6 May 2013

technology: I love you but I don't trust you

Technology is a beautiful thing. Without my mobile phone, I wouldn't be able to keep in touch with friends all over the country and world (iMessage is wonderful!) and without my laptop, I wouldn't be writing this blog post.


However, when it comes to planning and keeping my life organised, I prefer to use paper. I have tried using electronic calendars in the past and I dislike how disorganised it looks. Dots to denote to-dos, birthdays and other events; and then to see what the dots even mean, you have to click on that date. And not much has changed since I first tried to use an electronic calendar two years ago, when that experiment lasted a whole two days.

There's just something wonderful about flicking through a paper planner. As others say, the battery of a paper planner never dies and information (such as contacts) won't randomly disappear from time to time. Personally, I love the visual aspect of keeping a paper planner. Colour is essential to me and an electronic calendar just doesn't give me the flexibility to add colour through stickers, washi tape or even my beloved Muji gel pens!

Although I've not been able to make my phone calendar work for me, I'm pretty sure there will be many who have. And there may even be some who have combined an electronic diary with a paper planner too, so it can be done. I must confess I am biased though; this blog is all about paper, stationery and whatnot and so I will obviously side with paper planners and that is why this blog post has the title: technology: I love you but I don't trust you. I don't trust my phone not to just erase everything one day when it's having a moodswing and I don't trust it to keep me organised! My Smythson binder, on the other hand... Well, you should know how I feel about it already!

How do you feel about electronic diaries? Have you managed to make it work in the past or even now? Or do you use one in conjunction with a paper planner? I know some workplaces insist on using iCal or something similar for various reasons.

18 comments

  1. I definitely know what you mean,
    And there is just some sort of freedom with writing things in your filofax that you don't get when

    you're just programming lists in.
    Its convenient to only have to carry your phone, but i'll be back to my filofax anyday!

    Kelly || DayDreamsDaisyChains.com

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    1. Writing things down has that personal touch whereas typing them onto an electronic calendar doesn't and that's what I love about it hehe :)

      Definitely convenient to just have to carry your phone but it's much easier to flick through a physical diary than unlock your phone by inputting your pin, going to the relevant app and finding a date/week/month x

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  2. I know at some medical schools you can import your weekly timetable into iCal. While I generally favour paper diaries, I think this is a really good idea since med students have really hectic schedules, so you'd need a pretty big diary to be able to fit everything in (if you're the sort of person who includes university and life commitments); plus, they tend to change weekly, so it's not like you'd eventually learn your timetable!

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    1. I'm planning on upgrading to day-per-page once I start medschool so space isn't an issue ;D and I have a feeling erasable pens will come in very handy from September onwards! Or just pray things don't change :p x

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  3. Ever since mu iphone died- binders are a must! And through writing things are remembered better!

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    1. Agree! Writing things down help you to ingrain them into your short-term (and sometimes even long-term) memory :) x

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  4. I use the S Planner on my Samsung Galaxy S3 to keep afloat of specific events that are going to occur whilst I'm out and about. I commute and spend a lot of time away from home/in between places, so a reminder of meal plans, etc. that pops up on my phone is pretty handy! Aside from that, my Filofax Domino is the perfect organisational system at the moment!

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    1. Ah, I'm one of those people who would set a reminder on my phone and then swipe it away without looking ;D that's why I need a paper calendar :) I can see why an electronic calendar works better for you though - you sound like a bit of a busy bee :) x

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  5. I use both my phone calendar and a paper planner for two main reasons. One, I already carry too much in my day-to-day handbag as well as my office tote. Second, I have a fear of loosing or worse, having my planner stolen. There's too much information easily accessible at that point. However, since I password protect my phone, there is some minimal security. So I use my phone as my "portable" diary and then transfer what's necessary to my paper planner that remains safe at home........a reader from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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    1. Sounds like you've got a good system that works for you there :) I wish I could make an electronic calendar but I find the colour scheme on my phone a bit boring...! X

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  6. I love paper, notebooks, binders, planners, and all stationary, actually. Unfortunately I'm not much of a planner. I'm forcing myself to write down appointments, meetings, talks, classes, etc. in my planner, but I don't write down many other things I actually would love to be able to write. Weird, am I not?

    I also use a digital application for deadlines and some birthdays and other recurrent events. It's a UNIX command line program called 'remind'. I'm a command line interface (CLI) user for most computer programs and I have set up 'remind' in such a way that every time I open a console window or log in (either locally or remotely) to my computer it shows me some reminders about the next hours/days/weeks.

    For example, I get something like:

    Reminders for Tuesday, 7th May, 2013 (today):
    John's birthday in 5 days' time
    Monthly meeting tomorrow at 12:00
    Proposal submission due in 7 days' time

    I don't add everything to 'remind', only those events I want to be reminded certain amount of time before and/or that are recurrent..

    My phone I use to make/receive calls and send/receive SMS. :-)

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    1. Oh but that means you must have a good memory to not have to write things down! I like the sound of Remind but I much prefer to see things in my own handwriting so I might have to try that but in my diary x

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    2. I've always had a good memory, indeed. In fact I didn't use any planner for a very long time. I used to remember (almost) everything (almost) always. But I always was anxious about forgetting something at some point.

      I use 'remind' only for deadlines and such, so that I see them everyday (usually several times a day) well before they're due. I also write them in my planner (diary), of course, along with all my appointments, meetings, etc.

      What I don't manage to do is to take better notes (just jot down some things some times, but not always) and make good use of lists (to-dos, projects, etc.). I've read GTD a couple of times and I find it wonderful, but I don't seem to be able to use properly what I so much like (stationary) to get organised.

      I guess I need to do some training somehow, because I'm responsible for more and more things and it's really stressful to rely on your memory that much, really. I'll keep reading and learning about distributed cognition and try to find a way (some exercises or something) to create a habit of writing more. It's also a pity that I don't use most of my binders as I'd like to. :-)

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  7. I manage to combine both fairly successfully. I use a Malden Personal every day. I love the idea of writing in my Filofax each day. However, at the end of the week I sit down and transfer everything from my Filofax for that week into the computer (Outlook Express) and sync that to my phone (Samsung Galaxy S3). I agree it might seem slightly cumbersome, but it really does work for me. I like technology and trust it to some extent, but I have no plans to get rid of my Filofax for the foreseeable future.

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    1. That's great that you've found a system that works so well for you :D Is there any reason why you sync it all to your phone? Is that for work purposes or just as a way to back-up your physical planner? x

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  8. I gave up on electronic planners ages ago and haven't looked back. I've lost all my contacts several times, have trouble seeing the tiny calendar and had problems with getting the calendar from my computer to my phone. I give up.

    I use Filofax and moleskine now. Life is good.

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    1. Ah, I feel your pain! Losing contacts and phone data is never fun and I can definitely sympathise. Hehe, I like your 'life is good' comment - that's exactly how I feel about my Smythson :) x

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  9. I cannot use an electronic calendar. It's just so much easier to write stuff down by hand!

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