Asklemmy

1. a notebook and pencil in my shirt pocket are faster to open than a phone app

2. handwriting is faster than thumb typing

3. I can sketch an electrical diagram on paper way faster than anyone can with a stylus on some janky phone screen.

3.1) Even if there was a stylus/screen combination with the same haptics, fidelity, and input recognition speed as pencil on paper, it wouldn't be 0.78€

4. I can toss the notebook and diagrams to anyone working on a project with me with zero worry that they'll drop it, forget it, or look around in the rest of it

5. I can tear out a page and hand it to anyone instantly, instead of finding out what messaging app we have in common, copying (or screenshotting) the note and pasting it in an app

6. I can insert a note into a physical book, stick it to the inside of a toolbox lid, a wall next to an electrical junction, inside a breaker box, or any other surface, and always have location-aware reminders waiting for me when I need them.

7. With minimal environmental control, my notes are effectively immortal. I have notebooks of measurements and diagrams of most rooms, wall cavities, pipe runs, electrical runs, cable pulls, and dimensions of various equipment that have outlasted hard drives, backup tapes, and a few cloud storage companies.

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.

I remember it better when I write it out. Typing doesn't do the same.

I do. Its much easier

I always have a notepad next to me while working. The notes on paper somehow guide my workflow.

Because i can scrawl a note faster than opening an app and typing, and i can organise a notebook with a lot less fuss.

I can't rely on a piece of electronics that might run out of battery, bug out, etc. Note taking on paper is much faster, you can draw anything with any sort of layout, it's completely free form. Of course it depends on your needs. I know I sketch down a lot because of my line of work, that may not be the case for everyone.

For those of you that do, join us at !fountainpens@wayfarershaven.eu :)

I used to have my shopping list on my phone. Replaced that by a whiteboard on the fridge, which is much less cumbersome to use (seriously, typing on a phone nowadays is almost worse than back in the T9 days). Before I go shopping, I just snap a picture with my phone.

I’ll answer with a simple test. Do the following first on your phone and then on a piece of paper:

Design a thing, something physical; a box, a house, a chair, whatever. In addition to the diagram, this note must include a description of the item, the bill of materials, the dimensions and, if applicable, assembly instructions that you could confidently hand to someone else and have them follow. Ideally, you should include the dimensions of the object directly on the sketch itself.

Now give this to someone and see how accurately they can reproduce the item while you go off and make a phone call.

Dont need to charge a piece of paper

I use paper for all my "at the moment notes" it's just easier because actually unlocking my phone and opening a note app then starting a note takes too long and a lot of the time I need to draw a diagram or something to go along with it. Anything important gets transferred into my onenote from the paper later on. I would like to find a good app to go completely digital but so far nothing I've found meets that need as well as just carrying a notebook around.

Taking notes with pen and paper is more effective for information retention. I frequently keep a bullet journal to help me stay in the moment and on task. I don't digitize it because I find it to be a waste of time. I want to take my notes and then turn them into action. Turning them into a digital blip in a database is me faffing about not taking the action

Yes, typed notes don't stick as well as written ones

Yes, at work. Healthcare --> HIPAA All notes shredded at the end of the shift or whenever the patient no longer is on your unit.

At home I take notes on the computer. Timestamps, instant sync across devices, whatever editor I like to use, et cetera. If I get a random call and someone starts talking at me, I'll settle for scribbling on a fast food receipt if it is close to hand. I use my phone sometimes, but I generally take notes when I'm on a phone call.

When I'm at an in-person meeting with a client, pen and paper is the best option because it conveys some degree of respect. People still seem to be put off by people pulling out a laptop and typing during an emotionally charged meeting. If I pull out my cellphone and start poking at it in a professional setting, people don't think that I'm listening or taking notes. They think that I'm bored.

During meetings, I find it easier to follow the discussion if I'm making notes on post-its or a notepad rather than digitally.

For longform notes, research etc I prefer to use a wiki program like Obsidian and a mindmap or diagramming tool. I will rarely sketch ideas on paper but being able to rearrange the shapes on digital canvas makes it great for whiteboarding as a software engineer.

With so much note taking apps nowadays, I can't understand why someone should waste time to find their smartphone, power it on, input the pin for the sim, unlock the screen, find the right app in the app jungle, open it, find the "new note" option, which is hidden in a sub menu instead of using a short cut on your keyboard to bring up a terminal, which opens Vim and automatically saves the file as a note with the correct file name.

