Six More Reasons to Use a Paper To Do List
April 18th, 2007 (5:35am) Anne Zelenka 67 Comments
You’d think the proliferation of webware might make paper to do lists obsolete. For some people, though, no electronic task list can replace the joys of paper and pen. In my almost six months writing for Web Worker Daily, I’ve come across many appealing web-based to do list managers — Gubb and Remember the Milk are two especially nice options — but none that can overcome my commitment to paper to do lists.
To complement Five Reasons to Use a Paper To Do List, here are six more.
1. Gives you a reason to buy and try cool pens and notebooks. WWD reader Ryan loves his Namiki Vanishing Point retractable fountain pen, but I’m a gel gal myself. Zebra Sarasa gel retractables come in a multi-color tenpack of subdued and sophisticated colors, but for me, nothing beats the 0.7mm bold Pentel EnerGel in purple. Pilot G2 gel pens also come highly recommended; plus, they’re offered in a convenient mini size.
As for notebooks, WWD reader Tim recommends the Levenger Circa system while Danny De Wit likes Moleskines and letter-sized Mead Folios. I’ve been using 5″x8″ Cambridge Limited notebooks, also by Mead, and like their moderate size and decent quality at only $5 each.
2. You can doodle pictures or mind maps on your to do lists. C’mon, make your to do lists fun, because you’re probably going to be referring to them multiple times a day. Mind mapping guru Tony Buzan claims that creating organically-shaped and colorful diagrams engage your mind and help you learn and remember information better. Whether that’s true or not, there’s no doubting that for some people, creating a freeform task list with pen and paper makes the management of to dos more fun.
3. Paper and pen don’t set off the anti-electronics alarms of family and friends. Write your to do list on paper at the kitchen table and your spouse is unlikely to chastise you or tell your friend who calls that you’re doing crack (-berry, that is). If you’re putting to do items into your PDA at dinner time or worse, sitting in your office at your computer while the rest of the family hangs in the den, better watch out. You’re toast and not the kind made with bread.
If you’re on a device capable of surfing the web, people around you will think you’re checked out of what’s happening in meatspace. If you’re merely doodling on paper with your favorite pen, you seem relatively available for interaction. Given most of us web workers spend way too many hours online, it’s good to have something productive to do that doesn’t involve Internet access.
4. It’s so convenient to write stuff down. There’s no device to turn on, no application to launch, no account to log into. Just grab your pen and paper and go. Write wherever and whenever you want with no friction except the physical feel of the ink flowing onto the paper.
5. You can change your to do list “data model” at any time. You can use prioritization schemes like starring or circling items, add due dates at will, categorize however you like, and change the format again and again. You aren’t limited to just the fields a to do list app supports. You can rewrite at any time.
This is a drawback when looked at another way — because paper to do list items are much less queryable and sortable than electronic to do lists.
6. Forces you to limit your list and eliminate what’s unimportant. It’s really easy to add more and more electronic to do items; not so easy to do so with paper to do lists. When my lists start getting messy, I rewrite them, in the process eliminating or revising tasks that no longer fit my plans.
Of course, many people prefer electronic to do list managers to paper. How do you manage your to dos? Share in the comments.
67 Comments Post your own comment
Amie Gillingham says: April 18th, 2007 6:48am
Paper lists = safer, too. This is probably TMI (although I doubt I am alone in this) but I do a lot of list making in the tub. Same with re-writing key copy for my site, outlines for presentations, and jotting down the next big idea. From that quiet flow in the tub, I shall someday conquer the world with my slightly soggy steno-pad and favourite blue pen.
Micah Choquette says: April 18th, 2007 7:31am
I think the best part of paper to-do lists is that your list model is only limited by your imagination. Just yesterday, I was actually thinking of learning some programming to create the kind of todo list that I’d like, and then I read this. Huge “duh” moment for me.
