So like, I thought I was being super smart when I started taking notes on my phone during my online classes. I mean, everyone has their phone with them all the time right? Plus typing is way faster than writing stuff down with a pen. My friends were all doing it too so I figured why not. But man was I wrong about this whole thing.

The first couple weeks seemed okay I guess. I would open up the notes app on my iPhone and start typing whatever the teacher was saying. Sometimes I would use Google Docs or even just text myself the important stuff. It felt really modern and efficient you know? Like I was living in 2025 and not stuck in the old school way of doing things with notebooks and pencils.

But then I started noticing some weird things happening. My grades were not as good as they used to be. I was having trouble remembering what we learned in class even though I had all these notes on my phone. And the biggest problem was that I kept getting distracted by notifications and other apps. Every single class turned into this battle between trying to focus and wanting to check my messages or scroll through social media.

After like three months of this I finally realized that taking notes on my phone was actually making my learning worse not better. It was one of those moments where you feel pretty dumb for not seeing it sooner. So I did some research and talked to my teachers and other students to figure out what went wrong. Turns out there is actual science behind why phone notes do not work as good as regular notes.

The Distraction Problem Is Way Worse Than You Think

Okay so this was the biggest issue for me honestly. When you have your phone out during class its like having every distraction in the world right there in your hand. Even if you start with good intentions and open the notes app first, you are just one swipe away from literally everything else on your phone.

For me it usually went like this. I would be typing notes about whatever we were learning in math class or social studies. Then a notification would pop up at the top of my screen. Maybe it was from Instagram or Snapchat or a group chat with my friends. And I would tell myself just gonna check this real quick and then get back to the notes. But that quick check would turn into five minutes of scrolling and suddenly I missed like half of what the teacher was explaining.

The worst part is that sometimes I did not even need a notification to get distracted. My brain would just think about checking stuff on my own. Like oh I wonder if anyone replied to my story or did that new video drop yet or whatever. Having the phone right there made it so easy to give in to those thoughts. With a regular notebook you cannot just randomly start watching YouTube videos in the middle of class you know?

Studies show that students who use phones or laptops for notes spend like forty percent of class time doing other stuff that has nothing to do with learning. That is almost half the class wasted. And here in Canada where a lot of schools switched to online or hybrid learning after the pandemic this problem got even bigger. When you are already on a computer for the Zoom class and also have your phone out for notes its distraction overload.

Your Brain Learns Different When You Write By Hand

This part really surprised me when I learned about it. Apparently your brain actually processes information differently depending on whether you are typing or writing by hand. And writing by hand is way better for learning and memory which makes sense now that I think about it.

When you write notes with a pen and paper you cannot write as fast as the teacher talks usually. So your brain has to do this thing where it summarizes and picks out the most important information instead of just copying everything word for word. This process of thinking about what is important and putting it in your own words helps you understand and remember it better. Scientists call this deeper processing or something like that.

But when you type notes on your phone or computer you can type way faster. So what happens is you just try to type everything the teacher says without really thinking about it. You become like a human recording device just capturing words but not actually learning them. I did this all the time and then later when I would look back at my phone notes I would be like wait what does this even mean? Because I never really processed the information in my brain properly.

There was this study done at some university where they tested students who took handwritten notes versus typed notes. The students with handwritten notes did way better on tests especially on questions that required understanding concepts not just memorizing facts. The typing students could remember specific details sometimes but they did not understand the bigger picture as well. That was exactly my problem in my classes.

Organization Becomes A Complete Mess

Another thing that went wrong with phone notes was how disorganized everything got. At first I thought having all my notes digital would make them super organized and easy to find. But it turned out to be the opposite actually.

I would take notes in different apps depending on what was convenient at the time. Sometimes the regular Notes app, sometimes Google Docs, sometimes I would even just text notes to myself in a conversation. Then I would forget where I put which notes. Was that chemistry stuff in Notes or Docs? Did I text myself those math formulas or were they in a different app? It became this whole scavenger hunt just to find my own notes.

Plus phone notes do not have the same physical organization as a notebook. With a real notebook you can flip through pages and kind of remember where things are based on like oh that was near the front or that was on a page with a coffee stain or whatever. Your brain uses these physical cues to help remember stuff. But with phone notes everything just looks the same. Just endless scrolling through text that all blends together.

I also had problems with my notes getting deleted or lost sometimes. Like if my phone died during class I would lose whatever I was working on if I forgot to save it. Or sometimes apps would glitch and stuff would disappear. One time I lost like two weeks of history notes because of some iCloud sync problem and I almost cried honestly. With a physical notebook that stuff cannot happen unless you literally lose the whole notebook.

The Notification Problem During Canadian Online Learning

This issue got really bad for me and a lot of other students here in Canada during online school. When you are already doing class on a computer and you have your phone out for notes you are basically drowning in notifications from everywhere.

