Over time I find myself increasingly turning to paper. Yes you heard right, PAPER! There are a number of reasons for this:

1. You find have to find things on a computer. Nothing is ever in front of you unless you know where it is. That could be said for paper but as it is physical it's easier to find in a folder or notebook
2. Long lists of actions work better on paper to scan through. Most people only ever look at the first screen on a computer or mobile device.
3. Free flowing markup. You can right what you like, where you like, how you like and in whatever colour you like.
4. My brain can read/scan paper documents faster than digital documents. I read somewhere that reading/scanning the same document on a computer takes longer than physical paper.
5. It's to easy to get distracted on a computer
6. When I need to think the computer doesn't help. Turning it off and siting with a notebook often yields better results.

I did attempt to do this with an Apple iPad Pro and apple pencil for 2 years, but still you only get one screen. I have a linked diary in Notability which is pretty good and I can write using my apple pencil. However, my physical diary is just easier to move about in. No links to click on. No searching needed. I can flick through the pages.

Perhaps it's just me and I'm showing my age!

In small doses, yes. I mostly use paper for brainstorming, laying out ideas, and most importantly, for quick (but important) task lists. I have programs for the latter, and I do use them, but sometimes paper is just better. When tracking lots of actions at work, I sometimes use paper and then move things over to programs on my computer. Paper starts to lose appeal if I have a large number of items that are not going to be handled immediately.

--Ken

I'm guilty as charged (raining my hand)!!! Sometimes my children and grandchildren make fun of me .... so I just recently sent them this article .... https://sethetter.com/posts/start-with-pen-and-paper/

Maybe they will see the light !!!!

Oooops ...raining = raising

I tried a few times to go back to paper-based writing, but writing and outlining digitally is just so damn convenient, especially with automatically syncing cross-platform solutions.

I also tried to go back to paper calendars, but Google Calendar again is just far too convenient.

I still use paper notebooks for taking notes during meetings - that is one area where paper is still king.

I am also trying to use index cards for helping me with prioritising, to have a physical reminder on my desk, with the one big thing written on it that I should be focusing on each day.

And I like working out big problems on A3 size paper, or really big problems on a large scroll of wrapping paper. These usually end up being large, complex and messy concept maps.

But other than that I use very little paper these days...

Yes. I find paper useful for short term/transitory stuff: things I need to do that day, design of user interfaces etc. But I use my own Hyper Plan software for anything longer term. And I use an outliner (My Life Organized) for checklist for things I need to do regularly. I'm sure most people have multiple different components in their system. I can't imagine there ever being a piece of software that could do it all.

I use a lot of paper, prompted by my belief (strengthened in recent years by published neurological research) that handwriting employs deeper modes of thinking than typing. I feel I need to use all the resources I have at my disposal!

I continue to keep a close eye on developments in using handwriting on tablets to input text into electronic media. But for the moment I remain wedded to paper. I have experimented with many combinations of implements and paper media (e.g. pencils, pencils with erasers on the end, fountain pens, ballpoints, erasable pens and wipe-clean pads, reporter's pads and various other types of pad), but I keep returning to G2 Pilot roller-ball pens and yellow A4 "legal" pads, which I buy by the bucketful. I then scan the pages into my computer and make them searchable (in Evernote - which is not having a good press at the moment, but is satisfactory for this and some other purposes).

I follow Ken/Dr Andus’s approach, occasionally using paper for rapid drafting of thought matrices or diagrams. I also use a small paper notepad if I want to jot down something while I’m out and about.

But I’ve found that an Apple Pencil (or even a finger) and Notability (macOS/iOS) are pretty good for doing this, or else Numbers (again, macOS/iOS) if I want a much bigger canvas to draw on. Numbers has the added advantage that you can insert mini-spreadsheets (or indeed any other kind of media file) wherever you want.

I'm using paper for scribbling, writing down phone notes and my current top to do's for the day. Therefore I have always a piece of paper and a pencil on my desk. But everything that I want to be archvied and searchable is electronic. Also, nearly all communication happens electronically these days.

So in fact since many years I don't really write longer pieces of text any more. And I noticed my hand writing deteriorated alarmingly - I cannot really write quickly and readably any more. And this is a vicious circle. The uglier my writing looks and the longer it takes me to write, the less I'm inclined to do it. Anybody struggling with the same problem? Is it possible to re-learn a nice handwriting without spending hours of writing?

My handwriting has indeed gotten worse, and I can type way faster than I can write. But I use some little pocket notebooks throughout the day, more as a kind of scratchpad -- jot down a URL, or call back number, etc. I use the info within minutes, then never look at it again.

