i looked for a specific product that i had a difficulty describing. fortunately, i met a local who can speak english and asked him to write down the local name of the said product. it can be done on the phone but i find that older people are more comfortable writing with a pen and paper.
for everyday, i use my phone s native notes app for quick jots but still carry with me a notebook and pencil.

it’s faster

• pen/cil & paper

• marker + any surface

• pen on skin

@hsl I have lots of notes from my college & high school years, all scattered through various notebooks that I had to take from home when I left. So it’s all a mess that I’m not that fond of. My country is also one where the educational system is pretty digitally backwards, so while on college students with laptops became quite ubiquitous over time (I started using a Lenovo Yoga 8 tablet, then a netbook, then the same tablet with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse) - even having a tablet in high school was short of a crime, unofficially.

I do indeed have notes scattered through apps, but I find it way easier exporting these and putting everything together, while I cannot easily do this with notebooks.

At my current job, I received a notebook though, and a 4-colors ballpoint pen. I started taking my training notes there, and I must say I find it easier to retain the info and memorize at least where can I find a specific information - something that I’m not sure I could’ve achieved with a digital note-taking app, no matter how good its indexing is. Also, if you want to schematize things, nothing beats pen and paper imo. Sure, you can buy an expensive tablet with a pen for the screen (an iPad, or a Galaxy Note). But you can get a pen for, what? Less than a dollar at a corner store? (with 2-3 RON I can buy a set of pens, and they hold me for years - probably way more than the aforementioned devices).

With that said, I am still looking for the perfect note-taking app for my personal use. It should have the following features:

• As small as possible, so I can install it on older, not-so-large storage capacity devices of mine.
• The ability to save notes in a format that can be opened on PC (either with the same app or other apps).

I already found some that might fit the bill, but I am not sure which one to pick. Guess I’ll figure it out.

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