7 ms·
Start with pen and paper
- Polylactic_acid 6y agoMy favourite is to start typing the question in to MS teams/slack and often I have the answer before I finish typing.
- chriszhang 6y agoDoes your organization use both MS teams and Slack? Why do they use both? Does one provide some advantages over another?
- Polylactic_acid 6y agoWe used to use slack and now we use teams. Just mentioned both because its not specific to any one tool.
- zhang-rayke 6y agoCorporate uses Teams, Dev/Sys org use Slack. Mergers/Acquisitions complicate everything and ability to implement SSO across everything isn’t always speedy. Teams integration with Outlook is handy for some things, otherwise Slack is preferred - particularly due to preexisting integrations to pipelines etc.
- naavis 6y agoWe use Teams only for video calls/conferences. Everything else is handled via Slack.
- cosmie 6y agoNot the individual you replied to, but my company uses both internally. We used to use Skype (for softphones, video meetings, and IM), which sucked for group messaging. Slack unofficially picked up steam to fill the void, among some teams. Now we've migrated from Skype to Teams internally. Groups that originally filled the void with Slack have pretty much continued due to momentum, but those that didn't have picked up Teams pretty enthusiastically. There's not really an advantage to one vs. the other, besides network effects and momentum. We don't actually have an official Slack org, and but rather a smattering of Slack orgs (some paid, some not). But they're all used outside of the purview of IT, which probably isn't a good thing. Even the paid orgs are just expensed directly by various business teams, rather than centrally managed/invoiced by IT. One thing of note is that we're an agency (well, a holding company with many agencies), and it's not uncommon for some of our clients to want us to sign into their Slack orgs and use it as a preferred means of communication. So our central IT makes the Slack client available for download, even though we don't have an official Slack org ourselves. This ease of access is probably one reason it started getting used in the first place.
- wodenokoto 6y agoWe use teams for scheduled conference calls/meetings as it handles larger groups better than slack and outlook is setup to add team-meeting links into calendar events. We use slack for team discussions and DM and sometimes for one-one calls. I think this happened naturally and wasn't a planned path.
- sigsergv 6y agoI prefer typing, writing is so slow. And there is also very important aspect to me: when I type I cannot draw anything and that's great because usually I can't decipher drawings I made while writing with pen and paper.
- Rainymood 6y agoWhile I agree with this I also find tremendous value sometimes in slowing down, forcing me to think before I write something down exactly because of the high cost of writing. It makes every word more valuable. I can type a lot of junk really really fast...
- sigsergv 6y agoYep, but one can type slower and cannot type faster, so it's a kind of backwards-compatible system.
- bayindirh 6y ago> writing is so slow. This is the core idea of stopping and writing. Forcing your brain to slow down to a certain speed so, it focuses whether it likes it or not. I do the exact same thing as the article suggests and my coworkers sometimes ask why am I doing this. My brain's brakes malfunction sometimes and this is an external brake to stop and restart gracefully. It works wonders.
- sethetter 6y agoThis! There's also plenty of research backing up the idea that writing with a pen commits the information to memory more effectively than typing. It makes sense if you consider the extra time and effort being dedicated to what you're writing. I've ditched pen and paper in the past because it was too slow for me. Over time I've realized that desire to "go fast" can be good in some contexts, and bad in others. Slowing down with pen and paper does a much better job of clarifying and directing my thoughts.
- 6y ago
- rgrs 6y agodo people use whiteboards at home?
- desertraven 6y agoI do. I can safely say all my future dwellings will have whiteboards too. Indispensable for me. An issue with both notebooks and computers is that once I write/draw something, I don’t have the discipline to revisit. Whereas a whiteboard is always in view and I can reorganise it or add to while going about day to day activities. The only drawback I’m seeing is the more I use it, the more indispensable I find it.
- Jtsummers 6y agohttps://smile.amazon.com/Nu-Board-Size-USA-NAA4N4US08/dp/B073R8ZY8C/ https://smile.amazon.com/Nu-Board-Size-USA-NAA4N4US08/dp/B07... I don’t have one, or a good spot for one in my home office. But for a few years I’ve used the notebook linked above.
- wrp 6y agoI know people who are really happy with these, using the Staedtler correctable pens. I prefer a regular pad of paper, but it seems some people are made more comfortable working things out on an erasable medium.
- lstodd 6y agoA stack of paper and a 0.5mm HB pencil is the the best of both worlds.