Pascal Venier says: April 18th, 2007 7:36am
@Anne: check out the “The “Not Insane” To-Do List” from American Digest!
http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/005701.php
I have integrated its spirit to my electronic system:
http://pascalvenier.com/blog/?p=288
Ashwin says: April 18th, 2007 7:46am
This post makes me remember and observe one thing.
I use even Notepad and paper to write my posts. Whenever I want to write, I write.. so I always carry a piece of paper with me. What amazes me is I feel paper and the pen is the best ever tool and it’s the most productive as well.
Rick says: April 18th, 2007 7:53am
This really resonates with me, as I’ve been a paper to do list man since managing my shoe sales commissions at 17. Item #2 reminded me immediately of the essential Montessori philosophy of incorporating tactile props in learning, e.g those numerical rods to physically teach a child about numbers and the magical binomial cube. Crafting and re-crafting my to do lists is a relaxer.
Logical Extremes says: April 18th, 2007 7:55am
I gave up my PDA several years ago, and may never go back (though something iPhone-like may eventually sway me). My PAA is a 3×5 Circa notebook for my calendar, to-dos, key project notes, and some other lists (I write small).
A to-do list isn’t Gmail, when one accumulates 2.8GB of to-dos, there are bigger problems.
Anne, great post as usual. I’ve nominated you for one of the top five Geeks of 2007.
Jodi Gaines says: April 18th, 2007 8:07am
Paper and pen are nice, especially when I am out. But what I use most is my white board - love it! I have a huge one sitting above my desk and everything I need to do (from home to office) is on that board. I take great pleasure in staring at it on Sunday evening, with eraser and marker in hand, to prepare for the coming week.
Dave Good says: April 18th, 2007 9:40am
I love my moleskines. Yes, plural. I use them as note books for my various classes, idea farms ( where my various brain droppings go), and even as sketch books. I collect all the intellectual detrius that floats about in my life and with the aid of my Pilot Varsity founatin pens, and a good glue stick, I record it all. I have to say though, that most really important items (i.e. time critcal assignments, appointments, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) are locked into my cell phone’s organizer. A friendly buzz on the hip and an urgent ring help out alot, but pictures, graphs, idea trees…found in my moleskine.
Organizationally, though, my moleskines are my idea backbone. I love using the grid rulled pages, which can really help when you need to do a quick and dirty diagram, and don’t have a straight edge right near by.
Chris K says: April 18th, 2007 10:12am
Not only do I use pencil (or pen, I’m not rigid) and paper for my lists, I find I can be more creative, insightful, or ruthless when taking writing tool to paper when writing and editing.
jeff says: April 18th, 2007 10:56am
First, please never use the term “meatspace” again. It’s so 1995. Plus, it’s kind of gross.
I followed the cult of the Moleskine for many years, leaving after a concerned family member staged an intervention. Since then, I’ve discovered that the joy of paper actually multiplies once I got over the objects and started focusing on my writing. I have lovely penmanship, if you really need to know.
I’m currently using a series (yes, I carry around four of them) of wide-ruled composition books. The Mead brand books have paper that is actually better than the Moleskine paper. Anyone telling you otherwise is trying to justify their 20x expenditure. I buy my notebooks for under a buck each (which is why I use the wide-ruled. College ruled would be better, but those cost more, because the company figures they can).
They’re cheap enough that I can dedicate one notebook to each major area of responsibility in my life. And, unlike yellow pads, they stay together and are durable enough to withstand surprising abuse. Sometimes, it’s literal abuse, and they seem to just shrug it off. Try that with a Moleskine (no, don’t. Trust me: they fall apart after high-speed collisions with concrete walls).
I still have some electronic components, but nothing I can’t print out and stick in a paper notebook. That’s how I do my calendar, my lists, my ideas, everything.
Doug K says: April 18th, 2007 12:21pm
yes, paper and pen make a fine PAA (personal analog assistant).
For me it’s mostly about getting to use a good pen, shallow as I may be..
