As we head into the final days of our 12 Days of Giveaways promo, we’ve got some cool analog tools to offer. Today we bring you the excellent design and craftsmanship of Helvetindex Cards, which will not only help 5 lucky Lifehack readers get things done — but will give them some quality looking material to do it with.
But before we get to that, let’s take care of announcing the winner of yesterday’s 12 Days of Giveaways winner. We had a ton of responses to this one, which was an Evernote prize pack and a copy of the must-have companion book to Evernote, Brett Kelly’s Evernote Essentials.
The question we asked was:
“How will you use Evernote in 2012 to stay more organized and become more productive?”
And the winning comment was left by Anne Geissman Cartwright, who said:
“My life is about to go topsyturvy–my husband and I are launching a complete remodel of our house. But the rest of my life will continue on: freelancing as a book editor; taking classes at the local college (I just finished up with some graphic design and Emergency Medical Technician training), working in Search & Rescue. I need to stay on top of my schedule, my finances, various sorts of information. The mere idea of having everything I need for my Search & Rescue and EMT work always available in one handy place makes me quiver with delight. But to have everything else at hand as well, and organized–oh, bliss! I’d love to make Evernote a regular, can’t-do-without-it part of my life.”
Congratulations, Anne — I hope you get as much out of Evernote as I have. I’m an avid user; it’s a mainstay on all of my computing devices. I’m sure it will help you give your productivity a boost — and with all you’ve got on the go, it sounds like a boost will come in handy in 2012!
Now…on to today’s giveaway!
About Helvetindex Cards
No matter how you slice it, paper is still a big part of a lot people’s productivity systems. There’s no compatibility issues, no software upgrades needed and it’s both portable and disposable. I’ve been using index cards as part of a Hipster PDA capture tool for years, and the cards I used were as cheap as they came. Oddly enough — or perhaps not — I treated the tasks on the cards as poorly as I treated the cards. Silly, perhaps…but it’s how it went. So I stopped using them and went to a different method of paper capture. I started using higher quality goods and stock, and soon everything I captured on them had more quality attached to them as well. But there were still no index cards that matched the quality of my other paper products, so I kept my binder clips in a drawer, unused.
Then Aaron Mahnke created Helvetindex Cards.
These cards are made of high quality stock and are a pleasure to use. There are spaces at the top of the card to mark with dates, topics or whatever your system dictates. Helvetindex Cards don’t force you into a system, they let you bring them into yours. I’m still working through my pack of 100 cards and my binder clips now have something to hold on to again. My Hipster PDA is back where it belongs: with me at all times…along with the Helvetindex Cards that I use to make it.
How to Enter
In order to enter to win one of the five bundles of Helvetindex Cards, you need to leave a comment below or on our Facebook fan page that answers the following:
“When do you find yourself reaching for paper over digital tools — and why?”
Leaving a comment on both our Facebook fan page and here at Lifehack.org will get you 2 entries, so but you need to give us two items that you like the most – no copying and pasting!
The Fine Print
Employees of Helvetindex Cards and of Stepcase (including current independent contractors of both) are not eligible for this contest. The prize can only be shipped to addresses within the continental United States and Canada, so keep that in mind when entering. The winning entry will be judged by the Stepcase Lifehack editing team and winners will be notified on the platform in which their winning entry was placed (either on the Lifehack.org Facebook wall or by email through our commenting system here the website). For those entering contest with a comment on our site, in order to be considered eligible, you MUST leave a contact email when leaving a comment (it’s the only way we’ll know how to contact you). Entries must be submitted by 10 am Eastern the following weekday and winners will be chosen by 12 pm Eastern time on the same day. The winner will be announced the same day on Lifehack.org, and will be notified beforehand.
Good luck!
(Photo courtesy of Helvetindex Cards)
I adore index cards! But those flimsy ones from Staples just don’t feel right, so I’ve been printing my own on heavy card stock in different colors, with little grids. These look even nicer. I reach for paper for the quickest capture of ideas, reminders, to-dos, quotes, everything–and the humble index card is my paper of choice.
