Rob Bushway has the terrific essay on how he oscillates between taking notes digitally on a Tablet PC and on paper.
Well, said.
Recently I’ve been finding myself doing the same thing. I just started a new paper notebook the other day for a project I’m working on. Why did I jump to paper? One reason is that I don’t want to clutter my digital notes with extraneous stuff. The other is that I had this really slick looking paper notebook left over from the Mix06 conference and I thought to myself, “Hey, why not use it?”
You know what I’ve discovered? My ideas “feel” more interesting or compelling when they’re in this notebook. Why? Because it looks slick. I know. I know. I’m not supposed to be focusing on looks when I’m brainstorming, but it’s like what Rob says, sometimes you want to take a break and go to the mountains. The change reinvigorates your thinking. In this case, I feel like I’ve gone from the digital city to a comforting resort. I doubt I’ll stay in paper land more than the length of this project, but I agree with Rob, it’s nice to take a digital break. Such a simple change gives a welcome, fresh perspective.