The Lost Art of Writing Things Down

Today I want to talk about the power of writing things down. You see, I am a self-described propeller head or geek. That means I am, by default, the first call for a dozen or so people when it comes to computer, phone, fax (I know, right?!?) printer or wifi problems.

I am fine with this label by the way.

My ability to weave in and out of print advertorials and digital display ads 15 years ago is what got me to where I am today, and I donโ€™t apologize for how I feed the kids, even if that means being called a geek.

That said…there is a power to the lost art of writing things down when you do what I do.

I have gone back and forth for years with carrying a journal or notepad or whatever you want to call the thing with lines on it that I keep with me at all times to take notes. Itโ€™s been there through meetings and plane rides, coffee shop stops and phone calls, conferences and roadside braindumps.

But Iโ€™ve gotten away from that for a time, and I miss it.

Being a propeller head also means you live inside a two-dimensional world between you and some random screen; be it a cell phone or a tablet or a laptop, but a screen none the less.ย Itโ€™s a shame Hemingway never got to experience the feeling of moving from a typewriter to a keyboard, then back to a typewriter again just for old time sake, because it feels good and I think he would have enjoyed it too.

Why write things down?

Writing things down commits you more…at least, it feels that way to me. I feel like I own it more, and nothing gives me a better feeling than crossing shit off that list every day!

What do you use to keep track of your day?

Do you use a calendar app or book to track appointments? Do you have little bits of paper flying around your truck or office? Could you stand being a bit more organized? I know I could.ย The irony is, as I type this out on my iPad, staring out the window of some random Starbucks in the suburbs of Philadelphia, is that one day, even the physical act typing something on a computer or smartphone will seem like the good old days.

Sometime in the not so distant future we will simply think about a conversation, a meeting, a topic and be able to send it off in an email or speak it to some Siri-like assistant who will take care of the menial task of actually formatting it while we get back to worrying about the next big thing.

But for now, I am going to spend the rest of the year trying to manage and master the art of the Bullet Journal system. I have dipped my toe in the water for a while, but I think this system is the easiest way to give me the ability to have a written history of my day to day world versus relying on apps and servers and things that break, corrupt or crash.

I mean, if the common pencil is good enough to take into space, it’s certainly good enough to help run Darrenโ€™s house of useless knowledge. Anyway…back to writing down my next big idea!

 

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