Note-taking on Paper vs on Laptop. What works?

Have so often felt this and discussed with some close friends also.

Typing on screen has always felt less 'substantial'. While it's easier, more so with the extensive usage of smart phone, than writing on paper, it doesn't quite improve our functioning or thinking. The efficiency doesn't quite result into effectiveness.

Here's a bit of research talk about taking notes on paper vs. taking notes on laptop.

A Learning Secret: Don’t Take Notes with a Laptop

Why Using Pen And Paper, Not Laptops, Boosts Memory: Writing Notes Helps Recall Concepts, Ability To Understand

What's been your experience?

Cause-Effect mapping to diagnose the effectiveness of a daily planner

Source: funnytimes.com

Every tool, device, machine is structured/designed to deliver something based on certain hypotheses. The structure itself gives us clues about causes and effects which formed the bases for creating the tool in the first place.

Daily Planners are tools. And the most popular planner called the Franklin Planner is based on a certain thinking. And so is Cockpit AIT Planner, which is going to be launched pretty soon.

Here's a cause-effect mapping of both. For you to judge how it works better.

Franklin Planner
You have 9 working hours every day. You divide them every day into hourly or half-hourly time slots so that you can schedule your tasks, and do them one after another according to the schedule.

Cockpit AIT Planner
You have many important tasks, but they are difficult to recall from your memory day after day after day. You refer to certain prompts every day so that you can easily recall and note down the important tasks, and do them during the day, according to a schedule or according to your convenience.

Recalling from memory is a necessary condition. Strict scheduling, not necessarily so. If you can recall, you can schedule. If you can't recall, there's no question of scheduling.

Our take: Time's always there. You have to recall all that you've to do, before you schedule some things that you've to do. 

Franklin Planner, Frankly Fails

So the usual planner that I happened to use through a big part of my professional and that I still see a lot of people around using is called the Franklin Planner.

It could look somewhat like this:

Image Source: itisamatteroftime.com

Or may be like this:

Image Source: urbanlittlehouse.blogspot.com

Two things about this kind of planner. It assumes perfect memory. That is, you can recall all the tasks at will. And it assumes that you can exactly slot each of the tasks to a particular time.

If recalling at will from memory could be relied upon so well, school exams would be real fun. And besides, whether the time-hours are explicitly mentioned or not, you would slot the tasks anyway during the workday as you deem fit. Human behavior defies time-slotting except when it's vacation time.

It is the assumption of perfect memory that proves a detriment to great execution. More often than not, recalling all the tasks isn't easy. Though something resides in the memory, we don't necessarily retrieve it easily, as and when desired. And without good retrieval from memory, there can be no planning.

Retrieval from memory requires appropriate tools. Which is what Cockpit AIT Planner offers in the form of universal prompts classified under Action, Interaction and Transaction. These prompts aid one to recall easily the necessary tasks and note them down early in the morning. If planning is what your execution is dependent on, here's the right thing to start with.

Cockpill! That's not Viagra!

Cockpill?!?! Oops! That's quite viagrammatic! :)

So I am finding out from friends that while recalling and noting down tasks has become really easy, they don't remember to check the Cockpit App screen so regularly. :)

Even as we were developing the app, we mulled over this possibility. For Cockpit (or any planner of the same league) would deliver best when referred to fairly regularly.

My suggestion to these friends has been doctorly. Open Cockpit once after brushing teeth, once on reaching the office desk, once after lunch and once with the evening tea.

So if forming that habit is the biggest issue in getting users to make the best use of Cockpit, the name could as well have been doctorly. But that would be promoting a solution for erectile dysfunction instead of one for a habitual function. ;)

What my nephew forgets...

My nephew paid a visit a few days back. He saw me filling things in my Cockpit AIT Planner. He asked me how what is Cockpit all about. I tried (I realize I can only try) explaining.

After I was done speaking my bit, and thinking, "Wow! I've gotten him to understand what Cockpit is about. I have another convert!" I hear this from him.

"Actually, I also make a list of the Things To Do in my diary. The only problem is sometimes I don't remember the things I need to note down..."

Made me realize instantly that what I spoke didn't quite register.

So I informed him again. What Cockpit does is offer those important prompts to you every time you sit to plan so that you don't forget whatever you've to do.

To Do = Action + Interaction + Transaction

Action = The tasks which an individual has to do all alone - physical or cerebral. Including tasks like researching, finding, thinking, designing, arranging things, cooking, dropping the motorcycle for servicing... Hope you get a hang of this.

Interaction = Connecting with someone, Responding to someone, Following up with someone, Informing someone, Meeting someone

Transaction = Buying and Paying

Pic source: http://thacolorgray.com/tag/forget/