Why Handwritten Notes Beat Everything Else
There are many ways to study. You can study by reading, practicing, taking action or receiving feedback. But there is one thing that I’ve been doing over the last few weeks that has really improved my learning habits ten times, which is taking notes.
Right now we are seeing a massive shift from studying. There is so much knowledge and so many resources online these days, and it can be quite overwhelming. But when you start taking notes from videos, articles and other digital information sources, learning becomes way more effective.
The reason you want to take notes is because the information needs to stick. It needs to transform you. The best way to learn is to remove as much friction as possible, and writing notes on paper does just that. It removes all of the distractions so that you can retain the information much better.
- Reading books > watching videos
- Writing notes > typing notes
There is something about handwriting and reading physical books that can not be beaten.
Whenever I want to learn something new, I pick up my notebook to take notes from a video instead of plain watching the video. The reason I do this is because watching is actually just passive consuming. Taking notes on the other hand is active learning.
What Happened When I Switched to a Computer
When I started going to college, I used to take notes on paper, and I had great results. The moment I started typing notes on computer was the moment my results went down. Writing notes has really become a lost art.
The next time you watch a youtube video, take notes and you will see that you can retain information much better.
My System for Faster Learning
If you are serious about having a business, this is a valuable skill to have. One where you can immediately learn 10 times more.
There is also a system that I follow which looks like this:
Note writing → Capturing notes on computer → Using AI to check, give advice and improve
Now it doesn’t have to be in this order. You can also start with AI or start on your computer. But it is a system to create better content that is authentic. Journaling can also help you to get clarity and structure to your thoughts.
Reading and Writing Go Hand in Hand
Another great thing is that reading and writing go hand in hand, which means every time you read something new, you gain knowledge but also improve your writing skills, the same can be said about writing something new.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope you found it useful.
If you want to read more articles like this one, check out The Hopeful Truth about Social Anxiety
Check out my Youtube channel as well if you are interested.
Have a great day,
Mart Bergsma
