Do you still write notes with pen and paper?

techconsulnerd@programming.dev to Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 267 points –

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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Yes, pen & paper notes always. I consider myself a techie, but when it comes to learning or remembering, 100% analog, all the way.

As for the why, it's a bit hard to explain, but the sensory experience of writing - the feeling and sound of the pen or pencil gliding on the paper - and the fact that I write more slowly than I type, which helps me sit with and process the infformation for a bit longer, really helps cement the info in my head.

There’s research that backs you up.

People tend to retain more of their written notes than typed. The act of writing forces you to assimilate and summarize new information on the fly. Typing allows you to take more complete notes closer to a verbatim transcript, but you engage less with what you’ve typed.

https://gradepowerlearning.com/writing-vs-typing-notes-what-is-more-effective/#:~:text=The%20research%20is%20clear%3A%20the,Hard%20to%20believe%3F

Oh yes. The actual craft of writing something down with a pencil does wonders for me to actually remembering stuff.

Yeah the note itself doesn't really matter in my experience, it's the note-taking itself that helps register stuff.

Its your sense of proprioception, too. To write something with pen and paper you have to move your hand in three dimensional space, and this does a TON to engrain the information in your head