Music's Place

Using paper diaries… Yes.

Reason the thought crossed my mind was after reading through Brian’s from geniustypes.com. free giveaway contest. Found self reflecting on personal diary dramas and the attempted transition from paper to PDA which after almost two years remains transitional.

If you are one of the many who have preference toward paper diary structures then a FREE copy of Brian’s very well thought out diary system based on the fundamental teachings of Stephen Covey (author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) simply click the link below.

Free Day Planner and Time Management System

Why with all the PDA advancement do we still use paper diaries? Not sure about everyone else… a few reasons that seem to prohibit a completeunshackling of self from the paper diary system.

• Taking that phone number without torturing the person on the other end while you struggle to locate the keys which even if you do record directly to PDA is not timestamped (fine if you are the guinessbook world record holder for speed texting)
• Superior for any form of jotting, note-taking or doodling acutally.
• Ticking of a to-do item provides greater satisfaction with a paper diary. The PDA once checked vanishes and so achievements for the day are?
• Needing to access the computer to open an archive to see where you were last month and for how long. (Important if you time bill or if making a court appearance and establishing whereabouts on a given day
• Apparently many people flush their phones down the loo each year. I believe it was a little over 700,000 people last year in the UK (sure you all needed to know that)
• Flat surface proves a useful resting place for either your coffee, tea, lunch or all three. You spill that coffee on the PDA (well you know what happens)
• Paper diaries are easier to view (especially while outside on a sunny day). There’s something about their tangible nature that will keep them a useful time management tool for years to come.
• Never managed to work out how to hold receipts and other paperwork with the PDA. (Now if they had a built in scanner on the pda that may change things).
• Paper diaries do not require batteries…

Despite some of the cons mentioned with respect to the PDA there are several pros for these handy devices and this we’ll not delve into today. After all I don’t wish to deter you from having a peek at the downloadable diary system at Genius Types. Enjoy!