Why Note-Taking Apps Don't Make Us Smarter

For decades now, software tools have promised to make working life easier. But on one critical dimension — their ability to improve our thinking — they don’t seem to be making much progress at all.

“The goal is not to take notes — the goal is to think effectively,” Matuschak writes. “Better questions are “what practices can help me reliably develop insights over time?” [and] “how can I shepherd my attention effectively?”

The reason, sadly, is that thinking takes place in your brain. And thinking is an active pursuit — one that often happens when you are spending long stretches of time staring into space, then writing a bit, and then staring into space a bit more. It’s here that the connections are made and the insights are formed. And it is a process that stubbornl... See more