A Frictionless Note-Taking System Can Be A Limitation

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

In any aspect of your life, note-taking included, “friction” is necessary.

Technology affords us the opportunity to capture anything and everything that resonates with us. With this ease, there is zero cost to capturing everything. Zero cost on the front end at least. The costs of this frictionless “feature” of today’s note-taking applications are hidden.

You may never know what the real cost of a frictionless note-taking system is unless you absolutely need to produce something. Notes are a means to an end. They serve a purpose that is the final product. In writing, that could be a published piece.

For me, the cost of a frictionless note-taking system is just that- an inability to “converge” on the notes I do have and crank out an article for that day. That speaks more about me than the frictionless systems.

I am not against frictionless systems that allow easy capture any time and any where. That is a feature, not a bug, on most occasions. But I get too caught up capturing content that I keep kicking the finished product down the road for a later time.

This is another reason I’ve decided to pursue an analog system of note-taking- the analog Zettelkasten.

If I’m being honest though, the lure of the frictionless digital system gets to me on a daily basis. I see others succeeding with their digital platforms and can’t help but feel a little jealous that they are hitting their stride. But that’s probably a story I’m telling myself.

The truth is, a knowledge system is personal and, thus, is different for everyone. The only one we’re competing with is ourself.

On the other hand, the analog system is rife with friction. The physical space that a notecard provides limits me to a hundred words. I need to be extremely selective about what I’m putting on notecards. Indexing is another piece of friction with analog. I must be deliberate about where I place notes in my ever-expanding collection of notes. If I don’t, it’ll be a big mess.

Embrace friction (sometimes). It helps you be more intentional and deliberate about what you’re doing.