I find myself reaching for paper over digital when I’m brainstorming. For whatever reason, my cerebral juices seem to flow better when I put pen to paper than when I’m clacking away on the keyboard or hunting and pecking on a touchscreen.
I find myself using old fashion systems anytime I need to make sure that I will actually do something… Which is pretty much always. I found long ago that the more modern solutions are only good for me to capture lists with. So my Omni Focus tools (Ipad and Mac) are filled with running lists of all types, most importantly all of the awesome books I come across that I want to read. As for organizing my life and getting things done paper is the only way I can keep an organized system. I would love to try the Helvetindex cards becasue the only other 2 decent cards I have ever found are Levenger (which I am not in love with) and Exacompta but They can be hard to come by at times. It is nice to see that there is potentially a new choice. What I like most about the idea of Helvetindex cards is they are actually 3×5. The Exacompta are larger which is the only other downside to them at times.
Sometimes it’s faster to write ideas down, or draw something out on paper. I do it all the time, especially when I have a lot going on on my pc. I have a pad of paper in front of me most of the time, so it’s the best way for me to keep things fresh in my memory. I use Evernote for my digital notes, but it can get minimized or lost behind other windows, and as the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind.”
When my head gets too cluttered it’s easier to write things down. With a FT job, PT school, fighting with the insurance company I often feel discombobulated. If I write it down, I can refer back to it or add it to Evernote or Wunderlist.
I grab paper when I’m trying to think afresh about what is important. Tech tools are great for tracking details, but for free form thinking and creativity, make it paper. I also use 3x5s for presentation notes – really old school.
I’ve stepped away from electronic task lists. No medium, no matter how hi-tech it is, will ever replace the flexibility of paper. Everyday I have a 3×5 that has all my appointments/scheduled items, reminders, tasks that need to be done, and tasks I want to have done. Writing those kinds of things down is faster when I’m busy in the middle of the day than typing it into a device.
I reach for paper over digital tools when I need to jot down something very quickly and for times when I want to be able to be reminded of my tasks by having it at different locations.
I like to think I am a digital-first kind of person, but I find myself
going for old-school methods often. I prefer to take notes in class
using paper and pencil rather than my laptop – I can scribble my notes
onto paper faster than I can type them into OneNote; I prefer paper
books to e-books – there is just something about the feel of a
real book; I carry around a small pad of paper rather than trying to
punch appointments into my phone- it is too time consuming and difficult
to try and type things out on the small keys and awkward software of my
dumb-phone, and there is no way to sync it with an online calendar.
No carefully typed list or mind map online or on a smartphone can replace the satisfaction of seeing my own hand channel my thoughts rather than some impersonally neat font. I reach for paper over digital tools when I have ideas that need expressing right at the moment. The absence of a delete key either frees me from any inhibitions about my thoughts or forces me to consider them more clearly. Either way, my output with a pen is more authentic than that with digital tools.
Catherine,
Yours was one of the winning comments — congratulations! Please email us at contact@lifehack.org to arrange claiming your prize.
I carry Field Notes notebooks everywhere with me to help capture.
I reach for paper over digital when I need to make a “To Do” list. There is a positive psychological affect of actually writing the to do list (taking responsibility for the tasks) and crossing the tasks off once complete (accomplishing the tasks).
While I enjoy the convenience that comes with a digital lifestyle, I do sometimes find myself reaching for pen and paper when I’m in brainstorming mode. Old fashioned as it is, pen and paper still offers the most natural, distraction-free “interface” for engaging right-brain creativity. When I’m done I often scan the results into Dropbox or Evernote and then recycle or shred the original.
I reach for paper rather than a digital tool whenever I need to think visually, quickly drawing a sketch or as part of study program, (I don’t remember as well if I just typing into Evernote, handwritten then scanned works better for me). A stack of index cards are in their holder in my left front pocket along with a Fischer Space pen, Though I will leave the house without my American Express , my index cards and pen are with me be it at the soccer field, eating dinner at the restaurant or in the Executive Staff Conference room. Paper and Pen and evolutionary upgrade from the cave wall and paint of eons ago.. deep down mankind is a visual analog beast.
Thanks.