- chriszhang 6y agoPencils don't do it for me. I find the color of the text written to be too faint for my comfort. Pens on the other hand write text in bright blue color which is I find more pleasing to read.
- C19is20 6y ago
- Daub 6y agoThe article does not explain what the value of pen and paper has over a digital note pad. It just declares it has one. However, I can sympathize. I teach drawing and design. Of course, most of my students were raised on digital media. For some, their first experience drawing was digital! I have a lot of trouble explaining to them the value of pencil and paper. In “Personal Dynamic Media.” (1977) Kay, Alan and Goldberg described a computer as a meta medium: a medium that can 'fake' other media (my synopsis). I think we are always aware of this when working digitally. There is something in us that is aware of the essentially ethereal nature of the digital. I'm not sure that is the right word though.
- app4soft 6y ago> I teach drawing and design. Of course, most of my students were raised on digital media. For some, their first experience drawing was digital! I have a lot of trouble explaining to them the value of pencil and paper. As I'm involved in tech drawing creation & teaching, I already switched from using pencil'n'paper to FLOSS 2D CAD QCAD Community Edition.[0,1] But, for curious reasons, I really like to draw some technical drawing oldschool-way too. [0] https://twitter.com/app4soft/status/1323562201794437120 https://twitter.com/app4soft/status/1323562201794437120 [1] https://github.com/qcad/qcad https://github.com/qcad/qcad
- chriszhang 6y ago> Free from distractions I agree. Digital device with connectivity to the Internet is full of distractions. If you mean a digital notepad with no Internet access, then yes, that can be a solution too.
- bayindirh 6y ago> If you mean a digital notepad with no Internet access, then yes, that can be a solution too. Nothing beats the feeling of a real pen and paper for me. The texture of the paper and the feedback of the pen changes the experience a lot for me. Even if I've grown with computers and wanted my profession since forever, nothing beats paper (incl. e-paper/e-ink) when it comes to writing. Working with an analog medium completely changes the mode my brain works too. I can concentrate much deeper and can think much more broadly. I love reading from e-readers but, for writing there's no substitute.
- leyafo 6y agohttps://yafuwriting.medium.com/pen-and-paper-are-the-best-writing-tools-b4fd7a212d8b https://yafuwriting.medium.com/pen-and-paper-are-the-best-wr... my experience about how pen and paper benefit for me.
- mlamat 6y agoI'm using the Deck app in Nextcloud to organize. It's like a digital whiteboard.
- kissgyorgy 6y agoThis is the hole point why they created reMarkable, to basically disconnect you from the constant interruptions from today's world. You can read about this on their blog: https://blog.remarkable.com/ https://blog.remarkable.com/ I got reMarkable 2 and it really works! Now I'm even making notes when I'm in front of my computer, it's way better feeling than typing.
- hanche 6y agoI got the reMarkable 2 also, and I love it. There is one aspect of paper it does not really replicate well, though, and that is the ability to spread half a dozen sheets of paper in front of you for quick reference while you're working on your notes. Swiping between pages is too disruptive, not to mention jumping back and forth between notebooks.
- noir_lord 6y agoHow is the latency between interacting with pen/screen. I'm so tempted by these devices but that is my main concern, does it truly feel like pen on paper?
- lvncelot 6y agoIt is barely to not at all noticeable. They also have a matte surface that makes the pen feel and sound like it's actually scratching on paper.
- hanche 6y agoThe latency has been much improved between rM1 and rM2, apparently. I have only the latter, and I can say the latency is not at all noticeable. My only complaint is with the accuracy of the digitiser: My strokes tend to end up a fraction of a millimeter higher up on the page than where I intend them to go. This is very rarely a problem for me, but can be a source of irritation when I make minor corrections. I have no idea if this is universal or specific to my device, but I intend to find out.
- jeppesen-io 6y ago
- _xoo 6y agoThe article's date is "November 11, 2020". Is the author a time traveller? :)
- mozey 6y agoFor wire-framing or diagrams I find pen and paper (or a whiteboard) to be the best solution too. Too often most of the effort goes into "properly" using the app, when it should be spent on the concept. Just draw a picture, take a photo and email it or whatever, and done.
- d--b 6y agoPen and paper is a skill though. My handwriting is terrible, and things get terribly messy very quickly.
