My Holy Grail Pen and Paper — CJ Chilvers
While I was on vacation last month, I realized that I had been using the same cheap paper and pen combo for years without complaint. I had found my grail, without knowing it and without breaking the bank.
What we believe in.
Handwriting vs. typing: Study shows which is best for notes
A new study from the University of Tokyo concludes that writing with a stylus or typing on a touchscreen keyboard just isn’t the same as handwriting. “Our take-home message is to use paper notebooks for information you need to learn or memorize,” noted coauthor Kuniyoshi Sakai, a neuroscientist at the University of Tokyo.
As kind of a counter balance to Shawn’s post below. It this doesn’t have to be an either or thing. Every tool has its proper use. Digital may be the right choice for some things. Paper for others.
My most-used productivity tools have historically been my iPad Pro (my primary device since the first one was introduced) and the various notebooks, notepads, and looseleaf sheets of paper strewn around my workspace.
Digital paper devices have long intrigued me, though. Unlike an iPad, they use e-ink to ostensibly mimic a paper writing environment. Their screens are textured in such a way that using a stylus feels similar to writing on paper—not exactly like it, I’m afraid, but close, and far more satisfying than sliding plastic across glass.
When these devices first started hitting the market around five years ago, I was skeptical. No piece of technology could ever truly replace paper.
But then, last year, the reMarkable 2 was introduced. Watching the videos, I couldn’t deny that the thing was sexy: aluminum, sleek, way thinner than its predecessor. Thinner even than my iPad, thinner than most of my oft-used notebooks, and definitely thinner than the composite stack of said notebooks. So after months of ogling, I gave in and bought one.
I’m afraid it’s pretty great.
I’ve been using it for a couple months now—to journal, write the first drafts of essays (including this one), take notes, and read and edit PDFs. I’ve barely touched a piece of paper since I bought it. The stylus feels good, scratchy yet smooth. There are several pen stroke options to choose from, like ballpoint (my favorite), marker, pencil and mechanical pencil, and a calligraphy pen, all faithfully recreating the lines of their analogue counterparts. And I can choose from dozens of templates: lined, dot-grid, various planners, even sheet music (which I have no use for, but lots of people do). The pen nibs wear out after a month or two, but so too do ink cartridges run dry. The leather cover is as beautifully crafted as a leather notebook. The battery lasts only a couple weeks, but paper, too . . . actually, scratch that, paper never dies.
Listen—I really like this device. As a full-time writer, I use it daily. I have plans to write the first draft of an entire novel on it. It fulfills my wildest dreams of writing like Jake Sisko in Deep Space Nine, the best Star Trek series (don’t @ me—I don’t have social media, so good luck even trying).
But I know that, some day, I might drop this thing and shatter the screen, or I might spill my coffee on it, or the software may brick, or the company may go under and stop supporting it, or, heck, the battery might explode. This tablet is still a tablet. It’s not paper. Someday, it’s going to stop working. When that happens, maybe I’ll get a new one—but if I don’t (and even if I do) I know that paper, real paper, will be there waiting for me.
Really fun and well done. (via Kottke)
How I Time-Block and Plan in a Traveler’s Notebook – The Sweet Setup
“I simply gravitate to a notebook and a pen where there’s an unequalled level of freedom.”
Josh Ginter describes how he leverages the analog and blends the digital to get his stuff done. Really good writeup.
Thelonious Monk’s Advice — Lists of Note
YOU’VE GOT TO DIG IT TO DIG IT, YOU DIG?
All the President’s Pens — Slate on Barack Obama’s Favorite Pen
Barack Obama, no stranger to controversy, waded into an extraordinarily contentious area of American life on Wednesday when he revealed his pen preferences. The former president told the New York Times that when composing longform writing, including his recent book A Promised Land, he prefers to sketch out his first drafts by hand, rather than on a computer. What’s more, like all true stationery nerds, Obama is “very particular” about his writing tools, preferring the combination of yellow legal pad and black Uni-ball Vision Elite rollerball pen with a micro-point.
The Typewriter Revolution blog: Analog College
What we believe in. If I was of college going age, such an institution would be at the top of my list.
Also, I was not aware of this blog before the ever wonderful Alan Jacobs linked to it. Well worth spending some time and looking around.
The Time-Block Planner by Cal Newport
Cal Newport (of Deep Work fame) introduces The Time-Block Planner which is organized around the ideas he set forth in that book.
It’s important that we’re using paper here… I don’t want you on your computer when you don’t need to be.
Consider me intrigued.
What My 2020 Planner Has Been Through — The Pen Addict
It started off normal. I had a planner party in November last year, where a handful of friends brought their stationery over and we all decorated and prepped our planners for a productive year. Welp. That was the last time I had a gathering of friends, and all the plans we planned went awry.
This, I believe, resonates with us all.
