this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2023
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With so much note taking apps nowadays, I can't understand why does anyone still write notes with pen and paper. You need to bring the notepad, book or that paper to retrieve that information, and most of the time you don't have it in hand. While my phone almost always reachable and you carry when you go out. For those still like to do handwriting, there's many app does that and they can even convert it to text notes.

So, if you still write notes with pen and paper, why?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Just on phone. They're not important notes though. Just random stuff. I don't even remember the context for 80% of that.

Some examples:

Slimport is its name you donut

Yeah, what's Slimport?

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Never did. Too much lazy, and dump1090 works.

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You get the idea.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I usually have a dozen sticky notes on my desk - some i write and some other people leave for me. An email from three days ago is easier to forget than the sticky note.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I have an A6 pocket notebook that I carry around in my pocket and I keep notes in there.

Mostly I just map out the next few weeks at a glance and then note down things I have to do day by day. Sometimes I make an extra entry to take notes on and plan things in more detail as needed, e.g. my upcoming holiday, the itinerary, my flights and visas and accommodation and transport and a few things to do in each place, or the wifi password of a place I'm staying, or notes and thoughts on something I'm researching.

My notebook never distracts me the way my phone might, and it's easier to keep my notes accessible over the term of a few weeks, because they're just there.

I still use an online calendar and obsidian for more long-term notes.

Edit: I also sometimes use my notebook, which cost about 0.50 €, to stabilise a wonky table. I wouldn't do that with my phone.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

a mixed of digital + pen/paper notes. The latter especially when I need to sketch out ideas, diagrams, equations and a bunch of arrows between them.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I use my phone for quick notes on the go, or creating lists of information I want to be able to re order and edit.

I use pen and paper mainly for brain dumps. Getting a stream of thoughts out of my head and on to paper. I find trying to use a phone for this will lead to some distraction and the thought will go before I capture all of the info.

I also use pen and paper when studying a topic, especially for a test, I find the simple of act of writing the information down is enough to cement it in my brain, even if I never go back and read those notes.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I enjoy writing with fountain pens, and I've got to justify the numerous pens and inks I have. I also find it helps me with recall and focus. So I take notes by hand most of the time.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I use paper for shopping lists, to keep track of dimensions etc, and to-do lists for work.

I tried multiple note taking or to do list apps over the course of a few years before going back to paper.

Benefits: No risk of scratching/dropping my phone because I have it out. Can easily emphasize text, star/cross off items, and mix diagrams and text. Can quickly scan many items by eye. Works when my phone battery dies. Works when no cell service (unlike some collaborative to-do/list apps) Can hand the list to my partner. Instant sync. Satisfying to physically toss out completed lists. Can reference the list while on the phone. Not distracted by phone alerts. Never get spam email or pop ups urging me to pay for an app, or rate an app; no terms of service or privacy policy!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Yes, for recipe.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I do not trust things in my phone to stay private.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

As a uni student I do both. I generally type notes during lectures and live meetings, and handwrite notes for prerecorded videos and other general study.

I still handwrite because my exams are going to be handwritten and I don't want to lose my ability to handwrite fast lol.

You can also doodle/draw diagrams when you handwrite. It's harder to do that on a phone/computer.

I still use pen and paper because it just feels better than handwriting on a screen.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah, it's the best way to study.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Sure do. I-was-saying

Fiddling with my phone has extra steps and sometimes it's good to have something written within viewing distance that I wrote with my own hands, which adds to the memory retention of whatever it is.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Sometimes i need to hand info to someone, or paper is just nearby, or i need to draw a diagram.

I do have an ipad, but if you are brainstorming with other people, they don't always know how to use it/touch the wrong thing.

All other notes are digital, because i am bad at keeping track of pieces of paper.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Speak for yourself.

Pros of pen and paper: always in my pocket, very fast to open up and read and write notes. Never runs out of battery. Readable even in brightest sunlight.

Cons of phone: must remember to take it with you or search your apartment to find where you place it and hope you have remembered to charge it during past couple of days. Additionally you have to unlock it and flick through the menus to find the note app. Additionally additionally you have to remember to take a charger where ever you go.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Cons of phone: must remember to take it with you or search your apartment to find where you place it and hope you have remembered to charge it during past couple of days.

