10 Reasons Paper is The Most Flexible Productivity Platform
Lifehack’s theme for April is productivity without power. I don’t know about you but those words instantly bring one word to mind: paper. Whether it’s a Moleskine, index cards, a regular notebook or just loose-leaf, paper can be one of the most flexible tools in your arsenal. Let’s take a look at ten ways you can use paper yourself.
Hipster PDA
Here’s the thing you always know is going to be mentioned when an article’s title combines the words “paper” and “productivity” — it’s the classic Hipster PDA. Merlin Mann came up with the idea in 2004 when he got sick of carrying his Palm V around. Essentially, the “device” intends to replicate the organizational functions of a PDA without the electricity and is made from index cards.
Capturing Memory Leaks
Often termed ubiquitous capture, there are a gazillion powered options for capturing ideas, forgotten tasks and other memory leaks in one of those “oh no!” moments. Nothing really does beat pen and paper, though — it won’t disappear when there’s no power or crash and freeze before you can hit the Ctrl+S. Paper is easily accessible and reliable. Unless, of course, you mix coffee, children and small spaces.
Brain Dump
In my mind, there’s something demanding about an empty word processor window, but something freeing about a blank sheet of paper. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I spend a heck of a lot of time working in word processors, but when I need to sweep my mind and get all the loose ends down the easiest, fastest, and most comprehensive way involves paper. I can empty my brain organically with lines and free association and all that literary-hippy stuff, rather than facing the cold, harsh linearity of the word processor.
Task Lists
I have always found that the most effective task lists for a one-day timeframe are paper-based. While I’ll use software to manage tasks in the greater scheme of things, my day’s plan of action is always mapped out on paper — at least those days where I’m reasonably effective are! You can read a bit more about my method of doing things here, and I strongly urge everyone to consider trialing this method. Task management software is so ubiquitous these days that many people don’t even give paper a week or two’s chance.
DIY Planner
Here’s a resource that deserves a section of its own: DIY Planner. This website hosts a plethora of printables for all sorts of things — productivity, writing tools, psychology, and more. Unfortunately it can be a bit tough to separate the printables from the articles (not that there’s anything wrong with the articles, but sometimes you just want to get straight to the goodies). Despite that, it’s still worth a good look-through. Sure, you need a computer and a printer in the first place so it’s not exclusively powerless. Just make sure to stock up before the power grid explodes!
Flash cards
Every now and then we need to memorize things. Whether you’re learning some vocabulary in a new language or the lines in your presentation, sometimes the old-fashioned flash card method is the way to go. While there are apps for the computer and most phones that do this it can be simply more convenient to whip out a stack of cards in your wallet when you’re out and about. Why waste those idle moments?
Idea Generation
When my main income source was freelance writing, every couple of weeks I’d run dry on ideas. When you’re writing for more than fourteen hours a day it’s not hard to do at all. So I’d schedule a block of time every two weeks to sit down with a pen and one of those large drawing notebooks (like a Moleskine but with the wire binding) and brainstorm enough ideas to last a few weeks, and sometimes a month or two. I always kept the excess in an emergency reserve in case I came up dry two weeks later.
As I mentioned when I wrote about brain dumping, paper doesn’t have to be as linear as a word processor, so it’s that much easier to come up with more ideas on paper just by drawing lines and creating strange associations between ideas.
Organize Contacts
You could use an old-fashioned address book and put it by the phone. You could keep regular print-outs for everyone in your computer-based contact manager plus notes and client histories in a binder, since if your only backup of your digital address book was accidentally wiped you could be out of business.
Or you could organize your contacts by throwing every business card you ever receive into a binder. Pretty cool, eh?
Organizing Your Family Life
A whole lot of information flows through the family home. Important information from your doctor, permission slips to sign for the kid’s school, family events and birthdays to remember, the list goes on. Unclutterer offers an excellent paper-based idea to help you keep your home life as organized as your work life: the central home binder.
A Funnel for Your Car
We can’t finish this list without including one of the most common uses for paper that has persisted for decades.
Well, not really — I’ve never heard of anyone doing this before, though I wouldn’t be surprised if I do end up trying one day since our car is so poorly stocked; Brett Kelly of Cranking Widgets brings us the index card funnel.
WRITER'S BIOGRAPHY
Joel Falconer
Offering a unique perspective and insight on productivity based on his experience as a writer, musician, family man and manager, Joel Falconer has been published online and off, and brings to Lifehack's readers practical advice you can use to be more efficient and effective.
ARTICLES BY THIS WRITER »
Tags: 
Get your own Avatars at 
Loading ...
Comments
Glen Allsopp says on April 15th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Great tips guys, I love using paper to jot down most of my best ideas and outline blog posts among other things.
Cheers,
Glen
Catherine Cantieri, Sorted says on April 15th, 2009 at 10:40 am
“In my mind, there’s something demanding about an empty word processor window, but something freeing about a blank sheet of paper.”
