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Slashdot Asks: Do You Prefer To Handwrite or Type Notes? (npr.org)
A study published by Psychological Science and transcribed on NPR explores the science behind note-taking. As technology becomes smaller, cheaper and more functional than ever before, it's not uncommon to see people taking notes on their laptop or tablet, especially in a school or work-related environment. In fact, it may be even more common to see people taking notes with an electronic device than with a pen and paper. The study shows that the process of taking notes by hand is slower, thus allowing the information being written to better soak into your brain. However, it's a double-edged sword. While using something like a laptop to type notes may be faster and allow for people to better transcribe what they're hearing, writing longhand generally allows people to better process the information they are writing, but at the expense of length. That is to say, writing longhand doesn't provide people with as much to look back on since the process is slower.
Now everyone is different and everyone has their own formula and routine that works for them, so we thought we'd ask the question: Do you prefer to handwrite notes or type notes on a computer? Does one form of note-taking work better than the other or is it a combination of the two that is best?
Now everyone is different and everyone has their own formula and routine that works for them, so we thought we'd ask the question: Do you prefer to handwrite notes or type notes on a computer? Does one form of note-taking work better than the other or is it a combination of the two that is best?
Why ask a poll type question without having a actual poll? OP are you going to manually go through every comment to tally it or is there really no reason in asking the question and just a attempt in making "news" regarding something IMO that isn't nerd news worthy..
Over the years I have gotten better at taking notes on a computer, to the point where I can make well-organized, nicely formatted notes in real time. I memorized a few shortcuts like Ctrl-Alt-1, 2, or 3 for various headings and subheadings, wrote a few macros to insert code blocks, etc. Since my typing speed is much faster than my handwriting, and the flexibility of being able to go back and edit or rearrange things, the computer is now my preferred method for taking notes during a lecture.
However, the minute I need to think creatively (whether to organize my thoughts, troubleshoot a problem, or create an outline for a new document), I immediately go back to pen and paper. I'm not entirely sure why... one would think that the ease of cutting and pasting on a computer would make it better suited for keeping up with fluid nature of creative thought, but no. Something about the tactile nature of the page makes it easier to think clearly, scribbles and all. I suspect it has to do with thinking habits ingrained from early childhood... or I might just be a Luddite at heart.
Procrastination Man strikes again!
I have a paper-based note-taking system that has served me well for my entire career.
I always write down the date and time I arrive, and the time leave for the day, with a margin-to-margin line delineating days.
Whenever I change tasks, I jot down the time and what I'm doing next. Huge help when I'm working on projects where to-the-minute timecards are required.
In meetings, I write down the key points being made. If the point applies directly to me, I put a box in the left column, to indicate that it is a "to-do" item.
If a point is something I can/should contribute to, but not during this meeting, I put a circle to indicate I should probably send an email.
If there is a change in policy, or a new direction or project, I put an asterisk to the left.
Most of the above merely help me prioritize my work.
But there is one more massive reason to take notes compulsively, and not just in meetings: Patents. While I have no patents to my name, my notes have twice been used as "prior art" to help defeat or limit other patents, or to help negotiate far better licensing terms.
From a personal development perspective, I also make not of my mistakes. Writing them down makes it harder to repeat them.
As I get older and my memory grows ever weaker, I find it hugely beneficial to be able to go back 6 months or a year, and be able to perfectly describe what I was doing and why.
Paper rocks. Plus it's way easier to carry around, and needs "recharging" only about twice a year.
Neither. I engage in the meeting, it's a conversation not a data-dump. I do use the notes feature in my phone to take down the bullet points of the conversation. When I get back to my desk I then type everything out using those bullet points as a guide.
One of the things that drives me crazy when I give marching orders to my employees is when they insist on writing every step down. I don't mind a little note-taking, but the ones that try to write the whole conversations down are typically the ones that I end up having to give the most revisions to. When they discuss with me they form the correct picture in their head, then they perform like a brain instead of like a robot. When questions come up they can take a better guess at what the answer probably is if I'm not immediately around to answer.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
This took place in the olden days, before there were laptops. For our basic circuits class (the one that separated the EEs from the wannabes) a group of us hired a stenographer to take notes. We talked the prof into giving permission, on the sensible basis that if we weren't copying notes just as fast we could to keep up, then we could actually pay attention to the lecture. I think he got a copy of the notes as well. Cost us all about a dollar a lecture and the stenographer made about $40 an hour, which was a pile of money in those days.