Hybrid System

A few days ago, I realised I worked better when I wrote down the tasks I wanted to get done that day in a notebook and ticking them off from there than directly referring to them in Omnifocus. This lead me to buy a softcover moleskine with which I fell in love with. At the same time, I happened to open an old notebook where I had written a few passages from a book I was reading then and towards the end, added my thoughts on those passages. I didn’t even remember I had done this. But, it was so good to see the author’s thought and mine side by side, that I wished I had written more. From there started a desire to add more notebooks to my workflow. This raised a problem, albeit a first world one. I just didn’t want my highlights, quotes I collect, thoughts I write in different places. I wanted one solution, preferably. I could not decide if my workflow should be digital or analogous. I was debating both the sides. I started making points.

• I spend most of my time either at home or office (with access to internet and laptop/iPhone all the time).
• I rely on alarms to remind me of stuff I tend to forget otherwise.
• Most of my work happens in the digital realm.
• I like pen and paper, but ‘type faster than I write.
• ‘Want to reduce the amount I spend on digital devices to keep my son off them. He’s seen me more with iPhones and iPads than with books. And, I don’t want him to choose digital devices over books.
• The problem with digital is: stuff is stored in various apps & clouds.
  • scraps of notes and favourite articles in Evernote
  • blogging ideas and notes in Ulyssess
  • important pdfs in Dropbox
  • journal & commonplace in DayOne
• Most of the time these all applications become sinkholes. You keep putting stuff in, but don’t necessarily refer back to them.
• The problem with notebooks is that I cannot carry too many. My preference would be to have one notebook with me all the time. But, what if I have to revisit something I had written in an old notebook?
• Digital applications have search. All I have to do is type-in a few words. Notebooks don’t.
• Data in digital applications is neat. No scratches, nothing. Notebooks neatness directly depends on how neat your handwriting is. But, you get to see the mistakes you made. You get to see how the sentence was when you first wrote it and what it actually became. Notebooks show progression. Digital applications, only the final version.
• Digital applications are sterile. Their personality is determined by their design. Notebooks’ personality can be moulded as per our needs, as per our use. After sometime, it’s seeing ourselves on paper.
• If I wanted, how many notebooks would I need?
  • one for a journal
  • one for commonplace
  • one for tasks and running notes
    • for maintaining tasks in notebooks, what process should I use?
      • bullet journal?
      • paper lists (for GTD)?
• If its digital applications, I’d need:
  • Omnifocus for tasks
  • Evernote for notes/reference
  • Ulyssess for blogging
  • DayOne for journalling & commonplace
• What about future proofing? A notebook is a notebook even after 100 years. I don’t have to worry if I’ll loose the data (unless I lose them due to some mishap). But, what about digital applications? Sure, data is safe, (for the time being), but, Evernote, Omnifocus, Ulyssess or DayOne did not exist ten years back. Will they be here ten years hence?
• Evernote yearly subscription costs a little more than the cost of a moleskine in India. And, I’ll easily need 4-5 books every year. All digital apps in general, if not supported by subscriptions, need to be purchased almost every two years. By all means developers should be supported. But, which one is cost-effective?
• Next is preference. Am I OK carrying one notebook with me and leaving the rest of the notes at home? Or do I have some kind of insecurity that pushes me to carry all my data with me all the time?
• Do I like carrying a notebook or a laptop?
• How much do I use? I use digital applications for their convenience. I’ve even written about how much I get done just with my iPhone. ‘It’s always there. I can search if I have to’. But, how often do I actually need that data? How often do I refer to the notes I saved in Evernote?
• But, does it make sense to be completely analogous when majority of the work I deal with happens digitally?
• When you have only a notebook in hand, it’s a walled garden. No distractions. But, a phone in hand is a gateway to distractions.

The more I think, the more I realise there’s no one winner here. Both the systems – analogue and digital have there advantages and disadvantages. And, I don’t want to either be a total digital convert or total analogous convert just to prove some point.

So, what did I decide? I don’t know. I will have to see. Right now, I’ve opted for balance – a hybrid approach for the time being. One notebook in hand all the time. Copying data to and from them at the end of the day (to other notebooks/digital applications) as and when needed. Is it too much of a hassle? Or worth the time? Only time will tell.