Wil says: April 18th, 2007 12:26pm
I personally use an (and only ONE) index card daily that I carry in my shirt pocket or in my hand. This stops me from adding things that aren’t important, and it also helps me to make sure I get as much done during the day as possible. I don’t want to start tomorrow off with a card that’s already almost full. It really keeps me on track and forces me to complete projects in one day if at all possible!
Sean Muir says: April 18th, 2007 12:54pm
By the way the Web based listing making service, gubb, that is linking to at the begining of the peice is at http://www.gubb.NET, not .com
Anne Zelenka says: April 18th, 2007 12:59pm
Thanks for the correction, Sean.
xac-zone » 2007 » avril » 18 says: April 18th, 2007 1:15pm
[...] Il n’est pas le seul : Six More Reasons to Use a Paper To Do List [...]
Mike Panic says: April 18th, 2007 2:00pm
The binder clip is an amazing office accessory. The nicest thing about a stack of paper for a PDA is you can jot stuff down and give it to someone else.
Personally, I’m a big fan of blank backed business cards for this very reason.
WordPress Wednesday News: WordPress 2.2 Due Monday, Sponsored WordPress Themes, WordPress.com Splog Fighter, and More at The Blog Herald says: April 18th, 2007 3:08pm
[...] Six More Reasons to Use a Paper To Do List [...]
Top Posts « WordPress.com says: April 18th, 2007 4:59pm
[...] Six More Reasons to Use a Paper To Do List [image]You’d think the proliferation of webware might make paper to do lists obsolete. For some people, though, […] [...]
Reed says: April 19th, 2007 5:49am
The relationship to paper lists is much more physical, friendly. Writing something down by hand etches it in your memory. And you have complete and total control over your setup–you’re not dependent on the whims of corporate software design.
A couple more advantages…
Paper is a much more stable archival device than any electronic medium. Books and documents 500 years old still survive. Meanwhile, electronic stuff gets locked into proprietary formats, or is stored on hard drives that disintegrate, or is lost on a computer that no longer works. The paper stuff I’m writing now will still be instantly accessible 50 years from now.
At the same time, paper is also more private. Do I really want some computer hacker (or police state) to get into my calendar and to-do list? The only person who’s going to see your paper list is someone who has access to the physical item itself. [Granted -- password protection is impossible.]
Steve Jones says: April 19th, 2007 8:13am
The thirty minutes or so you take each day creating a to do list and planning your day are the most relaxing time of the day. Just you, a pen and your planner. Peace.
::::Bowing Down::::: « Sniff What I’m Steppin In says: April 19th, 2007 8:13am
[...] my hero is Web Worker Daily “Anne,” who wrote a post that mirrors my opinion on the value of paper to-do lists so precisely that I have been rendered [...]
Ibn Shahid says: April 19th, 2007 8:23am
Yep, I prefer using paper and pen also… over PDAs… got to do lot more work just to put a new “to do” item in… : )
Alina says: April 19th, 2007 8:35am
Well… sometimes you can loose your favourite pen and/or notebook and then its a bummer. If you do it online, you can never loose it (praticularly important for people who loose everything, like me).
If you use the computer all day anyway, then there is no added environmental impact of to-doing online. If you do it on paper, there is the impact of cutting trees to make the notebook, bleaching chemicals to make the paper, toxic ink for lines/cover of the paper, toxic ink in the pen, petroleum products to make the plastic for the pen, which goes to landfill if your pen is disposable, plus water and energy to produce those things, plus transport to get them to you (emitting CO2
Alina says: April 19th, 2007 8:37am
ops… send it too soon…
…. CO2 and other gases).
So, in my opinion, electronic lists are much better for the enviornment.
