For some people, they may find it strange that I prefer the old ways of the note-taking method.

And when I say the old ways of the note-taking method, I do mean writing everything down with pen and paper instead of using the note-taking apps to do the job.

What in the world am I smoking, you wonder? Do I realize that my action will only make tons of trees being sacrificed along the process just to make papers?

Yes, I’m aware of that. And I care about it just as much as the person next door. It’s because of this reason that I was willing to give the idea of going paperless a try.

But unfortunately, it doesn’t work for me even after doing it for years.

The reason has nothing to do with how I’m being wired to do things. Rather, it has a lot to do with how the human brain works.

The wonders of the old ways of the note-taking method

Whenever I come across interesting articles and blog posts that provide a clear action step, the first thing I will do is to write them down in my notebook with a pen.

Of course, I didn’t just pick which action steps that I want to implement. I will also add my own anecdotes of these action steps based on my own understanding.

The result?

Not only I have a plan that I can execute. But I also have better clarity on the things I can do my way.

Clarity is important to me because, without it, I’ll be wasting my time doing something that doesn’t push me towards my goal.

Need more convincing? This article will give you a better reason why you should write with pen and paper as opposed to writing everything down with a keyboard.

While the article is focusing more on learning, the idea of writing with pen and paper applies to other things in life in too.

Want to achieve your goals for this year? Write them down with a pen and paper every day. When you do that, you will start to take actions based on the goals that you want to achieve.

And before you knew it, you already achieve your goal.

Am I going analog completely at this point?

While it’s true that I prefer the old way of the note-taking method and I’m loving it, I still use the note-taking apps to write things down.

Yes, I still rely on the note-taking apps just as much as having a notebook and pen by my side.

As much as I love writing everything down with pen and paper, there are times where I feel that some things are better off with using note-taking apps or anything similar down the line.

For example, a grocery list.

I use an app like Wunderlist to list down all the items that I want to buy. Since I’ll be doing it like all the time for as long as I live, it’s more practical to use an app than using pen and paper to jot down the items that you want to buy.

And I don’t have to feel guilty too since I’m not wasting any paper at all. What’s more, I can add other items that I forgot to add on the go too.

Yes, you can also do the same with a pen and paper. But it’s more convenient to do a task like this with an app instead.

Besides Wunderlist, I also love to use project management like Trello too. It’s a lot easier for me to add or rearrange tasks for my project using an app like Trello over the traditional pen and paper.

I tried to do that with a pen and paper. And I didn’t enjoy it at all because of how messy it is.

We can have the best of both worlds

I won’t deny that writing things down with a good old pen and paper is still the best for the most part. But it doesn’t mean that things like the note-taking apps don’t have a place in our life.

What I can suggest you do is find out which approach works best for you. Some people are fine with going completely paperless. And there are also some people who prefer to rely on a pen and paper all the time.

But for me, I realize that I can use both the analog and the digital way to organize my thought process.

After all, it works for me.

Will it work for you? I don’t know. But it doesn’t hurt to give it a try.