Asklemmy

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.

Yes, for recipe.

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.

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.

If I'm ever using my desktop at home, yes. I always have extra paper I can use as note paper for if I ever need to write something down, so I make use of it. I am never not around a mechanical pencil nor pen either, so that also helps.

Yeah, it's the best way to study.

Yep. My little Field Notes books don’t send me notifications about emails, and I can toss them around without breaking them. And use a lot of notation and drawing methods that are very slow when typing with my thumbs.

Rarely. I usually have a laptop handy and I can type a lot faster than I can write. Even on my phone, I can swipe nearly as fast as a I can hand write. I occasionally hand write short notes, but mostly I use a pen to fill out receipts. And I love pens. :-)

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.

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.

I do a mix -- paper is for thinking, digital is for long-term saving.

I'll use paper (nice paper and a fountain pen, ideally) for a quick brain-dump, mind-mapping, planning out my week, figuring out the shape of a solution. There's something about working on paper that spatially makes more sense to me. I keep it all in a single notebook *usually A5 grid or dots like Leuchtterm 1917 or Rhodia webbie) so that I don't have loose pieces of paper. If I'm working or traveling, that notebook is in my bag.

Things that I need to remember land in Obsidian in cross-linked notes, usually tied together with a daily note. Some paper notes do land in Obsidian - that can be a photo/scan, but more likely a cleaned up, summarized version of my thoughts.

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.

Yes, usually when in meetings. It's 99% a society/conventional thing, but looking and typing on your phone while talking to someone will often be perceived as rude. Taking notes in your paper notebook though usually will come off as being attentive and interested.

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

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.

Equations are a shitload faster to write: this is the main reason.

No fucking spell correction.

Every piece of writing is visually unique and looking back at handwritten notes brings back an additional layer of memory (diaries/personal journals eg).

Paper notes can be permanently destroyed with a high level of confidence and low cost if desired.

Written notes can be easily left for/handed to another person (for flirtatious purposes e.g.), or placed semi-permanently in a useful spot.

Electronic notes are great too, I keep my grocery list and whatnot on my phone, but the reasons above are why I also write things by hand.

I do both, and it’s heavily dependent on what the purpose of the note is for.

I keep a yellow legal pad and mechanical pen. Stuff that goes on the pad are usually the ultimate in throwaway notes. Scribbles that are wholly transitory.

Then I have a digital note management system (Obsidian.md) and use it to maintain a personal journal and Zettelkasten.

Some yellow pad notes might flow into Obsidian, but not always.

flowchart, brainstorming and drawing is always good with p&p

Yeah, I can type faster than I can write, but I can write faster than I can type on phone. The note winds up in a physical location, which helps me with both retrieval and remembering (say, this section of my desk-cube-thing is for project notes in my garage, this section is events, this is things I need to buy from the shops etc). I can draw little images pretty easily as well, have not habituated to digital art unfortunately. While not insurmountable with apps, is it really worth the additional effort shopping around when I keep inheriting post-it notes and data cards from various sources (idk why).

Also, I get bonkers distracted on the phone. I sometimes forget I am just checking the time.

I get a lot of scratch paper as part of my job entails troubleshooting printers (kill me) and so I have stacks of printer test pages, pages printed out with PCL and PS errors and what not. These make good canvases for sketching up quick network designs or diagraming things such as work flows. I usually scan them in a note taking app before shredding them to keep my desk clear but it’s much more convenient that having to use Visio or something on things that just need to be sketched out

Because you remember it better when you actually write it out instead of just using a keyboard. And you can draw diagrams with ease. Most styluses are inaccurate and one dimensional, and buying a phone with actual proper stylus support in both the display and stylus itself is expensive. You could buy a separate technical device just for note taking with proper stylus support and have it upload notes to the cloud so you can access it at all times, but that requires a constant internet connection and mobile data is expensive. And then you have to carry this seperate device with you in the same way you'd carry a much cheaper physical notepad anyways.

No.

Surprised no one here answered with just a "no". I can't remember the last time I even held a pen for signing something, even my last job contract and rental agreement etc were all digital.

AMA, all you pen and pencil people.

I use a mechanical pencil. Pentel 205 for life baby.

Sure do.

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.

A note that's pinned to the wall is harder to overlook and forget.

That being said, my note-taking app is set to start automatically when logging in, so I'm always aware of its existence. Wouldn't work otherwise.

Yes, mostly university and work though. I don't have a tablet and the drawing tablet is at home most of the time. Pen and paper just gives more flexibility than text. Though I instantly scan them and upload them to my paperless instance.

Yes

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!

Yes. It's faster, I have an easier time remembering stuff that I wrote by hand instead of using a keyboard, I can't be arsed to use a phone most of the time, and I can even apply some primitive "encryption"* to keep a certain overly curious person around me from messing with my notes. I can also use them when I'm designing writing scripts for constructed languages, way faster than doing it in Inkscape.

The big con is that one of my cats thinks that paper is toy, and the other thinks that any large enough sheet is a bed.

*it's just Italian with ad hoc Cyrillic. Good enough for handwritten notes.

not to sound like a boomer, but i just like to write with pen once in a while so i dont forget how to

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.

Do you still write notes with pen an paper?

Yep.

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

I just like having something physical as opposed to something on a computer screen or phone or something. I suppose I could just type them up and print them out but eh. 🤷‍♀️

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

You get the idea.