Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that you don't always have to go digital.
Speaker 1: Many complex lives and schedules can in fact be managed
Speaker 1: on paper. If you prefer paper, then just stick with
Speaker 1: that unless you absolutely have to switch. Today's episode was
Speaker 1: inspired by a conversation I had recently with my Best
Speaker 1: of Both World's co host Sarah hart Unger. She and
Speaker 1: I both have pretty busy lives, jobs, families, extensive hobbies.
Speaker 1: We also both use paper calendars and paper planners. She
Speaker 1: works part time as a physician, and obviously her hospital
Speaker 1: has a digital system for putting in patient appointments, but
Speaker 1: outside the hours of eight to five Monday, Wednesday and Friday,
Speaker 1: Sarah schedules her life on paper. My calendar for my
Speaker 1: five children's activities and such happens on paper too. I
Speaker 1: mean partly this is because I really dislike electronic calendars.
Speaker 1: A major upside of self employment is that no one
Speaker 1: can make me use them. But I also really like
Speaker 1: seeing things written out without having to scroll around on
Speaker 1: a screen. With my planners and to do lists, I
Speaker 1: like the physical act of crossing things off. It makes
Speaker 1: it feel real that I've accomplished something. I know that
Speaker 1: many organizations require people to use electronic calendars for work,
Speaker 1: which then nudges people to use them for the rest
Speaker 1: of life, as we don't actually have two separate lives.
Speaker 1: Your nine am Dennist appointment affects your work. If your
Speaker 1: spouse is going to be gone for three days during
Speaker 1: a busy time at your job, you're going to want
Speaker 1: to know that as you are planning things out. But
Speaker 1: some of the alleged benefits, like it's so easy to
Speaker 1: reschedule things, don't strike me as real benefits. People might
Speaker 1: be a little more mindful of scheduling things if they'd
Speaker 1: have to cross them out and rewrite them. People note
Speaker 1: that they have so many meetings that they wouldn't fit
Speaker 1: on a paper calendar, Well, maybe we should all have
Speaker 1: fewer meetings. It's an idea that said, even if you
Speaker 1: do use an electronic calendar for actual meeting appointments at work,
Speaker 1: if these aren't too frequent, like maybe two or three
Speaker 1: a day, you can just take a glance at that
Speaker 1: and note these things in your paper calendar and use
Speaker 1: paper for the rest. Even if you do use an
Speaker 1: electronic calendar, I would suggest making your weekly priority list
Speaker 1: on paper somewhere. This will require you to take some
Speaker 1: time where you step away from your inbox and your
Speaker 1: screens and really think about what is important. Writing each
Speaker 1: priority down will also be an act of commitment. You
Speaker 1: are pledging to do it because you bothered to write it.
Speaker 1: It's kind of like your signature that way. Using paper
Speaker 1: means that your priority list can sit there, separate from
Speaker 1: your screens and serving as a north star through the week.
Speaker 1: Whatever you are working on. You don't have to scroll
Speaker 1: out of your inbox or your current project to check it.
Speaker 1: It is just there in a planner next to you.
Speaker 1: This makes it easier to keep in front of your mind.
Speaker 1: There are a great many benefits to digital systems. That
Speaker 1: is true, sometimes we need things that are more portable.
Speaker 1: But if you find you prefer paper, know that even
Speaker 1: complex lives often can be handled at least partly on paper.
Speaker 1: There is no reason to go digital just to go digital.
Speaker 1: And hey, there are a lot of beautiful planners out there.
Speaker 1: Being a paper person provides an excuse to try them out.
Speaker 1: In the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening. And
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for
Speaker 1: listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,
Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
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