Going Analog
Earlier this summer I had the pleasure to present a talk at the UMass IT Conference 2025 (hosted by UMass Dartmouth) called "Sometimes the Old Ways Are Best". The talk centered around the idea that some of the most profoundly useful technology tools in 2025 are from decades past. One of the ideas that I felt hit hardest with the audience was the idea that the humble pen & paper are still ideal for some forms of productivity and ideation (I sort of hate that word, but oh well). Earlier this week I was struggling to get a project underway and pulled out the trusty yellow legal pad, and that seemed to get the wheels unstuck. My child, whose school decided to give a somewhat cruel amount of summer homework, was also able to make some headway by writing his thought out on paper before hitting the keyboard. Turns out it's not just me who is noticing this. Check out this NPR piece on this concept.
Why writing by hand beats typing for thinking and learning
Of course not everyone is able to use pen and paper, but the key concept is externalizing your thoughts. So, if you don't use paper, perhaps using a note-taking app that is separate from where you are producing your work (i.e. separate from MS Word, where you might feel pressure to put finalized ideas) could prove helpful. Lastly, if anybody is organizing a conference and is interested in an encore performance of this talk, hit me up.