Catherine Carey says: April 19th, 2007 9:07am
Go green:
1. Use the backs of envelopes
2. Reuse paper printed on one side. Cut it in quarters and keep a stack by the phone, the computer, the fridge.
David Hollingworth says: April 19th, 2007 11:04am
What a great post. I have two notebooks
1. A ‘paperblanks’ A6 sized ruled notebook from Hartley & Marks. This I use as my ‘carry everywhere’ paper inbox.
2. I have a larger Moleskin unruled notebook that I used specifically for mind maps. My paperblanks notebook would be too small for doing mind maps. I really bought the Moleskin on impulse because I was so surprised to find them available in Ireland, and in Cork at that!
My writing tool is a Mitsubishi Signo gel pen. Yes, I’m a big fan of gel pens too.
However my to-do list is held electronically. This is because I have a very large list of single tasks and projects on the go or on the horizon. Holding these electronically allows me to very easily view subsets (like all the next actions or todays closed list) and allows me to easily reorganize things. If I wanted to reorganize a paper list that big it would take hours.
By the way I use My Life Organized from http://www.mylifeorganized.net
David
newhoosier says: April 19th, 2007 11:13am
Great ideas, Catherine! Indeed it is the little things.
Dave Navarro says: April 19th, 2007 11:27am
I love my moleskine (fits in any pocket and is ‘nigh invulnerable’). I keep a thin 5-10 stack of post-its in the back for portable to-do lists (and my top “today” items become a page-1 sticky.). Post its also make good tabs as well.
But, like anything else, it’s constantly evolving as my needs change.
PS - Pilot G-2s ROCK
Aziz says: April 19th, 2007 4:28pm
I totaly aggree with you, but any way I will check those sites Gubb and Remember the Milk -isA.
Mahmoud Abdelaziz
master_mahmoud@hotmal.com
http://zprogramming.blogspot.com/
Michael's Thoughts says: April 20th, 2007 1:55am
Daily Report, Apr 20
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Bits and Pieces - April 20 says: April 20th, 2007 9:13am
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butch3r says: April 22nd, 2007 1:41pm
I disagree on some things. An online list allows you to search for an item in the to-do list (using the search functions of the browser) and therefore minimizes repeat tasks, while on my paper lists I have many repeat tasks.
Mike says: April 22nd, 2007 4:19pm
I’m definitely a pen-and-paper guy. My Pilot Vanishing Point and Moleskine never leave my side. I’ve forgotten my wallet before forgetting them. I recently switched from a larger 5×8 binder for my Getting Things Done system to a more pocket-friendly Levenger Pocket Briecase / Moleskine solution. It requires carrying three objects; the levenger pocket briefcase, a plain moleskine, and a moleskine weekly plannery; but it is still more convenient than a big old book.
The Levenger Pocket Briefcase is worth trying for anyone who uses 3×5 cards and can stomach paying $40 for the equivalant of a ten cent aligator clip. It holds every corner of the card so it doesn’t get stuck going in or out of your pocket. I love it.
another commenter says: April 22nd, 2007 4:29pm
You forgot the best reason to use pen and paper: Scratching completed tasks off the list once it’s done is WAY more satisfying in this medium.
gm says: April 22nd, 2007 5:53pm
are people really talking about the pros of… writing a list with paper and pen??? this is way too surreal for me…
Kenton A. Hoover says: April 22nd, 2007 6:05pm
I prefer paper lists, but I keep them in an Excel spreadsheet just to encourage me to prune them periodically and deal with the perennial/weed items. I have a number of the pages of my Moleskine preped with double-sided Post-It tape and I put the lists on those pages. That allows me to make additions in the field, and clean them up at an appropriate time later.
I found the old process of actually using pages offended my aesthetics.
