I take a lot of notes and I prefer to write by hand. Especially when I’m thinking with paper, capturing a stray thought, or developing an idea.
The primary reason I take notes is for retention. There are a handful of studies indicating that hand-written notes improve learning, memory, and retention.
These days I’m using the Amazon Fire Max 11 with the Made for Amazon Stylus and this is a record of my experience with that tablet.
I chose to use a tablet because I’m running out of shelf space in my small office. I have dozens of books, notebooks, papers, and projects. I have more than 50 books that I’ve collected over the years and that I cherish. With no room for more I decided to try using the Kindle again. When I looked at my library I realized the Kindle app has faithfully kept a list of all the Kindle books I’ve read over the years. I was surprised to find over 100 books in my library. Having books and notes all handy in one small device is a big plus for me.
I saw the Fire Max 11 in a big box store and I liked the size and weight. I also liked the size, shape, and weight of the stylus. But it was in demo mode so I couldn’t try out the writing.
The Fire Max 11 was a lot less expensive than the iPad and iPad Pencil that I had some previous experience with.
When I first tried the Fire Max, I was quickly frustrated. The few apps it comes with worked poorly. I was extremely frustrated by palm recognition problems. After about an hour I set it aside and planned to return it.
But, the next day I read a little bit more about it and then returned to trying it. I grabbed the Squid app, and it suddenly felt much more magical. There were still some occasional palm recognition related quirks, but it was managable, and I thought I might learn to use it.
My prefered app is Squid. It’s free on the Amazon App Store and comes with everything you need to get started. It also offers some additional features for $10 per year, which is a steal for the amount I get out of it.
Squid has tons of layout options. The one I prefer, on the Fire Max, is a 5x7 page. At this size you can write at 100% zoom with the sheet to scale. I prefer and use narrow ruled paper for most of my writing. I’ll use blank or grid paper for sketching, mockups, and other types of documents. The squid app has all these options in the free version.
There are several studies that show handwritten notes help with learning, memory, and retention and I find this to be the case in my own writing.
A study published in the Journal of Educational Psychology in 2020 examined the effects of handwriting, typing, and watching a video lecture on learning and memory. The results showed that students who took handwritten notes performed better on tests than those who typed or watched the lecture.
A study published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2018 found that handwriting notes led to better memory retention and increased focus compared to typing notes, particularly for complex concepts and longer study sessions.
A study published in the Journal of Educational Psychology in 2017 revealed that students who handwrote notes while learning new material were better able to generalize and apply their knowledge to new situations, compared to those who typed their notes.
A study published in Psychological Science in 2014 found that students who took notes by hand performed better than those who typed their notes on a laptop. The researchers suggested that the process of handwriting helps students better encode and process information.
That’s just a sample of the studies I’ve seen. These studies confirm my own experiences, especially after reading the book Refuse to Choose.
I’ve always written a lot of notes. But I could never use every page, or even most of them. I filled my first notebook after reading Refuse to Choose by the late Barbara Sher.
Prior to reading this book I would start a new notebook on a subject and fill it with a handful of related notes. Then I would think of a new subject, start a new notebook, and repeat the process. I had dozens of notebooks laying around the house. I had the intent to add more notes on the subject but I would rarely return to those and eventually I would just throw the barely used notebooks away.
The idea of creating a Scanners Daybook and Barbara’s permission to let my mind wanter allowed me to fill the first notebook I can remember. I wrote more than 140 pages using the simple strategy she talks about in the book.
I now love these completed notebooks but I don’t have a lot of shelf space for them.
I’m also frustrated by the fact that notebooks change so much over time. I spent about 18 months filling my second notebook, which was over 200 pages. By the time I finished the manufacturer no longer sold a notebook in that design I had grown to love.
I also long for the ability to search through my past notes. Handwriting recognition has improved a lot in recent years through the rise of large language models (AI) and it continues to improve rapidly. Nearly every device I own has some form of handwriting recognition built in.
An interesting feature of the Max is the built-in handwriting recognition. This feature works in the OS itself. When you have the keyboard open you can write anywhere on the screen. After a few seconds your writing dissapears and is replaced by the text you typed. It’s surprisingly accurate. And, it works offline.
Offline use is an important feature for me because I have the wifi version of the tablet. I also have a favorite camping spot that has no cell phone coverage. So, I’ll spend half a dozen weekends a year with no coverage of any kind.
I often take notes to remind my future self how to do something. There are lots of tasks that I do rarely, but often enough that it’s worth having notes for. The timeline varies from a few times a year to many years before I do the task again.
I encourage you to pickup a tablet and write. Be it an electronic device like the Amazon Fire Max 11, a Rocketbook Reusable Smart Notebook, or a stylish paper notebook with your favorite fountain pen.
Written by Joel Dare on March 11, 2024 and updated March 11, 2024.