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Agendas, calendars and bullet journals all have their advantages over screens, but with the right apps and templates, a phone or tablet can be quite similar. I personally dig these digital productivity models. Here, I made some notes.
I can still write by hand, without a notebook and a pen
Writers understand. There is something about carrying a notebook and a pen that made many of us fall in love with the craft in the first place. I wrote my first stories as a child in a composition notebook. When I need to write something quickly at my desk, I always grab a pen and write on a notepad faster than pulling out my phone and opening an app like Google Keep.
With Samsung Notes and a college notebook model, I can have the same experience on my phone. I pull out my stylus and hold down the S Pen’s physical button to launch Samsung Notes. I am then a touch away from writing (one of lots of smart uses for the S Pen). If I need more or less space, I can make the wide rule model instead.
This similarity with a notebook is one of the reasons I use Samsung Notes every day and one of mine favorite things about book style foldable phones in general.
Handwriting gives me more creative power
When I need to plan something, write down the things I have to do this week, or just organize my thoughts, I prefer to write by hand. Something about handwriting makes my juices think differently. I’d say that’s just me, but there is research to back this up. I could link to a journal locked behind a paywall, but that’s easier read about this phenomenon from NPR.
We don’t have to spend too much time thinking about brain chemistry and biomechanics to make sense of this. There are a lot of direct advantages to drawing a pen. It’s faster to write a bulleted list than to tap a list icon on a toolbar.
I can scribble things down without trying to remember the shortcut to type. If I want to circle something, I just circle it – there is no need to mess with the insertion of a circle graph which, with its perfection, is both more time-consuming and strangely less useful.
Digital notes can be edited in a way physical cannot
Writing an event in a paper calendar is faster than creating an entry, assigning time and setting reminders in a calendar app. When you use a handwritten calendar template, you have the same ease and speed. But there is a big advantage over the physical version. When you need to reschedule something, you can drag your handwritten words from one date to another.
I do this all the time on my to-do lists. If I want to change the order of the articles, I just highlight the handwriting that I want to move and drag it to where it should be. Even basic elimination is easier. You don’t have to worry about smudging pencil marks or putting a hole through the page. Remove as many times as you need.
It is this flexibility that, in the past, has driven me to write notes rather than to write by hand. Now I can have the best of both words.
Some Apps or Devices have better templates than others
Unfortunately, using a touchscreen as your new notepad or calendar isn’t as simple as picking up any device that comes with a stylus. The available software and system-level integration with your hardware will have a significant impact on how much you can do.
For example, I had a Moto G Stylus. That phone has a built-in stylus, but Motorola’s software isn’t as powerful as Samsung’s Notes. With my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, I can start writing a note just by tapping my S Pen twice against the screen, even while the display is off.
As Samsung Notes is, I don’t like the default templates as much as the ones I had on my Boox tablet. Similarly, the Z Fold 6 feels a little tight to use as a calendar compared to a larger tablet.
Going digital doesn’t completely free you from the limitations of the physical world. You can wipe it as many times as you want, but a bigger pad is always preferable to a small one.
Like a Notebook, You Don’t Have Reminders
While I love the ease of writing things down on a calendar compared to the logistics of running a calendar app, there’s a reason I’m still at work doing the latter.
There are some events that are important, but you are always likely to forget them without a reminder. A handwritten calendar won’t buzz or beep at you when the time comes, no matter if it’s physical or digital. Don’t wait great integration with a to-do list appeither
Writing something down can help you remember things naturally compared to writing. It also helps if you establish a daily practice of looking at your calendar as you start your day, so that you more actively make an effort. However, this might not be enough. It hasn’t always worked for me.
I can’t type as fast (or as long) as I can type
My Galaxy Z Fold 6 does a remarkable job of converting handwriting to text. So did the Boox Tab Ultra C that I had. But for things I need to publish, I always tend to pull out a keyboard rather than a stylus. I can type significantly faster than I type. I may not get paid by the word, but I still lose money if it takes me too long to get the words out of my head and onto the screen.
However, I would not do without the option to transcribe the writing to the text. Sometimes, my fingers get tired of typing, and a change of form allows me to continue working. In this situation, a slower pace is faster than not writing at all. Other days, I simply can’t get the creative juices flowing when I sit in front of a monitor or hunch over a laptop, but I feel refreshed while writing outside on a bench.
In other words, digital productivity models are not a substitute for things that work better on a PC, but they allow you to do a lot of what you might be forced to buy a physical agenda. They might just inspire you to get back into the writing habits you may have had in the past.
Personally, I love that when I carry my Z Fold 6 in my pocket, I don’t just have my books, magazines, music and games in my pocket – I also have my notebooks and planner.
