Why do I use a paper calendar over Google calendar and digital calendars? Why do I like to send postcards and letters instead of emails? Why do I use a notebook instead of typing it up and saving it to a drive? The general answer is that I really love writing and being analog! However lately, it came to mind that analog does benefit me in ways I had not realized before, which is what this post will explore.
For a while, I thought I wouldn't have a digital dependency until I noticed that most of the apps I was using were taking up most of my time. I had to delete many apps and force myself to go on my laptop to go on certain sites instead. Going analog helped me not be on my laptop and phone all day and definitely gives my eyes a break from a screen.
Writing helps me organize and think better and faster, even if what I write gets typed up anyway. I learned that my paper drafts are a lot better than typed-up drafts and I can catch mistakes quicker than on a screen. This has helped me keep up my blog and expand it to what it is today! In the early days of this blog I did type up the drafts and they are not so good in my opinion.
Thanks to me posting my journals and analog systems, I found a nice warm community to chat and share ideas and information with! At one point I was searching Reddit after watching all the stationery video I had on my YouTube feed and stumbled upon a Discord for Hobonichi and now also one for fountain pens. I do check the Discords often and it helps me think of more ideas to blog and write in my journals.
I love having a paper calendar cause I get to decorate the holidays, birthdays, when I take a trip and when I finally take days off. Surprisingly I also remember holidays and events a lot better than my coworkers and friends.
Handwriting is one skill I practice daily thanks to journaling and my analog systems. I feel like my handwriting is slowly improving even if people, in general, think my handwriting is good. Over my few years of working in my day job, I noticed a severe decline in handwriting with people that depend on digital organizers. This is one major reason why I will keep journaling, at least my handwriting will hold up in the long run. The secondary reason is to keep up cursive as it seems to be on the decline due to schools not teaching it. I find cursive beautiful and quicker in some cases so I hope to influence people to keep doing cursive.
Since I mostly use notebooks I haven't had to expand my OneDrive, DropBox, Google Drive, or any other cloud storage. The most I do is use storage for pictures and then clean them out when I print them for my journal or share them with friends in chats. Life is simple without having to remember storage.
Analog helped me connect with stationery stores. Yes, I do spend a bit of money on ink and paper but I get to communicate and share my opinions and what I learned with stores I trust and will keep buying from for years to come. The people that keep these stores going really love when people tell their stories about the products they bought from them and I am happy to provide them with some.
Overall going analog and writing has connected me with so many people that I very much recommend trying out journaling, messing around with planners, or just having a notebook for notes.
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