Why one developer keeps a paper notebook beside the keyboard instead of an app

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A developer reports repeatedly trying to swap their paper notebook for a note-taking app, and failing each time. The main obstacle is speed: a useful debugging thought fades in about four seconds, and opening an app takes longer than that. Writing a notebook entry takes only a moment. The author recommends jotting the smallest useful detail, such as the failing command or the expected versus actual value. Those brief notes tend to be quicker to reread than searching again when the same problem returns.

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