I disagree about Mead paper quality; except for the higher end stuff.
nXqd3051990 says: April 22nd, 2007 6:17pm
I agree with you :). I don’t want to type anymore. Writing makes em feel better, more creavity I think :)
Thanks for great post
Scrapbooked ;)
Paul Chitoiu says: April 22nd, 2007 7:48pm
Well, since my handwriting is so horrible, I use electronic versions of ToDo Lists.
jOHN says: April 22nd, 2007 9:31pm
i maintain electronic lists, and print them in a tiny font, tri-column. then i mark up the print-outs, integrate changes, and repeat. here are my lists:
my tasks
job tasks
code tasks
investment plan
there’s also information, and writing.
i use the red pen and the yellow highlighter. highlight means move to top of list. i also maintain a master list of the most important objectives surfaced through this process. i’m list-happy but it works exceptionally well.
Talking Story with Say Leadership Coaching says: April 22nd, 2007 9:47pm
Paper: Peeves and Pleasures
No doubt about it, with all the electronic wizardry now at our fingertips, we love paper. Read the comments at these postings over at Web Worker Daily and see how many times you nod your head thinking, “Oh yeah, me
Gregg Taylor says: April 22nd, 2007 9:48pm
I started out using index cards in a shirt pocket for my daily to-do lists. Then, I used a 4″x6″ spiral pocket notebook for daily to-do lists, with a separate page for each day. But it tended to get beat up from being located in a back pocket. Now, I use a “pocket”-size Filofax (not in the back pocket) with a total of about half a dozen clear plastic flyleaves fore and aft, upon which I affix various sizes and colors of Post-It Notes for several to-do lists (such as a STAT list, a routine-priority list, shopping lists for various types of stores, inspirational reminders, etc.). The stickies adhere strongly to the plastic, more so than they would to paper. To write the lists, I use a blue Pilot Precise V5 (extra-fine). The V7 (fine) is too thick and smears. BTW, I also use the Post-It Notes to write down ideas or self-reminders as they occur, later moving that info to the appropriate locations. My Filofax also has several other sections devoted to the usual categories of info.
Taking a quiet moment–the night before or at the beginning of the morning–to recompose the lists (as necessary) with a pen tends to shift my consciousness into a semimeditative, intuitive state, triggered by use of the pen (tactile stimulation —> right-brain stimulation) that also stimulates the generation of creative ideas, as a bonus.
Eleanor says: April 23rd, 2007 8:02am
I use a combination of paper and electronic, but mostly electronic. In my case, I have a smartphone which syncs with my desktop machine. I have found (repeatedly) that I LOSE pieces of paper. If I lose my phone (which has been known to happen) I can call it and listen for the ring. I do sometimes jot a quick note on paper, but as soon as possible transfer it to my phone. This is true for shopping lists, to dos, appointments, idle musings, whatever.
pam says: April 23rd, 2007 2:54pm
@alina - “So, in my opinion, electronic lists are much better for the enviornment.”
Yeah. Right. And generating electricity to run the computer is WAY more environmentally friendly than a pencil and paper, and toxic materials like lead, cadmium, and mercury that are integral components of computer CPUs, motherboards, peripheral cards, monitors, etc. are WAY more environmentally friendly than graphite, ink, and paper?
alejandra says: April 24th, 2007 6:08pm
Hi,
I totally agree, :) specially the fourth one. It’s also more romantic. I’ve got a diary, I write very often and I wouldn´t be able to write what I write in my diary in my blog… :)
Nice post
Cheers,
Ale
negropontesnuts says: April 24th, 2007 6:20pm
I couldn’t agree with you more. However I do have a tip for the busy soccer mom or executive on the go… Roll your list up as you would do to a magazine and store it in your anal cavity. This provides several key features.
1) It is always available to you at a moments notice.
2) Once or twice a day reminders to update your list are provided in the bottom of the toilet.
3) Hard to misplace.
3)
krissnp says: April 24th, 2007 6:35pm
My romance of pen and paper has not deminished.
Joseph Cizek » DN 25 April 2007 says: April 25th, 2007 2:02pm
[...] dealing with this very issue right now: Online vs. Paper To-DOs (Web Worker Daily, via [...]
