Old dog . . . still looking for new tricks?

I haven't yet conquered my fears.  Replacing time-tested paper-and-pencil techniques for a digital 'drawing pad' is taking way more training time - and WAY more dead ends - than I anticipated.  I'm trying not to be held hostage to my discouragement, but am also not surrendering to lingering waves of good old guilt.  Am I too set in my love of graphite doodles on odd bits of paper?

In the previously described five apps I'm testing, I am challenged with very different interfaces (tools, protocols, shorthand/shortcuts, etc.) that are not always intuitive.  Much more 'training' time is needed than I originally anticipated, challenging while inside the semester's other demands.  At the same time, I remain intrigued by the opportunities to 'save layers separately' that might lead to some interesting process-based case studies.  "Layers" might be the very treasure that I've been seeking in this hunt for digital payoff . . .

Meanwhile, I'm also exploring 'mind-mapping' with an app called iThoughts.  I'm new to this kind of application, but not to its goals.  If this is a way to track the process of design conceptualization, I might be a new advocate.  More 'training time' is needed, and I'm wondering (fearing?) if the digital interface will slow and/or kill the spontaneity of idea-making.  I'll keep those worries to myself and plow on.

Still looking for that "Eureka moment" to convince me that paper is 'over' . . . any recommendations for apps/techniques to change my mind would be much appreciated!