The Power of Paper: 5 Situations Where Paper Trumps Technology

Posted by Luke in Technology, Unplugging on Mar 4th, 2010 | View Comments

We live in an age where technology is pervasive, and at times invasive. There are very few realms of life where the effects of technology are not felt. Overall, it’s a good thing – after all, you wouldn’t be reading this, and I wouldn’t have a job, if it wasn’t for technology. And for the most part, it makes our lives simpler. But there are times when that’s not the case.

Like we said in the Tech Tip Tuesday post earlier this week, choosing to live simply means using the tool that will be the most effective for the job at hand. How do you know know which tool to use? Consider this definition, slightly adapted from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: Simplicity is achieved when there is nothing left to add and nothing left to take away. The simplest tool to use is the one that goes just as far as you need it to, and no further. While technology certainly will fit the bill sometimes, there are other times when the best thing that you can do is turn off your phone, shut down the lid of your laptop, hit pause on the iPod, and just sit down with paper and the writing utensil of your choice. So here’s five areas of life where you might want to consider shutting off technology for simplicity’s sake…

• Brainstorming

There are some great technological tools out there for brainstorming, such as mind-mapping and note-taking applications. But I’m firmly convinced that the best possible way to brainstorm is to sit down with a blank piece of paper, whiteboard, napkin, Moleskine, whatever happens to be blank and handy at the moment, and fill it with whatever comes to your mind (hence the word brainstorming!)

The main goal of brainstorming is to allow your mind to be creative, and to capture that creativity so it’s not lost. And the simplest tool for that is paper. I know that when I have tried to brainstorm and capture it in a brainstorming application, more often that not I will get so involved in making everything perfect in the app that I loose the creative flow that was the point to begin with. I am much better off to brainstorm on paper, and then transfer that info later to digital format for storage, sharing, and use in the future.

• Simple to-do lists

While it may not be feasible for complicated projects with hundreds of to-dos with deadlines and information attached to each, the truth is that most to-do lists are much more simple. Personally, I use a combination of online and paper to-do lists, and I am still perfecting my own system, but day-in and day-out, I work off of a paper list.

I have tried a ton of different tasks lists, such as Remember the Milk, Things, iCal todos in combination with Anxiety, and Google Tasks, but nothing works better for me at work than an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper with my to-do list on it. I print it with check box bullet points, and leave room at the bottom to write in to-dos as they come up, and I reprint it as necessary, adding the new tasks and deleting the ones that have been accomplished. (usually once ever couple of days). There is also something extremely gratifying about physically crossing something off a list versus just hitting delete – I have even written things already accomplished on my list so that I can immediately cross them off!

• Ubiquitous capture device

If there is one tool that makes my life more simplifide than anything else, it would be my “ubiquitous capture device.” I first read about the idea in David Allen’s hugely popular productivity book, Getting Things Done, and while GTD as a system was overkill for me, the “ubiquitous capture device” is one thing I adapted for myself and really made a difference in my productivity. My choice of a capture device is the greatest little notebook ever, the Moleskine. I have gotten to the point now where I feel absolutely naked if I go out of the house without my Moleskine. I reach for it every time I hear something that I want to write down, have an extra to-do, or even an idea for a post on simplifi.de. It is immensely freeing not having to constantly remember things, because I have them written down in place I know I will refer back to on a regular basis.

• Spiritual time

This is similar to the brainstorming above… technology can serve as a distraction to keep you from your original purpose. Technology can have it’s place in that it may help you study the meaning of sacred texts, and give you access to what thousands of other people think about something. But there is an aspect of spirituality that is greatly hindered by technology… you need time to just to be still and know.

Occassionaly I will use my Macbook to record thoughts I have during meditation, but more often than not I find that I will end up researching something or wasting time on social networking sites, or just doing anything except what I set out to do. And that is the point where technology is not the simplest thing to use – it is actually complicating matters, because the best thing for my life would be to set it aside and focus. So my routine now includes me, a cup of coffee, Bible, and medium Picadilly notebook (similar, but cheaper than a Moleskine) to record my thoughts. And it’s something that I dearly miss if I get away from it, even for a day or two.

• Letters and cards.

Email, SMS, Facebook, Twitter,Google Buzz, Flickr, LinkdIn, Tumblr, Foursquare… Social media has largely taken over our communications, and for the most part it’s a good thing – it allows us to do things like video chat with friends on the other side of the world. But often in the progress forward, something valuable is neglected, and in this case it is the art of the hand written letter or card.

