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Minding the (Analog and Digital) Gap

One of the worst afflictions to have is the ability to argue with yourself into oblivion. I’ve done that exact thing on the least important of all subjects: note-taking. Well, I don’t believe note-taking is useless, but given the sort of renaissance on the topic, I know I am not the only one. For instance, what to do about the seeming GAP between taking analog or digital notes?

Some choose the extreme. They go “all in” on either paper or digital tools, others, (and I believe is the majority) frequently cycle through note-takings current and past technologies and (hopefully) just choose the ones they need the most in their situation. I am unfortunate enough to go down the many, many rabbit-holes—it is practically a burrow—on how to take good notes and on what kind of medium for what particular outcome. Some good authorities on the matter are actually paper-enthusiasts (some may say existentialists though that is in jest)—@Annahavron who runs the blog analogoffice.net, and Rachelle from Rachelle in Theory who has a course I wish I could spend money on just for the curiosity of it. I find the advice I learned from them to be solid in understanding this gap, but leaves me some questions when that gap between digital and analog is not so “obvious.”

Three Steps to Mind the Gap

Step 1) Its a Brainstorm, not a Brain-Dribble

I believe Rachelle is right when she so often talks about working through something on paper first. Ideas, plans, events, anything that may take extra steps, should be considered on paper. Havron suggests the same thing because the paper itself is a finite space, without distractions, that lets you be messy.1 Essentially, the physicality of working a project out by hand allows you to focus on the project itself. It doesn’t mean you need to keep the piece of paper, you can scan and recycle it, or just transcribe the action items you identified in the process.

If learning new material, it goes without saying that writing it down is often better. If you are in the practice for it, writing out arguments makes you better recall what was said but also what was meant by the author. I’ve recently been handwriting my reading notes and even if I do not finish a book by the time it is seminar, I have lots to say about it despite that.

Step 2) Simplicity, Simplicity, Simplicity

If I were to sum up most of my troubles, it is not knowing what simplicity “actually” means. Simplicity is doing what works with things that have worked, and the feeling of fulfillment that comes from just getting the project done.

If you know what “#RS" or “#LR” means in your notes, do not change it. If you require a new obsidian vault for a new project, do not listen to everyone who says you need “one vault.” Same for notebooks. If you have been using a program and it has not bothered you the slightest, do not change it. Do the bare minimum you need to keep going. No need to “revamp” the system. If anything, it means you may be avoiding it. That’s how I do most of my procrastinating actually. We use both analog and digital tools because of the integrated world we live in today, but it also means there are many “options” out there that make us feel as though we may not be getting things done fast enough or aesthetically enough. I love experimentation, but, experiments are best done when there are few variables.

This tip is to keep the “woops I collect [insert stationery/electronic item] now, but don’t use them” kind of mentality. Get creative, and have fun with the things you do have, and do trial runs at appropriate times. Ask your friends (better if in person!) how they go about doing things. It is how I lightened my reading load by trying something new with my reading notes. I no longer use page flags, color-coding to oblivion, but book darts for important chapters, pencil for the margins, and then write out passages, observations, summaries, and notes, in a notebook.

Step 3) When in Doubt, Write it Out

This is for anything. It doesn’t need to be by hand, it can be typed. if you have a problem, use what is in front of you immediately. If it works being digital, great, if not, you can move it somewhere more convenient. And vice versa. You don’t need to be a purist. I believe in experimenting, and one of my more expensive experiments is E ink technologies such as E-readers and E-notebook tablets. They allow me to “write it out” digitally, but without some fears that come along with certain information. This actually can be the opposite for other people, but it is the experimentation process that is important here. Do what you know works, if something is ruining that simplicity you once had, write out why, what is out there to try? Can anything make it better? Or is this a limitation you must deal with?

E-CODA

E-ink technology kind of complicates the gap between analog and digital. Inherently, it is digital, but the process of using paper, can be mimicked in rather useful ways. Whenever there is a conversation about “note-taking” systems or the best way to finish a project, E-ink seldom comes into view. One, it’s because they are niche, and two, it’s because they are expensive in time and money. The time part is important here because of the sort of ambiguity this piece of tech has. E-readers are the better known, but E-notebooks are not. It takes time to adjust to a new piece of technology or software.

To illustrate my point, there are three scenarios of how I take notes for reading after so much time spent on it:

  1. Physical Book

I hand write notes in my Supernote Nomad because I want to attach my notes as a PDF into Zotero where I inevitably use to write papers on my laptop. I often still pencil in marks that help break down the text, but only if its a book I own. Having a digital and persistent copy of handwritten notes of physical books within Zotero, is amazing for how I work as an academic. It is also great with borrowed books too.

  1. PDF

If I have a PDF with stable page numbers equal to a print book, I annotate with my Note Air 3C within the Zotero Android app, because of my robust color coding system is helpful when looking for particular information at a glance. Zotero also allows you to make a “notes” file for the annotations that you made in the document. I do not type these annotations, but write them by hand using the “handwrite to text” feature available as a keyboard input. This is the second most ideal way of taking reading notes for me, because it can be quick and flexible and immediately has stable page numbers. If I can take my time, I treat the PDF as a physical book and try to handwrite as much as possible in the note file made on the Supernote for that book. And of course, that file is linked to the citation and PDF in Zotero.

  1. E-book

If have an e-book on Kindle, I use either my Paperwhite Kindle or my Note Air 3C to read and annotate. I then export those annotations using the Kindle to PC desktop and put them in Zotero. If possible, it is best if I take handwritten notes, and link them to Zotero as well. ePUB’s are the least ideal because of the lack of stable pages.I use Google Book’s search (or using InterLibrary Loan to get a physical copy) to find the phrase to a stable page number. It is just a little bit of extra work if it turns out a book is important for some piece of research I am doing.

The goal of my use of e-ink is to get the benefits of writing by hand (memory recall, better engagement, better planning to be able to do it), and the immediacy and expanse that digital tools provide (uploading the notes to Zotero to link to the citation, using essentially perfect stationery for every session for little decision fatigue, no paper “wasted”). There are also benefits from using a screen that doesn’t emit light, but reflects it like paper. Once I paired back how I annotated after being hesitant about it at first, I got more out of what I was reading. This all came at the expense of time, of trial and error, but it was worth it when an issue came up. I wasn’t getting the most out the reading material I had to go through each semester. I am not sure if anything will change once I graduate, given that I have a prospect of a job requiring me to research often lined up, but that is an unknown I’ll get to eventually. How do you mind the gap?

  1. Anna Havron, Reader Question 10: Personal Productivity Analysis Paralysis, Analogoffice.net. analogoffice.net/2025/08/2… Accessed, 28 Jan 2026. ↩︎