In-Context Rich Markdown Notes & Scratchpad

The Danger of Tab Switching for Note-Taking

When you switch away from your primary work application to an external note app (Notion, Obsidian, Apple Notes) to paste a research link or code snippet:

• You see unrelated notifications, unread badges, and old project pages.
• You lose your active train of thought and cognitive momentum.
• A 10-second note capture turns into a 15-minute rabbit hole of distraction.

According to Cognitive Load Theory formulated by educational psychologist Dr. John Sweller, the split-attention effect occurs when cognitive processing is divided across physically separated sources of information. This causes an immediate 20% to 30% drop in conceptual retention and problem-solving speed.

Flowa features an In-Context Rich Markdown Scratchpad built on the modern Tiptap engine, keeping notes co-located with your active work.

Capabilities of the Zen Scratchpad

1. Contextually Bound Notes: Attach specific documentation, links, and code snippets directly to the active Kanban task. When you return to the task tomorrow, all your research is immediately accessible.
2. Global Sidebar Scratchpad: Keep an open general scratchpad in the right sidebar for scratch calculations, temporary API keys, and meeting takeaways during active focus blocks.
3. Full Markdown Support: Enjoy rich formatting with headings, bold/italic, bulleted lists, numbered lists, blockquotes, and syntax-highlighted code blocks with sub-5ms local persistence.