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who leaves the phone at home, or forgets to charge it. 90% of my time using the internet it's from an actual computer.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Yes, but I use a rocket book to easily digitize these days. Tried a remarkable, but didn't quite like the process once many pages were involved (slow to flip through pages).

I also keep quite a few notes on the computer and phone via self hosted Joplin. Which is awesome too.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Aesthetics mostly, but also it feels more tangible when expressing myself physically, not digitally. Like, I can better recognize what I wrote, because there were more senses involved in writing than there are with typing

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Yes! Pen and paper is much more flexible compared to writing-software. It's easy to draw around or write on the margins when needed. I've tried writing with a stylus but I find it harder to use. I usually use this for class and if I have to jot down something quickly.

The only thing I don't put on paper is my todo list. Software manages that so much better than pen and paper. I also don't print out reading material anymore as it gets expensive and very bulky. I use xournalpp for annotation instead.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I do physical and digital notes both, just so that information is available in as many places as possible. I need a number to refer to a thing in an email? It's in a word doc, on a post-it note on my monitor, on my physical and digital calendar probably, and in a spreadsheet. No matter what, I can find the info I need.

And I feel like the actual act of handwriting helps me remember what I'm writing. I'll take notes during a meeting or a class, never look at them again, and remember the important info. If I don't take notes, I might as well have not been there lol.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Since I got a Remarkable 2 tablet I don't write on paper anymore. It's still handwriting so it's kind of the best of both worlds.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I work with a deaf guy.

Harder to draw diagrams on a phone.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Nah, tablet and stylus

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I did! And then didn't use them. I finally had some Internet via WiFi so I downloaded a notes app and actually used them!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

yes, there is music in the sound of pen across paper and magic in the scratch of a pencil. I still use my phone to take quick notes but I love the sound and feel of paper.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Depends. Usually I avoid relying too hard on my handwriting since it sucks ass, but sometimes I need to annotate schematics for 30 year old computers

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

most of my notes i take digitally, but if i'm working on something i'll use pen and paper so i don't risk damaging my phone.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I don’t think I have touched a pen for much other than signing my name since Covid hit

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Typing is better than writing in a solid 75% of cases in my opinion. I agree that you tend to remember things that you physically wrote down better than things you type, but that can be mitigated against if you're in a situation where you need to remember things with strategies like spaced repetition.

In a lecture setting I would prefer to physically write things down, but you also have to be careful with this and only try and summarize because many people have the wrong strategy and try and transcribe slideshows or the lecturer's words verbatim, get halfway through a sentence, the lecturer moves on to the next page, you then have to try and remember the rest, probably get bits wrong, and by the time you've finished that then they're on to the next page and you're just not having a great time. If you get good at typing then you can keep up much better but that's still not the right thing to do in the lecture hall, unless your lecturer doesn't give out the notes or slideshows afterwards or record the lectures. then you're just kinda shit outta luck.

In just everyday settings, like writing a shopping list, keeping reminders? probably on my phone or laptop.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I did take all my notes for university on pen and paper because I don't have a laptop with a touchscreen and pen. But I was never quite happy, since I would lose some notes or not find something specific that I knew I wrote down somewhere. This semester I tried using Obsidian and I and it has been great so far. I am now able to search my notes by text and I can back them up somewhere safe. When I'm not on my laptop I take quick notes on my phone but the important ones will then later be transferred to Obsidian.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

If you have to write equations and drawings, pen and paper is still better for me. I'll scan it to onenote afterwards.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Important notes yes. I have like a billion notes on my computer. I don't want to grep that.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I kinda meet in the middle and just digitally scan my handwritten notes. It makes for easier backups and still have all the benefits of writing paper notes

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

generally no, but sometimes yes - mostly jotting down phone numbers, or if one of my many different passwords change until I can memorize it, (ie: at work), etc

other than that, the only time pen touches paper is when I write a check.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I do that for work, for instance when evaluating students and sharing my desktop, it is just more convenient and private to do it on a paper. Maybe also nostalgia plays a factor here, since even in uni not that long ago, I still used notebook and pen.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago
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