Analog planner or digital tools – which is better?
“I was so sure I was a digital girl but I just love how I can have the Eule Planner open on my desk all the time, and have my doodles, notes, lists, brainstorms, project planning and calendars ALL in one place! I find myself seeking out the Eule Planner when I’m not at my desk, she literally makes me feel safer and saner, like a lovely trustworthy, I-got-you PA! So happy you created this!”
This week I had an interesting exchange with a young woman in a Squarespace mastermind group I’m in who mentioned that she has no use for planners and does everything electronically. She also mentioned how chaotic her life sometimes feels. This was a couple of days after I’d read a blog post by another millennial designer, telling people to ditch the paper planners in favor of digital systems (and yes, she was an affiliate of the system she recommended). This gave me quite a bit of pause.
Firstly, I think it’s a natural reflection of a generation that grew up in the digital age. These attitudes are quite understandable considering that.
Secondly, I love and use technology as well. Nothing gives me more pleasure than setting up an automated workflow in 17hats and seeing how much time that saves me, crunching formulas in a spreadsheet, getting paid electronically, or using my website to easily display information about my business 24/7. I’m a geek at heart who grew up in an analog world, so being part of our digital evolution still feels amazing to me.
Thirdly though. No matter how helpful technology is, I believe our brains still need analog systems to truly process, organize, and use all the data we handle on a daily basis. In fact, according to one study, we are 42 percent more likely to achieve our goals if we write them down.
“My study provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of three coaching tools: accountability, commitment, and writing down one’s goals.”
Take today. I needed to get some clarity on where I’m going in 2020 with my current and potential new business. So I took myself and the Eule Planner to a coffee shop and started some brainstorming. On paper. Because you cannot do this kind of stuff on a computer, not like this, drawing tables and lines, doodling, scribbling, crossing things out, holding a pen and writing by hand (which we know accesses different parts of our brain as opposed to using a keyboard). This is not about being tidy or perfect, quite the contrary. I can get super messy in my planner, and I’m so (surprisingly) ok with that. One hour and three pages later, a plan began to emerge, and I know for a fact that I would have never arrived at this point had I typed it all into a digital document.
I believe there is both room and a place for analog and digital systems, and getting the best out of both makes all the difference in how you build your business and make it successful.
