Despite popular belief that you remember more when you write notes by hand, studies are unclear on whether paper or digital notes are more effective for learning. But what studies are more conclusive on is that effective learning occurs in processing notes.
While there are advantages and disadvantages to both digital and analog note taking, the advantages for digital have grown quite remarkably in the past 5 years. Now with apps like Obsidian, the digital advantages are much more obvious. Even for paper note takers, it can be highly beneficial to process and futureproof paper notes digitally.
So here are my 6 reasons why I believe digital note-taking is better than paper notes.
1. Visual aid
This is a huge benefit for people with ADHD. Yes you can map things out and make drawings and diagrams on pen and paper, but with digital notes you can include screenshots, images and all the mappings, diagrams and visual aids are automated. Press cmd+g in Obsidian and you will see every single note in your vault and its interconnected relationships to all the linkings. You can literally SEE your thoughts, how they are connected and what interests your external brain has collected the most information on.
There are studies that show mind mapping software enhances learning and memorization for students with ADHD. By the way, I’ve included a mind mapping plugin in your Obsidian vault. Press cmd+p to open the command palate and type “mind map” to produce an instant mind map visual of any note in your vault.
2. Searchable
Digital notes from years ago can be pulled up in seconds with a simple search feature. This makes resurfacing of information direct, intentional and focused. Imagine having to find something you know you jotted down in a notebook 3 years ago, how long would it take? How many unrelated notes would distract you during your search?
3. Flexible
Did you know there are over 1000 community plugins for Obsidian? That means there are literally thousands of ways you can customize, integrate, enhance and increase productivity in your workflow using an app like Obsidian. This is what allows us to be able to build an entire external brain ecosystem by synchronously centralizing data from our other apps and tools we use on a daily basis.
4. Futureproof
Paper notes can get physically damaged and lost. If every device you use to take notes on gets lost, stolen or damaged, your notes will remain completely in tact. Your entire Obsidian vault can be stored on any cloud server, Github repository, or physical storage drive (or all 3) which means they are not dependent on the note-taking medium itself. One of the many advantages of Obsidian is that your notes are Markdown (.md) files, which can be read and edited in any plaintext editor. This means your digital notes are not dependent on Obsidian existing. As long as there are computers, your markdown notes can be read and edited.
5. Frictionless
Over the years, I have learned that if there is friction with using a tool I’m trying to use, my ADHD brain will simply stop using it. Any friction that is created by a system that is supposed to enhance productivity and help with working memory makes it useless for someone with ADHD. Friction is what stops the flow from flowing. With digital notes in Obsidian, you don’t get lost in navigation, you can customize nearly every element of the app to suit your workflow, make hotkeys for all the things, and you don’t have to get stuck wondering which folder to put a note in. You don’t even need to use folders because you have tags and links. This leads me to my last point.
6. Linkable
Links are possibly the biggest advantage to digital note taking as they provide structure to you notes, creating an ongoing wikipedia of personal knowledge and information. There are no rules to what can be linked and how to organize your connections, whether its through links or tags. You can even create links to notes that don’t yet exist in your vault. This makes a digital note taking system much easier to manage and provides an abundance of information when linking to existing webs of knowledge.
If you’d like to start on your digital note-taking journey, I would highly recommend Obsidian. This is the note-taking app I use as my second brain and it’s what allows me to connect ideas and concepts seamlessly. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to my creative flow.
As a bonus, download my Obsidian starter vault for a head start with journaling and logging your encounters into an automated system.