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As a lifelong keyboard user my casual handwriting has devolved into scratches that are undecipherable even to myself. Yet in every meeting I will be taking note

As a lifelong keyboard user my casual handwriting has devolved into scratches that are undecipherable even to myself. Yet in every meeting I will be taking notes on actual paper. These are write-only notes never meant to be consulted again. I do this because it not only helps me concentrate, but I feel the physical act engages an extra type of mental process. This effect is specific to pen on paper and is ot achieved eg by typing (wich for me has a negative impact on attention)

dSebastien 4y ago
I also take notes on paper. It's just a lot more fluid than any other solution and doesn't take my attention away. I personally consider my meeting notes as transient. I use them to make sure I capture what really mattered during the discussion and ideas that it sparked. After the meeting, when there's actually useful information in there, I creating meeting minutes that I share around so that it can be useful to others as well (eg decisions, actions, important points made, etc).
- KineticLensman 4y ago
  > I personally consider my meeting notes as transient Totally agree. Mine are really just memory joggers so that I can if necessary create a brief record-of-actions-and-decisions email immediately after the meeting. Once I've done that I almost never look at them again. If someone whiteboards a diagram or similar, I photograph it if I can.
ge96 4y ago
I'm the same, I take a lot of notes, often don't look back at them, but helps with making it "stick". Same for handwriting, auto (handwrite to text) would be nice in my specific apps/devices.
- dSebastien 4y ago
  Yeah, note-taking does help with memorization too. I consider that a nice side-effect :)
eternityforest 4y ago
I use a Boogie Board with the smart pen for that. It's probably one of the most extravagant luxury items I've ever bought($160 or so) for something that only gets occasional use, but it's amazing for mostly write only notes that I might theoretically consult again. It really does seem to have benefits for any activity that's primarily about actual thinking or creativity, as opposed to busywork or digging through documentation. I'm guessing a lot of the benefit is that screens are associated really strongly with the habit of procrastinating or scrolling rather than focusing.
marginalia_nu 4y ago
FWIW, if you want to improve your penmanship, write slower and more deliberately. (Speed will improve with time.) Also good advice with ennunciation and typing.
- locuscoeruleus 4y ago
  I've found having a device (I use a remarkable) where you can erase writing without making a huge mess makes it easier to improve as well. I tend to speed up which ruins my handwriting or my mind moves faster than my pen and I end up skipping letters. On paper I would have to use a rubber and the page ends up being an ugly mess, which makes correcting mistakes very unappealing. Having an electronic devices rewards fixing mistakes, because the page ends up looking better afterwards, instead of worse.
- dSebastien 4y ago
  It's also great advice for playing music instruments. The slower you go, the better you learn
  - KineticLensman 4y ago
    Slow is smooth and smooth is fast, as the old saying goes.

dSebastien 4y ago

I also take notes on paper. It's just a lot more fluid than any other solution and doesn't take my attention away. I personally consider my meeting notes as transient. I use them to make sure I capture what really mattered during the discussion and ideas that it sparked. After the meeting, when there's actually useful information in there, I creating meeting minutes that I share around so that it can be useful to others as well (eg decisions, actions, important points made, etc).

KineticLensman 4y ago
> I personally consider my meeting notes as transient Totally agree. Mine are really just memory joggers so that I can if necessary create a brief record-of-actions-and-decisions email immediately after the meeting. Once I've done that I almost never look at them again. If someone whiteboards a diagram or similar, I photograph it if I can.

ge96 4y ago

I'm the same, I take a lot of notes, often don't look back at them, but helps with making it "stick". Same for handwriting, auto (handwrite to text) would be nice in my specific apps/devices.

dSebastien 4y ago
Yeah, note-taking does help with memorization too. I consider that a nice side-effect :)

eternityforest 4y ago

I use a Boogie Board with the smart pen for that. It's probably one of the most extravagant luxury items I've ever bought($160 or so) for something that only gets occasional use, but it's amazing for mostly write only notes that I might theoretically consult again. It really does seem to have benefits for any activity that's primarily about actual thinking or creativity, as opposed to busywork or digging through documentation. I'm guessing a lot of the benefit is that screens are associated really strongly with the habit of procrastinating or scrolling rather than focusing.

marginalia_nu 4y ago

FWIW, if you want to improve your penmanship, write slower and more deliberately. (Speed will improve with time.) Also good advice with ennunciation and typing.

locuscoeruleus 4y ago
I've found having a device (I use a remarkable) where you can erase writing without making a huge mess makes it easier to improve as well. I tend to speed up which ruins my handwriting or my mind moves faster than my pen and I end up skipping letters. On paper I would have to use a rubber and the page ends up being an ugly mess, which makes correcting mistakes very unappealing. Having an electronic devices rewards fixing mistakes, because the page ends up looking better afterwards, instead of worse.
dSebastien 4y ago
It's also great advice for playing music instruments. The slower you go, the better you learn
- KineticLensman 4y ago
  Slow is smooth and smooth is fast, as the old saying goes.