Analog Task Management - Handwriting
As unique as you are
"In a world moving forward toward untextured interfaces, it may seem like an awkward step backward to implement a methodology that required you to write things out the old-fashion way” - Ryder Carroll
I am ashamed of my handwriting - I do admit it. One of my friends told my handwriting mimics a doctor’s prescription (a joke my readers from India would understand). I still go about writing things down on paper because of a few reasons we will discuss today:
Typing things on your screen of keyboards is a simple muscle memory and is doesn’t give you the same tactile movement that we achieve by putting pen to paper - which stimulates our mind more effectively than typing. Ryder puts it very poetically in his book - “When we put pen to paper, we are not just turning on the lights; we are also turning up the heat”
We are inherently more economical when we write things down. This makes us think more deeply, listen more closely and frame the structure with intention. Try this - listen to 5 min of podcast and try and type it on your laptop, and then do the same thing with a pen and paper. You will notice that when you type, it is information in, information out, retention - minimal to zero. But when you actually write things down, you actually start making notes, draw lines, links, doodle and retain more.
You can strike through. Imagine going crazy on a $400 iPad vs a $10 note book. Imagine flinging it in frustration, scratching out the to-do list, redoing your structure, tearing off things if not needed.
You do not have to worry about saving it :)
You can try different pens / pencils/ paper
You can make memories. Don’t we love to look at old photo albums? Imagine running into your notebook from 20 years ago and going down memory lane. When was the last time you opened a 10 yr old email? Need I say more?
“In a cut-and-paste world that celebrates speed, we often mistake convenience for efficiency”- Ryder
You might wonder, I do not have time to think deeply, I need to get my metrics in or my boss would kill me. Want to convince your boss to think otherwise, lets talk about that tomorrow.
Thanks,
J