Going Old School in a High-Tech Society

I've always been a pen-and-paper person. In this day and age, I consider myself a dying breed. Normally, people nowadays go about with their notes tucked safely into their smartphones or laptops. I must admit, I am kinda tech-savvy, too -- which is why I pine for the latest gadgets rolled out by the major players.

But at the end of the day, I still go back to my handy-dandy notebook. I'm not so much a purist as to not have any notes or to-do lists saved on my phone or my laptop. However, I'd say around 99% of everything that goes on in my head is written down on a clean sheet of paper.

I think it's safe for me to say that note-taking is part of my daily routine, nay, part of who I am. I tend to forget things, so I write down as much as I can on a piece of paper. I've proven to myself in the past that I write faster than I type. Plus, it's really pretty difficult to quickly draw arrows on a laptop or a smartphone right?



So, for anyone who knows me, my notes look somewhat like this:

Or this:

Or this:

And yes, I am totally in love with colorful pens. I've always been a sucker for them. People who borrow my notes tend to ask me why my notes are so colorful. The official reason: I just remember things better when they're in a different color. (For example, while taking a test, I remember seeing the answer on a certain page in purple ink. Well, you get the picture) The unofficial reason? I just find it pretty, and it makes my notes less boring. :)

Then until now, whenever I have to write an essay, draft an important email, or jumpstart a document, I tend to write things down an a sheet of paper first. It helps me organize my haphazard thoughts first without the torture of a blinking cursor on a blank Word file.

I may have been swayed from time to time by the latest productivity apps and programs out there, but at the end of the day, I still go back to the seemingly backwards method of jotting down my thoughts on a piece of paper.