The Best Paper To Digital Notes System. (Without The Need For AI) 

Your last videos make me think about returning to paper planners and paper. It is messy, but maybe it works for us much better than we think. Maybe we have been brainwashed to go digital, but in reality, maybe it destroys our thinking, creativity, and so on.

No music no editing great video

If you can keep your written notes sequential you can use any app on your Mac that will accept text input, set your cursor where you want to add the text, then use an iPhone camera to look at the document. It will recognize the text with a symbol on the image. Take the photo, click on the image and then Select All - copy. Just go back to the mac and press paste (ctrl-V) to add the text directly to the file. No need for airdrop or email transfer. I even found this helps improve my writing so OCR does a better job!

Why don't you write on the pad directly?

Where your example wouldn't work for me is that your tasks, or action items, are now buried within one digital file. So if I have 46 projects happening, each with its own set of tasks, I will forget to do some of them because I simply cannot remember 46 sets of tasks at any given time -- I need to see them. But I like how your (what I will call projects) are set up. I would just have the tasks that pertain to it all located elsewhere, like a separate (central) place, and the projects with which each task resides would need to be referenced along with each task.

I really like this. Distinguishing between the strengths of paper vs. digital is so helpful. Paper is so good for brainstorming, for *thinking*, while digital is great for storage, retrieval, and editing.

I love the balance of being in a lecture to quickly type important notes. Then after I come home, I can write key takeaways and think of ideas and questions to think about the lecture properly

Planning is such an underrated aspect of productivity that people neglect. While some preach that it's time wasted, that could be doing things, I've found if I don't plan I'm far more flustered and at the mercy of a list rather than knowing ahead of time what I am focusing on.

Just what the doctor ordered. Digitalizing handwritten notes is a great idea, even some apps like samsung notes are able to turn the notes into digital letters.

I have no problem coming up with thoughts, insights and ideas by not writing with pen on paper. Maybe it’s just me. My system is to eliminate pen write on paper & scanning steps to use saved time for pondering. Type digital notes, ideas and thoughts into notes taking app. Print out as physical paper via laser jet printer with premium acid free A4 printing paper. Paper last 100 years. If you laminate the paper via outsourcing to stationery shop or DIY at home, your notes or paper will be protected by plastic and last centuries. There’s the risks of fire, flood, theft or robbery at home. Thus keep your laminated notes at the bank safe custody vault and write the vault number and bank name in your will and set recurring reminder every 3 years to in person remind your loved ones of your notes in the bank.

We can easily self-assess the validity of analog v. digital notes.

Back when I was in Uni in the early 2000s (medical degree), I only used my laptop or Blackberry for notes for garbage classes. For everything else it was a nice easy-writing gel or fountain pen and paper. Lots of paper. Most of the time, the action of writing the notes was all of the studying I needed. Notes were scanned to PDFs at the end of the night.

I’m a newer subscriber and have been reworking my system, moving back towards paper. Really appreciate your content and advice! You cover theory and actionable steps to take. Love your work!

I also thought for a long time that working with paper is so old-fashioned. But for some time now, I've been using paper and fountain pen again. Apple Pencil is not a real replacement either. Working with paper is more intense for me, my thoughts are more structured and I keep the content much better in my mind.

I have taken your many of your courses and have used them to develop my own paper/digital system. I use a paper planner to do all my mapping out, GQueues for my tasks app, and Evernote for all my project support materials and Master Project List. It's great to see you embrace paper again.

Thank you for these tips and tricks. Can’t believe how rude some of these viewers are…if you don’t feel the video will help you…move along. No need for haters ✌️ keep doing what you’re doing ❤

Brillant Video. Very clear and expanding on your video last week. Thanks so much.

This is essentially what I've been doing for the past 2 years only I use either apple notes or OneNote depending on the type of note it is. I ditched Evernote years ago when they proved they no longer cared about the individual user. But I LOVE your suggestion about marking the note as "scanned" once it's in your system as this is something I have not been doing and will try going forward.

Greetings from Brazil, thank you for the great content that you always present in your channel!

This is a terrific idea. The ability to use both paper and electronic storage is brilliant!