Canadian students use a lot of different apps and platforms for school. There is Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, email, plus whatever your school board uses for announcements and stuff. Then you have got your regular social media and messaging apps. So notifications are coming at you constantly from like ten different directions while you are trying to learn.

I remember being in a math class on Zoom and trying to take notes on my phone. I would get notifications from the Zoom chat, texts from friends, Instagram likes, emails from teachers about other classes, reminders about assignments, news alerts, everything. It was actually impossible to focus. My attention was split into a million pieces and I was not really present for any of it.

Even if you turn on Do Not Disturb mode or whatever you still know the phone is there and you still think about checking it. Its like when you are trying not to think about something and that makes you think about it even more. The phone becomes this constant temptation sitting right in front of you during the whole class.

Battery Life And Technical Problems

Something I did not think about before I started taking phone notes was all the technical problems that would come up. Phones are not really designed to be note taking devices for hours every day so issues happen a lot.

The biggest problem was battery life. If I forgot to charge my phone the night before or if I used it a lot in the morning my battery would be dying by the time afternoon classes started. Then I would be in the middle of taking notes and my phone would die and I would miss important stuff. Or I would have to stop paying attention to class so I could go find my charger and plug in somewhere.

Apps would also crash or freeze sometimes especially if my phone was getting old or had too many things running. Nothing is more annoying than being in the middle of typing something important and the app just closes randomly. Or it would lag really bad and I would be typing but the words would not show up on screen for like five seconds. By then the teacher has moved on and I missed what they said next.

Screen glare was another issue especially during online classes. If there was sunlight coming through my window I could barely see my phone screen. I would have to move around or close blinds or whatever which meant I was not focused on learning. With paper notes you do not have that problem because paper does not have glare.

What Actually Works Better For Taking Notes

After I figured out that phone notes were not working I had to find a better system. I talked to some teachers and students who were doing well in their classes to see what they were doing different. Here is what I learned actually works.

The best method for most people is just using a regular notebook and pen. I know it seems old fashioned but there is a reason people have been doing it forever. You get all those benefits of handwriting helping your brain process information better. Plus there are no distractions because a notebook cannot send you notifications or let you watch videos.

Some people do a hybrid system where they take handwritten notes during class and then type them up later on a computer. This actually works pretty good because you get the learning benefits of handwriting but also have a digital backup that is organized and searchable. It takes extra time though so you have to decide if its worth it for you.

If you really want to use technology for notes a tablet with a stylus is way better than a phone. You can handwrite notes digitally which gives you some of the brain benefits of regular writing. Plus tablets have bigger screens so they are easier to organize and you can see more at once. And if you get one that is just for school without all your social media apps on it there are less distractions.

The most important thing is keeping your phone away during class. Like actually put it in your bag or in another room if you are at home. Out of sight out of mind you know? Even if you are taking notes some other way having your phone nearby is still a distraction. I started leaving mine in my locker during school days and my focus got so much better immediately.

Tips For Canadian Students Specifically

Here in Canada a lot of schools have different policies about phones and devices so you need to work within whatever rules your school has. Some schools have pretty strict no phone policies now which actually helps with this problem. If your school does not have rules about it you need to make your own rules for yourself.

For students doing online or hybrid learning which is still pretty common in Canada you have extra challenges. You are already on a screen for the class itself so adding another screen for notes is too much. I found it works better to have the class on my computer but take handwritten notes on paper beside me. That way I am not staring at two screens and my eyes do not get as tired.

Canadian winters also create some unique problems. When its really cold outside and you are writing notes your hand can get tired and crampy faster. I started using those fingerless gloves sometimes when studying in cold rooms. Also gel pens work better than regular pens in cold temperatures if you are taking notes outside or in a cold classroom.

My Results After Switching Back To Paper Notes

After I stopped using my phone for notes and went back to a regular notebook things got way better pretty fast. Like I noticed a difference within the first week honestly.

My grades started going up because I was actually learning and remembering stuff instead of just recording it. Tests became easier because I had better understanding of the material. I was not cramming as much before exams because I had already learned most of it properly the first time when I took good notes.

I also felt less stressed and overwhelmed. Not being constantly distracted by my phone during class meant I could actually relax and focus on one thing at a time. Classes became less frustrating because I was not always playing catch up after missing stuff while checking notifications.

My teachers noticed too. A couple of them mentioned that I seemed more engaged and was participating more in class discussions. That is because I was actually present mentally not just physically there while my brain was thinking about my phone.

The organization got better too. I started using one notebook per subject with dividers and it was so much easier to find stuff. I could flip back through my notes before tests and review everything in order. With phone notes I would barely look at them again because they were such a mess but with organized notebooks I actually used them for studying.