A Guide to Harnessing the Digital Revolution for Modern Note Taking

Digital Note Taking for the Consummate Professional… You have arrived at the precipice, mingling among the elite echelons of a business empire. But, once there, you unwittingly realize that, like a middle-school student, you take notes to keep track of the many moving parts for which you are responsible. As you are probably aware, traditional note taking often ends up in a random clutter of paper.

The type of digital device to meet your needs depends upon your specific note-taking style. From a digital perspective, this can be accomplished on a laptop, a tablet or a smartphone.

A Laptop, a tablet or a smart-pen?

A computer laptop has more capability than a tablet, but is awkward and bulky to carry. If you only want to take notes and work with a word-processing program, you can do so with a Chromebook, a tablet or a Smart-pen.

A Tablet Allows one to write directly on the screen’s surface

An active stylus is an input device with built-in electronic components. It allows you to write as if you were writing on paper. .

If you considering a slim tablet, note that it is easier to carry and often has better battery life than laptops.

The smart-pen

Some of the most technologically advanced pen-enabled tablets cannot reproduce the sensation of a pen on paper. In these instances, it is prudent to use a Smart-pen. Smart-pens use special paper to record the stroke of the pen and, may also include audio linked to the pen. Smart-pens look like traditional pens, only bulkier. They capture what has been written and send it to your mobile device.

Some applications can translate your handwriting to text (with the help of an app), making searching and organizing your notes easy. While smart pens typically require special paper (at an additional cost), you’ll invest less up front.

Photographing notes

Another digital note-taking option is to use whatever pen and notebook you prefer and then make a digital copy with Evernote’s Page Camera feature. Page Camera is designed for capturing notebook pages and handwriting.

Your doodling pen

“Doodling” opens the door to greater understanding… Although doodling has a reputation for being mindless, lazy, and distracting,research suggests otherwise. Doodlers recall, on average, 29% more information than non-doodlers.