Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information

I wish it were for me. I love handwriting and I've spent lots of effort to make it look neat and I really like how it looks, but I convince myself that I understand and comprehend everything while I write but if I try to solve a problem or explain to myself what was going on it's a blank. I've found repetition, spaced or not, much more useful both for understanding and retaining information, nowadays I handwrite only if a passage is written in a confusing way or if I need to add more information to the textbook.

I wonder if handwriting on a tablet has the same effect as doing it on paper.

i use grid paper all the time for notes.

i found a little orange notebook for sale at an obscure place many years ago. honestly, it's changed my life.

well, at any rate, to make a short story long, since i like orange, have no concept of the value of a dollar, and, have every intention of perhaps someday using at least a few of the methodically-growing collection of various notepads i, for , possess, i purchased this particular notepad.

to paint a better picture of that day, which occurred oh so long ago, i will provide only the important, totally accurate and truthful details.

the setting, if you will. mid-morning, early-fall. it's probably a Saturday. the temperature calls for a light-jacket as the over-cast sky emits it's mixture of sunshine amongst the calming grey-blue cover of moisture-laden clouds.

walking toward an outdoor vendor's booth as the vendor stands proudly behind his u-shaped arrangement of cloth-covered display tables. these tables contain an assortment of hand-drawn bookmarks and sketches, along with, let's say, some reading materials, like magazines and a few books, both the hard-backed and paper-backed variety. also present are different combinations of bound-together materials, which are probably notebooks or notepads. each one has a different size, shape, thickness, and design.

perusing through places like this, a crucial, well-practiced defense strategy is used.

keeping an over-all casual demeanor and adhering to a strict no-eye-contact rule, this unknown vendor's booth is approached while a series of covert glances toward the wares on display are quickly performed. initially, a not-my-tempo or no-way-jose kind of vibe was formed. in order to bide some time, most likely, a few easy-to-decipher, interest-grabbing ganders towards a direction away from this particular merchant occurred.

a decision still not made, the tried-and-true apathetic nod-of-head, where two-to-three down-up movements as you plan to callously stroll past this offending concessionaire, was kept in mind and ready to be performed.

however, between a fanned-out stack of various flower-print 9x11's and a neatly organized array of light to dark shaded faux-leather bound 5x8.5s, basically hiding in plain sight, an innocuous orange item is spotted. a feeling arises. it's obviously camouflaged, no doubt, at least to any passer by lacking dignity, style, or taste.

getting closer, the item comes into clear view. with a palette of orange, white, and brown, it forms a perfect rectangle, concisely contained within it's own precision cut, sharp, rigid edges.

it's immediately obvious that this pad's particular conglomeration of bound materials was, in fact, nothing of the ordinary variety.

picking up the item, an aptly heft weight matches it's precedent set by observing the sturdy outer covering.

flipping it over, a sense of superior craftsmanship is given off. flipping back over to open the front cover, a set of accurately aligned factory-creases are noticed. opening the pad, the ability to fold it's front cover backwards over it's self is realized. gripping the pad, the cover stays out of the way, neatly positioned behind the pad's heftier, solid cardboard, backside.

it's clear that writing and/or carrying while open is made comfortable and easy.

noticing the thick, special paper inside the pad, you get goosebumps.

the vendor then states that it's imported from France.

money is thrown at the vendor and the notepad, in all it's glory, has a new owner, as immediately, there is love for what is formally known as the "Rhodia No 12 Pad".

the vendor states he has more notepads with different styles and sizes. they all get purchased. they all get loved. over time, a special life-long bond with a brand is formed.

the end.

so, yeah, i mean, Rhodia pads are pretty cool. btw, i am just an idiot. i have no affiliation with Rhodia pads. i merely wanted to spread the word about a well-made "life-changing" product.

oh. also. grid paper note pads kick ass. so does graph paper. i actually like graph paper better. don't tell my grid pads that, though.

I am experimenting with using an iPad + pencil + Goodnotes for note taking. Too soon to tell, but seems to provide best of both worlds.

As a fellow ADHD-er, the way I handled this as a student was to customize my note-taking system. My whole life people had told me how to take notes in an extremely structured way, and insisted they must be detailed. That required so much focus like you that I couldn't learn. So when I was allowed to stop taking notes, I did, and my grades slightly improved.

Then in university it was too much information to not take notes, and I started on my own again, in my own way. Most importantly there was almost no structure, and very little detail. Never take notes in full sentences, just keywords that are semi-digestable to you, and in math there were lots of equations and diagrams. Secondly I got a tablet with a pressure sensitive pen. This allowed me to still take hand "written" notes that looked and felt like my real handwriting, but I didn't have to deal with trying to organize my notes in real space, which inevitably would end up crushed at the bottom of my backpack or strewn around my room; digital notes are self-organizing.