So say researchers Pam Mueller of Princeton University and Daniel Oppenheimer of UCLA, who recently published a paper with that title in Psychological Science. Read on to learn more about three scientific links between writing out your notes by hand and actually remembering the important stuff. Writing by hand tends to boost your ability to retain information, comprehend new ideas, and be more productive - with the added bonus of eliminating the distractions of your device. More specifically, it matters whether you transcribe a speaker’s content digitally - or instead capture its essence on paper.Īs digital continues to dominate, going old-school with handwriting just might work to your advantage. It has to do with how the brain processes different inputs of information. Recent studies from psychologists and neuroscientists alike have found that handwriting is king for effective learning. Maybe you’re doing it too!Īnd why not? Typing is an incredibly efficient way to capture large amounts of information.īut if you’re looking to actually master the material, typing notes is actually is not the best way to do that.

At conferences, lectures, and meetings, it’s common to see the people around you typing notes on their laptops, tablets, or phones.

Handwriting notes vs typing notes