Is paper and pencil better than digital?
Last month I decided to go “off-grid”. Don’t worry I’m not sat in a tent in the woods tapping into a local farmers wi-fi.
This 3-month off-grid experiment is to do with working with paper and pencil rather than my laptop and iphone for some activities.
I’ve been testing the concept of Bullet Journalling, devised a few years ago by Ryder Carroll. You basically use a single notebook for all your to-do’s, planning, journaling, task lists, checklists, notes, and creative thinking. You number the pages as you go along and create an index at the front which you develop as you go along.
Here’s where I’m finding its advantages over digital:
It just feels more intentional when I write down a task. I seem to be doing more tasks that I instruct myself to do.
It’s always visible. When it’s on my desk I can quickly refer to my daily to-do list. The data is not hidden in the depths of my laptop files or iphone apps.
Adding tasks is quicker than typing them into my To-do app, especially when I need to include a large amount of information.
It’s nice for my eyes to take a break from my screens regularly.
I also get a more rewarding feeling when crossing off a completed task with the pencil, than with clicking a button on my app
I’ve created a habit tracker grid page in it, to mark off each daily habit that I wish to accomplish. I gave up on my habit tracking app as I ironically I couldn’t get in the habit of using it. With the paper grid I get them done as I want to keep the streaks going.
Yes it can be backed up (just in case you leave it on a train, never to be seen again). Ok, yes you do need a digital device to do this. Every Friday during my Weekly Review I simply take photos of the key new and updated pages, then store them in my photo library in the cloud. This only takes a minute or two.
……and finally, I’ve noticed that it never runs out of battery at just the wrong moment….:)
If you are looking to improve your own personal workflow, take a look at my Build Your 2nd Brain Workshop