A short recap: I needed a faster way to take notes during brainstorming sessions.
After reviewing traditional shorthand, LiveScribe, and a few other choices, I narrowed my options down to EasyScript and QuickHand.
To get a feel for the two systems, I bought two books off of eBay: EasyScript Express and the QuickHand Self-Teaching Guide. Yes, I know that many libraries have these or can get them, but our county library does not. Many rural libraries charge for inter-library loans, so you have to carefully weigh the cost of an ILL versus buying the item, even if you only plan to read it once.
I have finished reading both books, and I’ve practiced both systems a bit. My opinion is that of the two, EasyScript is the easiest to learn, fastest, and most adaptable. Here’s my take on the two systems.
QuickHand
– It presumes legible longhand writing, a major negative point for me. I always use a mix of script and printed letters in normal writing.
– It has a strict system of abbreviations for specific words that you must memorize.
It presumes taking transcriptions, not just notes. The focus is on capturing as fast as someone can speak. This is useful, but I tend to abbreviate my notes, as I only need to remember what I was thinking, not exactly what someone said.
– It looks like a modified form of Gregg shorthand in how it’s written, position, and penmanship.
EasyScript
– It defines several rules for how to abbreviate any word.
– It ignores how you write, what the abbreviations are, script, and print symbols. They don’t care – they just want you to use a consistent framework based on word structure.
-It’s very flexible in terms of subjects. You take notes based on word parts, not specific words.
– It explicitly allows and suggests defining a personal set of abbreviations based on your needs and topics.
As you can see from the above, I found EasyScript to be much more adaptable and useful for my use case. I’m planning to explore EasyScript more, and I may invest in more detailed training options. I have already seen an improvement in how fast I can capture and collect thoughts using the rules I’ve managed to memorize. I got a bit confused trying to learn both systems, so I need to let the QuickHand stuff go away before I try to master EasyScript.
If anyone wants my QuickHand book, you can have it for the cost of shipping.