Keeping a paper notebook next to the digital one
Everything I write for work lives in a digital tool, synced and searchable. And yet I still carry a cheap paper notebook everywhere, and I have stopped feeling guilty about it.
The notebook is for things that are not ready to be organised yet. Half-formed ideas, a list of questions for a meeting, a sketch of how some pieces might fit together. Writing by hand is slower, and that slowness forces me to decide what is worth writing down.
I do not try to keep it tidy. Pages are dated, and every few weeks I flip through and copy anything useful into the digital system. Most of it turns out not to be useful, and that is fine.
The main benefit is not the notes themselves. It is having a place to think that does not send notifications, does not run out of battery and does not offer to summarise anything.
Next note: Notes on a weekend sourdough routine