How do you take notes at work?

[Anonymous]

I still use pen and notebooks for note taking most of the time. Sometimes I use a laptop, but my recall is better writing things down, plus the nature of my notes are not usually linear.

I'm curious about switching to a tablet, but wondering what others do, especially as I'll be transitioning to a position where I'll do more external meetings and don't want to look old fashioned. I don't currently own a tablet and work won't provide so it would be at my own expense.

I welcome any recommendations or stories of what you find effective.

[Anonymous]

I write things down and if they need to be typed up for a larger audience, I just transcribe them and edit in word.

It's much easier for me to organize thoughts on the fly with a pen and paper.

[Anonymous]

Pen and Paper for me.
I've tried OneNote a gazillion times. There's something about physically writing the information down vs typing that helps me recall.
I've also tried a tablet. Same.
I don't think you'll look old fashioned. I would run my global meetings with a bunch of attendees who are Millennial. Maybe 1 in 10 used a laptop or tablet, most were journals with pen and paper. Probably depends on your industry though.

[Anonymous]

Pen + paper + binder

[Anonymous]

Sticky Notes app on my computer

I have a notebook when I go to in person meetings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pen and Paper for me.
I've tried OneNote a gazillion times. There's something about physically writing the information down vs typing that helps me recall.
I've also tried a tablet. Same.
I don't think you'll look old fashioned. I would run my global meetings with a bunch of attendees who are Millennial. Maybe 1 in 10 used a laptop or tablet, most were journals with pen and paper. Probably depends on your industry though.

Millenials are in their 40s now. They are not the digital natives you imagine -- they didn't grow up with tablets smart phones. So yeah, they like paper.

I'm GenX, but I've been a touch typist since I was 12, and have taken notes on my computer since high school (usually transcribe written notes)

I love the idea of pen to paper, and perhaps retention is a little better -- and its invaluable for math, drawings, etc. But for most work related note taking, task capturing, etc nothing beats an electronic record. I type way faster than I can write, the OneNote journal is easily searchable, and copy and paste into more formal documents is a breeze. I actually look at my paper notes maybe once a year. If your workflow allows more contemplative time to look over your notes daily or weekly, maybe thats worthwhile and electronic search is less needed..

[Anonymous]

I use a ReMarkable... get the tactile feeling of pen to paper but I can convert it to text and also I never run out of paper anymore!

[Anonymous]

Pen and paper, and then I type it up in Word.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pen and paper, and then I type it up in Word.

How in the world do you have time for this?

[Anonymous]

I am a geriatric millennial and use paper.

I actually keep a paper calendar and buy these "Clever Fox" organizers on amazon that cover all my needs in one... goal-setting and long-term planning, weekly calendar with daily/hourly blocks plus space for to do list, goals, habits, etc., and lots of note-taking space in the back.

I love it - I only have to carry one thing and everything is in the same place.

[Anonymous]

I love pencil and paper but have finally switched myself over to one of the writing apps on my ipad. It's not quite as satisfying as paper but it means I can have all my notes with me all the time, which outweighs my pencil and paper fetish.

[Anonymous]

otter on the iphone

[Anonymous]

I carry my notepad and pen everywhere and take incessant notes. There's something about writing that etches what the speaker is saying into my memory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I carry my notepad and pen everywhere and take incessant notes. There's something about writing that etches what the speaker is saying into my memory.

Same and I'm 33yo

[Anonymous]

Notepad and pen.