Fingers to Keyboard & Pen to Paper

Digital and analogue tools are often thought of as being at odds with one another. Many of us find ourselves heavily immersed in the digital world in our work and personal lives, and even go on "digital detox" periods to stay offline on purpose. Personally, I've found that a good mix of both works well for me. While I find digital tools necessary to keep up with the fast-paced lifestyle of the Silicon Valley, I also need to slow down every once in a while and reflect through analogue tools. Here are some of my favorite ways to use both in order to find my balance.

Digital

2-year old MacBook (top left), Kindle Fire (top right), laptop charger and connector (bottom left), and new Google Home (bottom right).

Audiobooks & podcasts

I started a new job about three months ago and now have an hour long commute to work. I found out that the repeated music playlists got old quickly during traffic, which led to the discovery of audiobooks and podcasts. Listening to people discuss interesting topics makes time go by much faster, and it also makes me feel like I have used the commute time productively.

Recommendation: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, a tale of the now-famous show host and comedian's childhood in apartheid-era South Africa.

Habit tracking

There's a (now possibly quite dated) saying that goes, "there's an app for that." Digital applications can be incredibly helpful for tracking your habits or lifestyle choices such as exercise routines, meals, or even medications. When you're hitting the gym, it's a lot easier to bring your phone and headphones along than to lug a notepad with you to write down how much you did for the day. Applications can also help you remember important life routines, as shown by my recommendation below.

Recommendation: Clue, a simple, clean and discreet way for all of the ladies out there to track their menstrual cycles.

Note taking

I'm known as an avid notetaker wherever I go. Often at work, I take notes in meetings to remember the action items and to record what I'm responsible for afterwards. I have coworkers who are spread all over the continental United States, which means I'm on recurring team meeting calls a lot. Although I started out by writing my notes on paper, I have converted to a digital method over time because of speed and convenience. Typing comments quickly through a keyboard has proven to be the most efficient, but more importantly, I'm able to refer to discussions that happened a month ago without flipping the notebook back and forth and getting lost in the pages.

Recommendation: Microsoft OneNote, which allows multiple tabs and to-do lists to mesh along with your notes. Alternatively, Evernote is a great option.

Analogue

Mildliners in the Cool & Refined color set and Faber Castell brush pen (top left), Zebra Vintage Sarasa pen in blue gray and a small collection of Uni-ball Signo gel pens (top right), an assortment of other tools at my disposal with a Midori brass pencil in the middle (bottom left), an old ruler from Korea and Lihit Lab pen case that houses everything pictured (bottom right).

Reflections

Like many others, I have a tendency to want to hold my deepest thoughts physically close to me. I used to blog about my personal life and put photos online often, but I don't have as much free time as I used to and I prefer to spend that time recharging at home in quiet reflection (that is to say, kudos to those who socialize often after work, too! I just happen to be an introvert). On some days I write a ton and spill my feelings onto an empty page, and on other days I doodle or write a quote if not much happened that day.

If you haven't seen it, I've written a previous blog post about my current journal setup. I currently use 1) Hobonichi Techo spring 2017 edition, 2) Traveler's Company olive edition traveler's notebook, and 3) Field Notes. I also use the A5 size Leuchtturm1917 for work, which was not featured in the blog post due to the notebook having too much confidential work materials in its pages. This setup has been working well for me this year, but I'm looking to simplify for 2018 - more to come on that topic in the next few months, to be sure!

To-do lists

I know what you must be thinking: "there's an app for that." In fact, there are countless list-making apps out there at my disposal. Despite the availability of well-designed and affordable apps, I find more satisfaction in writing down a to-do list and checking it off as I go, hence me using a notebook to keep to-do lists in 'til this day.

When it comes to to-do lists, I like to break down the task even further to keep myself on pace. For example, I never write "draft a blog post," because it can sound daunting. Instead, I write "finish digital section" or even more specifically, "upload pictures" and "write captions." Taking a seemingly overwhelming task and splitting it into bite-sized pieces has done wonders for me. This exercise keeps me from missing the small details and helps me feel extra accomplished at the end.

Events

Lastly, I always like to have a notebook with me when I attend events (e.g. conferences, workshops, etc.) I prefer to only jot down key takeaways at these one-time events for a few reasons: 1) informational booklets are often already available, which makes word-for-word note taking unnecessary, 2) having a digital device around can be a distraction for me personally (temptation of checking social media is real), and 3) I want to give the speaker, or the group/individual I'm working with, my full attention.

Finding a Balance

Once upon a time, the Internet was a place for people to escape from the real world. Now, so many of the world's conversations revolve around how we need escape from the Internet and return to real life, to be more present in the moment. We're always prone to becoming an over-consumer of anything nowadays, which means finding your own balance is crucial. However the digital and analogue scales tip in your life, it is up to you to find what works best for your lifestyle and mind.