Why I Still Take Notes by Hand in a Room Full of Laptops

I look up from my notebook.

Glowing screens everywhere. Laptops, iPads, digital styluses.

I was at a workshop the other day, pen in hand, jotting down notes. I looked around the room and realized I was practically the only person engaging in the ancient act of putting ink on paper.

I see it at business conferences. I see it at my speaking club meetings.

In a world running on AI, cloud tools, and automated workflows, my paper notebook feels almost like an artifact.

I write code. I run digital operations. I’m deep in tech every single day.

So why am I still "old school" when it comes to taking notes?

1. Writing by hand helps me remember better.

   
   

2. A notebook doesn't ping. There are no Slack pop-ups, no unread email badges, and no temptations to "just quickly check" a notification mid-speaker sentence.

Sometimes the most effective productivity tool isn't a new app or subscription software.

It’s a blank page and a good pen.

Or maybe I’m just stubborn.

Am I the last person in the room still writing in a physical notebook, or are there any fellow pen-and-paper loyalists out there?