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Adulting 101: Five Reasons to Use Paper over Technology


I'm a tech enthusiast all the way. I frequently visit tech blogs, keep up to date with the latest stuff that I don't own myself, and adopt the latest stuff that my budget affords me. If I could afford it, I'd always own the top of the line computer, smartphone, tablet, and smartwatch. My friends and family look to me to help them troubleshoot through any issues, and I'm almost always consulted by those same folks when they're about to make a tech purchase.


So you might find it weird that I've recently moved back to using paper for some things.

Technology is great, but I've found that it's not appropriate for every scenario. That said, this post is definitely more geared toward my tech-savvy, younger crowd who are apt to use tech for everything. I hope the insights shared here give you a refreshed perspective on the ol' paper and pen.

1. Technology is distracting. Pretty obvious, right? Somebody tries to IM you. You get notified of a new email in your inbox. The whole Internet beckons with its tempting call to read about 29 memes you should send to your coworker. (Real article on Buzzfeed.) If you want give your attention to something, you have to get rid of the distractions. And paper is pretty distraction free.

2. Using a pen and paper fosters better engagement between folks. This one goes hand-in-hand with the first insight, but let me take it a step further. Think about what it's like to use a laptop compared to using a pen and paper. A laptop has a screen that stands vertically whereas the paper sits horizontally on a table. It might be weird to think about, but a laptop screen literally creates a barrier between you and somebody else. Every cliche movie gets this well when they show the nerdy computer guy having to peer above or around his computer monitor. It's a real thing, folks.

3. You can easily draw stuff on paper. I know some people will say that tablets and touchscreen-based laptops have eliminated need for paper by adding drawing software, but as interesting as this concept is, it's still a half-baked idea, in my opinion. It often requires the installation of some third party software that doesn't integrate well with another note application, and OneNote isn't a viable solution yet. Pen and paper still reign king here. If you need to draw out some sort of diagram, it's as simple as turning your notebook sideways and having at it. Speaking of drawing things...

4. Paper is still a better collaboration tool than technology. I kinda already mentioned this in a previous post where I still think Post-It notes are the bomb. Let me give you an example that just happened to me a few weeks ago. I was meeting with a super nice guy who was giving me a rundown about his area when he decided it would be better to illustrate his thoughts with a diagram. He kindly asked for my notepad and pen, and he drew the diagram out right then and there. I don't think that kind of "off the cuff" collaboration is a regular possibility for most situations.

5. The pen and paper you use can make for a great story. This last insight might sound a bit pretentious, but go with me here. Aside from the boring ol' padfolio I use, I sometimes carry around with me a set of Field Notes. Field Notes are interesting to me because they were designed by one of my favorite graphic artists, Aaron Draplin. Bam, right there's a possibility to open a dialogue between you and somebody else, and if there's one thing I've been all about lately, it's been fostering relationships. Another example, my wife recently found some notebooks made to look like the VHS covers of classic Disney animated films. Again, once glance at the notebook opens a potential conversation about Disney in a way that technology doesn't particularly have the option to do.

 So there you have it. To that last point, I have been looking for a bigger sort of notepad that tells more of a story than my bland padfolio. If you have any suggestions, send them along to me! Anyway, I hope the insights shared here give you a new perspective on the tried and true pen and paper.
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