At the same time, I have taken to stashing electronic notes for things I no longer trust my memory to recall but know I'll want again. The name of the owner of a restaurant, software tricks, etc. Combined (deteriorating handwriting and memory), this begins to look like an age-related issue!

But you might be interested in this: https://thepostmansknock.com/8-tips-improve-your-handwriting/ My daughter, who writes with calligraphic precision, is always practicing, so I suppose that means, like everything else, it takes time to get better.

For my interests in horticulture/taxonomy/botany I enjoy my digital experience

Buy for task management / todo lists i find it impossible and good old paper is the best for me

@jaslar rRght, the decreasing memory half-value time comes on top of that. That's why I need to write down more. But maybe again, this also creates a vicious circle because now I feel I don't need to remember anything since it's all in my notes and to do lists. Not sure, is not having anything in memory the famous "mind like water" and should I see it positive?

Also thanks for the handwriting tipps. Probably will need some time and training to regain the necessary fine motor skills.

Heh, I’ll remember that, next time somebody mocks my failing memory: “mind like water,” I shall say, with an inscrutable smile...

Christoph wrote:

@jaslar rRght, the decreasing memory half-value time comes on top of
that. That's why I need to write down more. But maybe again, this also
creates a vicious circle because now I feel I don't need to remember
anything since it's all in my notes and to do lists. Not sure, is not
having anything in memory the famous "mind like water" and should I see
it positive?

Also thanks for the handwriting tipps. Probably will need some time and
training to regain the necessary fine motor skills.

MadaboutDana wrote:

Heh, I’ll remember that, next time somebody mocks my failing
memory: “mind like water,” I shall say, with an inscrutable
smile...

Christoph wrote:
@jaslar rRght, the decreasing memory half-value time comes on top of
>that. That's why I need to write down more. But maybe again, this also
>creates a vicious circle because now I feel I don't need to remember
>anything since it's all in my notes and to do lists. Not sure, is not

:)

>having anything in memory the famous "mind like water" and should I see
>it positive?
>
>Also thanks for the handwriting tipps. Probably will need some time and
>training to regain the necessary fine motor skills.

MadaboutDana wrote:

Heh, I’ll remember that, next time somebody mocks my failing
memory: “mind like water,” I shall say, with an inscrutable
smile...

Christoph wrote:
@jaslar rRght, the decreasing memory half-value time comes on top of
>that. That's why I need to write down more. But maybe again, this also
>creates a vicious circle because now I feel I don't need to remember
>anything since it's all in my notes and to do lists. Not sure, is not
>having anything in memory the famous "mind like water" and should I see
>it positive?

:)

>
>Also thanks for the handwriting tipps. Probably will need some time and
>training to regain the necessary fine motor skills.

Sorry - my post was intended to be an expression of amusement in response to Bill's.

I needed a pen to fill out my mail-in ballot in the recent election, and realized that not only did I not have one, I hadn't even TOUCHED a pencil or pen in the last 5 years. Any handwriting that I do, I do on my touchscreen laptop or my iPad. It was a startling realization for someone born in the 1950's. Everything that I do, including banking & contracts, is done electronically.

So, no, I don't write on paper.

Ha, that’s quite impressive!

I still have pens, but I’m regularly frustrated to find that most of them dried up long ago and no longer work… :-(

https://forum.gettingthingsdone.com/threads/the-war-of-paper-vs-digital.9850/page-2
randman
Registered
Aug 20, 2020
#26
I have a theory.
if you prefer to work when your head is looking down you’ll prefer paper even though it may make take more time.
if there’s no advantage for you to work with your head down then you’ll find more value working digitally.

____________________

Very ironically, there's now lots of formerly young, now dead people, running into cars or into buses, looking down, but not on paper...

____________________

Page 1 there
TesTeq
Registered
"Filtering, searching, undoing..."
1) Filtering - you can organize the information so you don't have to filter using multiple criteria.
2) Searching - I checked that I can find any word in a dictionary nearly as fast as my computer.
3) Undoing - you can use pencil and eraser.
...and the list goes on...
____________________

Well... "not really", as they say now, and his 1 and 2 refutations are VERY untrue... (as for 3: smudgy at the very least...)

But then, there is NO complete system, see and read here:

https://forum.gettingthingsdone.com/threads/lawyers-and-case-managers-outcome-centred-vs-categorical-file-centred-gtd-projects.16611/

Yeah, that's convoluted... I wouldn't hire him, even for free, but that's just me...

And yes, I understand the problem, fully (, just not how he's trying to resolve it, but what I think I understand from it, seems very wrong to me).

And I even know how it should be done. To every detail. And it's even quite easy to code, but then, conceptual work has never been a strength of coders.