We have a strong culture of engineering notebooks in my org. I tried for a good 5 years — i carried one and probably filled up 5 of them.

But i went back to them maybe 5 times in all those years. And the effort of writing actually distracts me more than the effortless action of typing. Plus the search and backup functions.

Even in high school in the early 90s I typed up all my class notes because the act of transcribing my written scratch to typed notes cemented it in my memory — i remember the sensation of recalling something for a test by air typing.

I guess with this history, its just how Ive trained myself so I carry laptop every where I go and type on that, but I al jealous of some of the well crafted and illustrated notes of some peers — especially the ones with multicolor pens for differentiation.