I pretty much only take notes with pen&paper. Never really thought about doing it otherwise. Seems like it would be much more inconvenient on my phone since I don't thumb type and I hate laptop keyboards.

I love the tactile feeling of writing on paper.

Yep. I get distracted with my phone. I doodle on my notes. I enjoy writing in cursive, it's so loopy! I like pens, they're neat!

I also do bullet journaling, but not very strict to the original style. I just draw my own little boxes.

Yeah of course. Especially if you’re in dirty or wet places a waterproof pad and pencil are fantastic.

But even in everyday normal life, having a little notebook is good.

I do both. I use Obsidian to maintain lots of notes and links and such. But I also carry a fountain pen and a notebook in my pocket. I find when I write stuff down in there I tend to remember it more. I also carry an A5 notebook at work to take down work notes and track my todo's. More productive, looks better in meetings, and I'm less likely to get distracted by notifications or the draw of apps/social-media.

Lots of times I'll do a drawing of dimensions or an idea, then I'll take a picture of that and throw it in Obsidian later. Also if it's a note that I want to keep later I'll transcribe it into my digital notes.

I just enjoy the act of writing and getting to own a pen that I won't just lose or loan away. I'll also pick up old notebooks sometimes and be reminded of things I wanted to do or ideas I had that got missed, and the reminder is way more tangible and impacting that being reminded by found digital notes. It comes with the tactile memories as well.

My handwriting is the perfect encryption. Nobody else can understand it. Lol.

I'm a millennial and I still write notes with pen and paper simply because I can't be bothered to learn how to format in a notes app of any kind.

All of my notes are formatted in a bizarre way that makes sense to me. Applying that format in a digital space is always a giant headache.

I am switching to using Obsidian. Skipping the formatting all together and instead linking all my disjointed ideas to each other seems to be working pretty well.

Yes. There's something about putting it in paper that makes me grasp the concept in a more personal manner.

Both, for different reasons. I use paper notes to stick them on my fridge so I won't forget about them.

I'm a zoomer and my middle & high school had us do a large majority of stuff on a computer, so my handwriting kinda sucks now

whenever I use pen & paper now, I look at what I wrote and realize I still have the handwriting of a fucking 12 y/o. I also type a lot faster than I write

I'm 53. Never got the hang of typing fast on the phone, so whenever I'm in a meeting and not having my laptop with me, it's pen and paper for me. 🙃

I agree with a lot of peoples take about the convenience of paper notes with the ability to handle them, physically share them and so forth. But I still never use physical notes any more. And 100% of the reason is that I'm always carrying my phone, but I never carry a pen and notebook. My need to take notes is spontaneous and unpredictible, so paper and a pen is never within an arms reach when I need to take a note.

For anything I'll need to share or search, digital.

Everything else, I remember it better if I commit handwriting to it, and I use fountain pens, it's a nicer experience.

Yes, for recipe.

Simple sketches of very rough ideas are much simpler for me in a notebook. Its right there when i need it, and they’ve thought me how to use a pen ages ago so i’m pretty good at it. Noting down numbers or dimensions before i can enter them to cad in their proper places is something i do quite a lot too. The built in history feature is amazingly simple but search could be improved upon. Especially if the pages are filled with random things next to each other.

The notebook is pretty resistant to drops too and i can put plates or mugs on it without risking sratches

So I have this OCD thing where I just have to have a perfect order of things to do, I'm talking about things like what to watch, what to read.

It's helpful for me to list them all on paper cuz the excel app on my phone sucks and we have load shedding where light goes every 2 hours a.ccording to schedule and comes back after 2 hours.

I don't write anything down because the sophon is watching me.

My laptop died in June, so I had to write my entire master's thesis in a notebook with a pen. Typing on a phone is terrible for writing more than a few sentences.

Because I like small diagrams and schematics. Doing that in an app, especially on a phone, is tricky. And I find that structuring my thoughts on paper just works better than doing it digitally straight away.

I prefer pencil, but yes, I find it faster and more freeform, and more portable to take initial notes on paper.

Yes, I do.

I enjoy handwriting and it is much faster for me. I like to have a couple of different coloured pens and have it organised. Usually I just end up with a scribbled mess but that is okay. At least only I can read it. If I need to I will type it up afterwards - I love typing as well.