Imagine we were best friends, and it was your birthday. I could go to the store and buy you a birthday card written by someone who doesn’t even know you, and give it to you like it came from me (or worse yet, send an e-card). Or I could sit down, give some thought to what I would like to say, and write you a note of encouragement, wishing you a happy birthday, and telling you how much you mean to me, in my own way with my unique touch. It’s special, personal, and classy. There’s nothing more to add, and there’s nothing to take away. It’s simple.

The Art of Manliness has some great articles about the lost art of letter writing that you should check out.

So what about you? Are there other times that you think paper trumps technology, or do you disagree with one of the ones here? What tools do you use in your daily life that just simply work for you. Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!


  • Loved the post and I totally agree. It's much easier for me to brainstorm on paper and then transfer my thoughts into digital form. Loving the blog! Keep it up. :)
  • Thanks, Tammy! The general consensus seems to be that there is benefits in both brainstorming on paper AND transferring that to digital form.

    Great post today, too, BTW. Everybody go check out 4 Ways to Quiet Your Mind on Rowdy Kittens!
  • Hi Luke,

    You're right there. Sometimes paper is simply nicer to use that a keyboard.

    I often draw mind maps for my articles in my notepad. I just can't make myself to use a dedicated software for that. It just feels much better to scribble on a page.

    At the same time, I wonder how my kids will approach that when they're older. For them it's all about computers, game consoles... Well, my little ones are too young for that yet but generally kids these days live in a digital world. I wonder will they actually know the pleasure of writing with an ink pen?

    Guess it's up to us, schools will probably teach them to type, not write :)
  • That's a good question about how technology will affect them. I'm not sure, but here's my own experience: I pretty much grew up using a computer (my dad got a Commodore 64 when I was 5 or so!) There was a time in my teen years when I thought all paper was stupid and that everything was more efficient on the computer. But it was a phase, and I grew out of it.

    So my gut reaction (and hope) is that kids growing up today will naturally do the same thing. There's always the tactile, physical attraction of pen and paper that technology cannot replicate
  • I love that quote from Antoine, and remind myself of it often because I go overboard with the "nothing left to take away" part.

    At one point, I used my SmartPhone for everything, including my grocery list. There's nothing more awkward than pecking on a teeny tiny keyboard to find out if yogurt is on my list! I love handwritten notes and still send them to my close friends. A day without my Moleskine also makes me feel naked - it now carries all of my lists and thoughts, including yogurt reminders.

    The most powerful aspect of paper, for me, is the respect I give it. I write only what's meaningful, even when brainstorming like a mad scientist. When typing, I write longer lists with less "meat".

    Great post, Luke.
  • Great list. I always like to keep a pad of paper next to me when I'm working.

    If for nothing else, it helps get my creative juices flowing by giving me an opportunity to doodle or sketch out ideas.

    I've also found that writing things down helps me to put things to memory. I may never refer back to that piece of paper, but the simple task of writing it down somewhere seems to make a bigger dent in my memory that not doing so.

    BTW - love your simple layout and design! Looking forward to reading more!
  • Exactly the same for me, I am much more likely to remember something if I
    write it down.

    Thanks for stopping by, Jonathan, and for the compliment. Love "We Live
    Simply" and what you're doing there!
  • The major advantage of paper is it's almost everywhere. You can write important information in it and store it in your wallet. It's a very convenient tool in many impromptu events. :-)
  • As long as it's not too sensitive information - you don't want it to fall into somebody else's hands.

    I hadn't thought about that, but it's true - if you need to record something, there's not too many places where you can't find a piece of paper around somewhere.

    Thanks for stopping by Walter, I hope you come back often!
  • Darcy
    I definitely agree with all your points. I like having my hands on things and nothing is better than sitting down with my bible in my hands, my concordance, and a notebook to do my studying!
  • Agreed on all accounts. I love brainstorming with paper. The ideas seem to flow out of me much easier and when I finally get around to typing them up I seem to get even more ideas.
  • I hadn't thought of that before, but it's true - the digitization process makes you think about everything you thought of all over again.
  • I think that's why in college I preferred to take handwritten notes in class and then I would type them up. It was the best study tool I used, too.
  • caroltiffinjames
    I enjoy sitting down and making a list with a clean sheet of paper and an old-fashioned, very sharp wooden pencil. A pencil is one of the few things that haven't changed in decades. I love the simplicity of its design and the feel of it in my hand. Pens may come and go, be reinvented using space technology or erasable ink, but the old wooden pencil does the job just fine!
  • This is a perfect example of simplicity being different for different people: since I was a little kid, I have always LOVED ink pens, and disliked pencils. My mom and I would disagree in school, because I insisted on doing my math with a pen! :-)

    It's true though, they haven't changed much, and they've stayed simple - that's a great point (no pun intended).
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