Notetaking makes working memory much less of a issue. I recommend you find a way that works for you, if you're interested in career longevity as an engineer. Personally I alternate between todo lists for completion and coverage, and dialectics of theory and test for design and troubleshooting.
Yeah, I've never really understood the note taking thing. I'll be working on simple algorithm problems that require me to hold 3-4 elements in my mind and constantly have to mentally reference them over and over. "what was the value of x again?" — which distracts from solving the actual problem! Maybe the experience that others have is different.
