I use paper all the time for stuff. Notes can become sketches or mind-maps or even actual working drawings - or anything else - with no need to change applications or spend time remembering where...
I use paper all the time for stuff. Notes can become sketches or mind-maps or even actual working drawings - or anything else - with no need to change applications or spend time remembering where the relevant tool is. While I can do all the following in electronic forms, it's faster and easier to change colours, inks, pencils, type size and style on paper. Also, while I do like my keyboard, it's so much less pleasurable to use than a really nice pen or top quality pencil.
I disagree with the author about cheap notebooks. I buy expensive Japanese or French notebooks (and by 'expensive' I mean £3-6 each, so it's hardly bank-breaking because they last a good while) and it's 100% worth it. Rhodia and Mnemosyne are my manufacturer of choice, they're so smooth and tactile to write on, just making notes becomes a pleasure. Tombow pencils and brush pens are my preferred implements, or a Uni-ball Jetstream 1mm. If I'm feeling particularly fancy I might treat myself to a Midori MD notebook but they're crazy expensive (I once paid £20 for a 50 sheet A4 plain notebook - but it was for a very special occasion)
I'm also a fan of chalk pens on windows for communal note-taking/reminders. Which also occasionally turn into elaborate and colourful drawings.
I would love to be able to use a paper notebook for productivity like this, and have tried in the past. But the overhead of writing in to-do items on the daily (particularly when I haven't had a...
I would love to be able to use a paper notebook for productivity like this, and have tried in the past. But the overhead of writing in to-do items on the daily (particularly when I haven't had a chance to get around to something for a few days, so it keeps getting put back), not to mention periodically recurring tasks, is just too faffy for me.
Using an app to manage that kind of mental load is the value of a digital system IMO. I don't have to remember when I changed my bedsheets, the app takes care of it. Can't recall when I watered my succulent last, but I don't need to. Haven't done a task for a week because I'm lazy? The app just keeps it on the list without me having to write it every day.
Paper is great, and I'm glad it works for people as a "system," but that's certainly not me.
I have come to a similar conclusion as the author, though my techniques differ a bit. I've tried many, many, digital solutions for a TODO list, and they all fall by the wayside and into disuse....
I have come to a similar conclusion as the author, though my techniques differ a bit. I've tried many, many, digital solutions for a TODO list, and they all fall by the wayside and into disuse. That said, I still do use a bit of a hybrid approach.
For anything that has to be done on a specific date or time, it goes into my phone reminders app. For things that need to be done "some time in the near future", that just doesn't work for me, they accumulate and never get cleaned up.
For me, paper is the best way of tracking my day to days todo tasks. I clip 10 or so sheets of printer paper to a clipboard and keep a fountain pen handy. One, it's an excuse to play with my fountain pens, but more importantly, it works well for me. I write things down as they come up. If I need more details, I write a reference for where the details are, but the task goes on paper. What I think makes it work for me is that I get the satisfaction of crossing it out. Turning - into + (author's suggestion) isn't enough for me, I need to physically cross the line out. Every few days, when the page starts to fill up I review what's left -- and this is the important part -- I choose which items to transfer over to a new sheet and re-write them in priority order on that new sheet. This refreshes my memory that I haven't yet finished the task, and gives a clean slate. Another time that I'll do this kind of cleaning/sorting is when I have a moment where I feel unproductive. Going through my list and seeing the things that need to be done is really good encouragement for me. For some reason just having a checkbox in an application just doesn't do the same thing for me as re-writing the tasks. Writing them down helps cement them in my mind as well.
I use paper all the time for stuff. Notes can become sketches or mind-maps or even actual working drawings - or anything else - with no need to change applications or spend time remembering where the relevant tool is. While I can do all the following in electronic forms, it's faster and easier to change colours, inks, pencils, type size and style on paper. Also, while I do like my keyboard, it's so much less pleasurable to use than a really nice pen or top quality pencil.
I disagree with the author about cheap notebooks. I buy expensive Japanese or French notebooks (and by 'expensive' I mean £3-6 each, so it's hardly bank-breaking because they last a good while) and it's 100% worth it. Rhodia and Mnemosyne are my manufacturer of choice, they're so smooth and tactile to write on, just making notes becomes a pleasure. Tombow pencils and brush pens are my preferred implements, or a Uni-ball Jetstream 1mm. If I'm feeling particularly fancy I might treat myself to a Midori MD notebook but they're crazy expensive (I once paid £20 for a 50 sheet A4 plain notebook - but it was for a very special occasion)
I'm also a fan of chalk pens on windows for communal note-taking/reminders. Which also occasionally turn into elaborate and colourful drawings.
I would love to be able to use a paper notebook for productivity like this, and have tried in the past. But the overhead of writing in to-do items on the daily (particularly when I haven't had a chance to get around to something for a few days, so it keeps getting put back), not to mention periodically recurring tasks, is just too faffy for me.
Using an app to manage that kind of mental load is the value of a digital system IMO. I don't have to remember when I changed my bedsheets, the app takes care of it. Can't recall when I watered my succulent last, but I don't need to. Haven't done a task for a week because I'm lazy? The app just keeps it on the list without me having to write it every day.
Paper is great, and I'm glad it works for people as a "system," but that's certainly not me.
I have come to a similar conclusion as the author, though my techniques differ a bit. I've tried many, many, digital solutions for a TODO list, and they all fall by the wayside and into disuse. That said, I still do use a bit of a hybrid approach.
For anything that has to be done on a specific date or time, it goes into my phone reminders app. For things that need to be done "some time in the near future", that just doesn't work for me, they accumulate and never get cleaned up.
For me, paper is the best way of tracking my day to days todo tasks. I clip 10 or so sheets of printer paper to a clipboard and keep a fountain pen handy. One, it's an excuse to play with my fountain pens, but more importantly, it works well for me. I write things down as they come up. If I need more details, I write a reference for where the details are, but the task goes on paper. What I think makes it work for me is that I get the satisfaction of crossing it out. Turning - into + (author's suggestion) isn't enough for me, I need to physically cross the line out. Every few days, when the page starts to fill up I review what's left -- and this is the important part -- I choose which items to transfer over to a new sheet and re-write them in priority order on that new sheet. This refreshes my memory that I haven't yet finished the task, and gives a clean slate. Another time that I'll do this kind of cleaning/sorting is when I have a moment where I feel unproductive. Going through my list and seeing the things that need to be done is really good encouragement for me. For some reason just having a checkbox in an application just doesn't do the same thing for me as re-writing the tasks. Writing them down helps cement them in my mind as well.