Alina says: April 25th, 2007 2:04pm
To Pam: “Yeah. Right. And generating electricity to run the computer is WAY more environmentally friendly than a pencil and paper”
No one runs a computer just to write a to-do list. Since it’s obvious that you are using a computer to write your comment, you don’t use more electricity by making an electronic list, and nor do you emit more toxic metals. But you do use paper that you wouldn’t otherwise use, unless of course you are reusing a grocery receipt or something like that.
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Sabah Hussain says: April 26th, 2007 1:18am
I use paper and pen to write down my To-Dos and also find myself drawing weird shapes now and then. At the end of the day, I transfer the Dones to my Excel sheet for official record.
I am an I.T. professional and prefer activities that can distract me from staring at my laptop every now and then.
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Web Worker Daily » Blog Archive Redo Your Workspace for Productive Web Working « says: May 14th, 2007 3:32pm
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johnk says: June 26th, 2007 1:26am
I use a stack of 4.25″ x 11″ paper, held together with a binder clip. The sheets are just the backs of letter size paper, cut in half — recycled of course. The stack fits nicely alongside my keyboard on my too-crowded desk.
For long-term planning, I use index cards on a board or wall for long-range, and outliner software for task breakdowns. The outliners I’ve liked are Ecco Pro, Word, Frontier, and Omni Outliner.
For note taking, I use a cheap spiral-bound notebooks. Everything goes in there. For long-term notes, password lists, etc, I have a small stack of index cards, bound with a metal ring. They are printed with data from word processor files.
Jakob says: June 30th, 2007 12:43pm
This is exactly what I expected to find out after reading the title . Thanks for informative article
James Bain says: January 25th, 2008 12:20pm
Since I am in the throes of ADD, I use whatever means is available. This means that, since we Americans are such pigs, a mere scrap of paper can be found ANYWHERE, which is a blessing when, struggling with a million things to do today and nothing for the rest of my life is the current imperative. Which means that, apart from carrying around an electronic device for capturing one’s thoughts, etc., the truly essential item is a pencil and/or a pen. (I’ve found, incidentally, that doctor’s offices are splendid sources of pens-thanks to pharmaceutical reps-and staplers and postit notepads and clocks and….should you inadvertently leave home without so much as a writing implement.)
My choice, then, for the most versatile, all-around writing tool is that crazy space pen, by Fisher. Writes on anything, wet or dry, even on glass, for crying out loud and upside down.
Thank you, Anne,for hitting the right key.
Hm, speaking of keys, where did I leave my car keys….?
emendatio » Blog Archive » Six reasons to use a paper to-do list. says: February 6th, 2008 2:06am
[...] to-do list already? Maybe to the Ta-da list by 37signals.com? The Web Worker Daily blog gives us six good reasons to go back to the good old paper to-do list, definitely worth reading. You’d think the [...]
Richard Marquez says: July 21st, 2008 9:06am
In my endless hunt for, yet ANOTHER, system to get myself organized AGAIN, I stumbled across this article in my Google-ing, and was pleasantly surprised by how many people still stick to tried-and-true basics.
I’ve flip-flopped between PDA and PAA, using three different DayRunners and three different models of Palm Pilots. I do still try to use my Agendus software on my laptop, and still find myself neglecting things because the electronic medium is not so readily accessible, and I can’t be bothered to power up my laptop to access my lists and/or schedule, on occasion, to my detriment. And despite numerous attempts to utilize the Palm in every day jotting down of things in general, the device just doesn’t have enough room on the screen to display what I need displayed, or doesn’t lend itself to just being a quick note, but rather a process of turning it on, going to my memo application, open a new memo… by the time I start typing or entering via my stylus, I could have taken out a piece of paper and written down what I needed to.
After reading the many responses to the article, I think I will try going back to paper-pen for a while. I just find I go back to electronic form when I get sick of my inconsistent handwriting (neat at first, messy by the end), or its not utilized in an interactive way that gives me that zen-like feeling of being in control. So wish me luck… I hope to find a PAA system that works better than my attempts in the past…