Take better notes, by hand
brianschrader.com
Take better notes, by hand
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Re: Take better notes, by hand
#2I retain information better when taking notes by hand. However, being able to attach an image and search is absolutely required for me, hence why I use digital notes at work.
I can keep years of notes in a file which I can take and access anywhere whenever I want.
Re: Take better notes, by hand
#3This is all good advice but one thing it doesn't touch on is: which pen and notebook?
I like the pilot precision v5 pens because they come in a lot of different colors and the point is very fine.
For notebooks, I prefer the Leuchtturm 1917 series. They come with page numbers, a space for TOC, a pocket in the back for stuff, two book marks, and lots of different sizes and colors and page layouts.
That's important because the other important thing about hand notes for me is one book per topic, and keep them different colors because they will pile up and it helps with differentiating them.
Re: Take better notes, by hand
#4I love taking notes by hand for better retention, but (my) longhand is just too slow. It's also an inconvenient format for representing a hierachy or graph of connections.
Anyone else into what my high school biology teacher loved referring to as "pseudo-arachnomorphic diagrams" (Mind Maps[1] / Spider Diagrams)?
They're still my primary paper-based realtime note taking method. They seemed to get a lot of attention a couple of decades ago, but I don't hear them mentioned much recently.
Lots of online/local Mind Map tools available, but I've never really gelled with them (though you do get self-organisation of the nodes!). Once in the digital realm I'm more likely to make notes in Markdown.
Re: Take better notes, by hand
#5I love taking notes by hand for better retention, but (my) longhand is just too slow. It's also an inconvenient format for representing a hierachy or graph of connections. Anyone else into what my high school biology teacher loved referring to as "pseudo-arachnomorphic diagrams" (Mind Maps[1] / Spider Diagrams)? They're still my primary paper-based realtime note taking method. They seemed to get a lot of attention a…
There are ways to write that are faster and more legible. I recommend looking into the Getty-Dubay style.
Re: Take better notes, by hand
#6This is all good advice but one thing it doesn't touch on is: which pen and notebook? I like the pilot precision v5 pens because they come in a lot of different colors and the point is very fine. For notebooks, I prefer the Leuchtturm 1917 series. They come with page numbers, a space for TOC, a pocket in the back for stuff, two book marks, and lots of different sizes and colors and page layouts. That's important beca…
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Re: Take better notes, by hand
#7This is all good advice but one thing it doesn't touch on is: which pen and notebook? I like the pilot precision v5 pens because they come in a lot of different colors and the point is very fine. For notebooks, I prefer the Leuchtturm 1917 series. They come with page numbers, a space for TOC, a pocket in the back for stuff, two book marks, and lots of different sizes and colors and page layouts. That's important beca…
I've blogged about this before too!
https://brianschrader.com/archive/the-practicals-of-writing-...
But I'm in the process of upgrading my pen. I ordered a TWISB ECO.
Re: Take better notes, by hand
#8I keep notes in Obsidian...but when I'm genuinely studying a text I write out a precis as an outline in my bullet journal, and later transcribe it. That means that I engage with the material at least twice: once when I first read it, and once when I transcribe it. And yes, writing it by hand genuinely does help. And then, when I want to look at it later, my original notes are in my journal, and my transcription is available digitally.
Re: Take better notes, by hand
#9I retain information better when taking notes by hand. However, being able to attach an image and search is absolutely required for me, hence why I use digital notes at work. I can keep years of notes in a file which I can take and access anywhere whenever I want.
Personally I like Goodnotes since it is pretty good at searching handwriting.
Re: Take better notes, by hand
#10This is all good advice but one thing it doesn't touch on is: which pen and notebook? I like the pilot precision v5 pens because they come in a lot of different colors and the point is very fine. For notebooks, I prefer the Leuchtturm 1917 series. They come with page numbers, a space for TOC, a pocket in the back for stuff, two book marks, and lots of different sizes and colors and page layouts. That's important beca…
I love the Leuchtterm 1917s. They've got everything you say, and they hold up under daily use without falling apart.
As for pens, I use the Uniball Jetstream 0.38 ballpoint--fine point, doesn't skip, and I prefer ballpoints. I used a Coleto Hitec C multi-pen for a while, but the refills are skinny and run out of ink quickly, and I like the feel of the Jetstream ballpoint better. (The refills for the regular Coleto Hitec are much thicker and last a lot longer...but skip horribly. Life is too short.)