So very, very true! This is why I always do some freewriting & outlining before starting to write anything major; I can’t stand that blank white screen!
miguel wickert says on April 15th, 2009 at 11:05 am
As much as I depend on my MacBook, I often return to pen and paper. Having a note pad with me and being able to jot down anything at the moment, is only a benefit. Especially during brain dumping. Thanks for sharing,
-Mig
Erin Slusher says on April 15th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
We claim to be paperless, but I still need it. I use index cards to jot ideas, make a list, etc. I loved your flash card idea. Good job with this blog.
Carter Harkins says on April 15th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
I’ve done the funnel thing!
Brad Tanner says on April 15th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
I never could find a paper planner that I would carry and use. So I created a single page planner that folds up to fit in my back pocket.
Having a piece of paper where I can get an overview of what’s going on in my life, track my lists, keep track of contacts, sketch, and make notes with me at all times helps me feel in control of my life.
It works for me. Maybe it could work for you.
Get your own here.
Brad
dave says on April 15th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Paper is very useful for immediate, short-term, temporary, or individual brain-supplement purposes.
I keep a dozen mini-legal pads (50 5″x7″ sheets of yellow paper) in a corner of my desk.(I hide them under next to the base of my monitor – out of the way, and making good use of a nearly worthless piece of desktop real estate) Mostly, I use them to make lists, take notes, do quick calculations, etc. When I’m done, I toss the sheets I used, and return the pad to the stack.
But, I also use them to keep track of short-term projects. I use pages for shopping lists, sketches, contact information for contractors, tool rental, customers, etc. Temporary pages like shopping lists are discarded as soon as they aren’t needed anymore. Long-term information, like contact details, is dumped into appropriate databases. After discarding the rest of the used pages, the pad goes back into the stack.
I’ve tried using index cards, but felt too confined. Using typical notebooks felt wasteful – after jotting a quick note on a page, I wouldn’t want to toss the whole, mostly blank page. But, if I kept writing notes on that page, it felt cluttered – I’d find I was keeping notes that should have been tossed just because there was an additional needed note on the page.
Ben Brooks says on April 15th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
There is a lot to be said about using paper. Still I rely on the computer, and the only time I break out paper is when I am in a meeting that consists of older professionals as I have found that they always think you are goofing off when you have a computer in front of you.
Abbie says on April 15th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
I much prefer the paper planner to the 3″-I-can’t-see-anything-screen-which-button-does-what-my-toddler-just-drooled-on-it-and-it-doesn’t-work-anymore electronic PDA. I’ve had the Franklin Covey planning system for everything since high school. Thanks for the info and the humor!
Bill Bennett says on April 16th, 2009 at 4:41 am
After years of struggling with PDAs (I owned an original Apple Newton Messagepad before moving to Palms and other exotica) I recently returned to my good old, paper-based, Filofax.
Frankly, I can’t see why I ever stopped using it, I’m far more organised and the batteries never, ever, need recharging.
Heather says on April 16th, 2009 at 9:44 am
After trying everything else: went to a 3×5 mini binder in my purse several years ago. Basically bound, perfable index cards. Keep a pen nearby and its great for the “ubiquitous capture” and keeping what needs to be done in mind. Thanks for the nod to returning to basics.
Ray Fowler says on April 16th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
For some reason the last “funnel” point reminds of an exchange from the old Get Smart show. Someone asks Max if he has a screwdriver, and he answers, “No, but I’ve got a dime. That’s better than a screwdriver. You can’t make a phone call with a screwdriver.”
rh says on April 17th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
I have a very small moleskin in my pocket. I also keep tasks and a small calendar on a one-page spreadsheet, which I keep folded in my pocket. This is very productive.
Other reasons to go with paper: Digital can mean storing tons of stuff you will never use. Digital can be an excuse to play (game, etc) when you should be working. Digital is expensive and needs upgrades. Digital takes you out of ACTION mode and into ORGANIZATION mode which means it can lead to procrastination.
Dot says on April 17th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I agree and I’m pretty sure it’s not just because I spent so much of my life without having a choice. If they’d make a computer that was easy to draw on, that could turn pages easily, and that could save things where you could find them without so much trouble, maybe they’d be more useful. On the other hand, it’s hard to send a form letter to 2,000 index cards.
Weight is also an issue for me, and when the Palm became lighter than my planner, I switched. But I miss the larger “font” size, the tabs for different sections, the ability to page through easily, and more.
Randall Stross says on April 23rd, 2009 at 12:37 am
That’s true. As much as I love my Palm, sometimes paper can’t be beat.
Brain Nutrition says on August 3rd, 2009 at 1:32 am
Paper is quite helpful for me in making a long list of rich diets for maintaining a healthy mind and a healthy body.