- bayindirh 6y agoJust continue writing. Get a good (preferably fountain) pen a good notebook and work slowly. You won't believe how your writing will improve over time. I had the worst writing in the class. Now, some people tell that I have hand-fonts. Mindful writing also teaches you to focus deeply, so it's a bonus too.
- AshamedCaptain 6y ago> It's all too easy these days to have a clear intention only to be sidetracked by the whirlpool of apps and services clawing for our attention on our devices. I have to admit I'm a bit baffled by these remarks. It is very easy to have a "apps and services"-free experience: just kill notifications. Why would the paper make a difference? It's not like your "attention-clawing" misconfigured device is not still at your reach. That said, I am a big fan of "digital writing" ever since tablet PCs were a thing, and I have yet to find anything that even approaches the convenience of pen and paper. In fact, my current preferred "digital writing" method is to use one of these digitizing pens, with my favourite tech being Anoto's/Livescribe (if only the company was not actively user-hostile).
- sethetter 6y ago> It is very easy to have a "apps and services"-free experience: just kill notifications. Why would the paper make a difference? It's not like your "attention-clawing" misconfigured device is not still at your reach. Absolutely true, this article is generally a reminder for people (like myself) who can struggle with attention and are a little too easily pulled into things once I'm engaged with a screen. I try to keep my notifications groomed appropriately, but I also have many allowed through thanks to work. I can groom all I want, but a computer is always going to offer more distractions than paper.
- roland35 6y agoI used to worry that pen/paper wasn't the perfect note taking system because it lacks the searchability of digital notes - but over time I have realized that the primary purpose of notes for me isn't long term but short term. Writing something down, like the author states, helps me focus and accomplish the task at hand, and the more I worry about the long term value of the notes the less I take notes because I am worried about making the notes perfect! What I do now is use a stack of nice small notebooks from Field Notes (no relation, just a customer), one for each project. I just scribble things in when I need and it helps me push forward!
- ButWhatFor 6y agoI also find that handwriting notes forces a kind of “hear or read, digest quickly, rephrase in a short hand way the keep points so I can pay attention to the next thing I am hearing or reading” That forced summarization I think does a lot for the brain. I find handwritten notes are almost not needed after the notes are written... your brain already put the summarized information in your head because you had to work with it to pick what was important.
- CarVac 6y agoI use loose-leaf paper and throw it away as soon as I'm done with whatever feature I was planning. The ephemeral nature makes me work more quickly, I find.
- palashkulsh 6y agoi am jumping back to pen and paper or more of direct hand interfaces . I also recently bought graphic tablet for storing handwritten notes.From what i think computer can help you store ideas vertically,with excel you can have vertically as well but still the interface is the keyboard and not whole hands. vague thoughts!!
- sethetter 6y agoMost of my thoughts are vague, no judgement ;) You're touching on a reason I like paper too -- in a digital format, I end up thinking too much about how I'm going to organize the information as opposed to just getting my thoughts down. Organizing the information is important too, but worrying about it before your thoughts are clarified is a quick way for me to get pulled away from my focus on the problem. Each tool has it's place!
- kjleitz 6y agoI'm sure it isn't, but this sounds like GPT-3.
- mikhailfranco 6y agoThere seems to be a flurry of these articles posted to HN, which are vague, loquacious, superficial, obtuse, poorly punctuated, occasionally excessively poly-syllabic, repetitive, colloquial and plausible, yet ultimately nonsensical. We need a new adjective for what it is to be like GPT-3 ... disgenerative? misformational? cyberblathering? babble streaming? thesaurus gargling?
- rpastuszak 6y agoI wrote an app which I use for exactly the same purpose and it's served me quite well so far. I've been writing almost every day for a year. I keep it on a separate screen and jot down my thoughts if I feel that I lack focus (more info here https://sonnet.io/posts/ulysses https://sonnet.io/posts/ulysses). Feel free to check it out, it might help you too: https://ulysses.sonnet.io https://ulysses.sonnet.io Another tool that I find helpful: iPad Pro + Concepts for doodling/ad hoc notes.
- kovek 6y agoThis is very cool, thank you!!
- jakeva 6y agoI was confused and thought you were talking about Ulysses the iOS and macOS app https://ulysses.app/ https://ulysses.app/
- rpastuszak 6y agoYeah, I need to change the name at some point. I should've expected that when I used "Ulysses" for an app about writing as a stream of consciousness. ;/ I might change it to Homer—he is/was believed to be blind.
- anotheryou 6y agoI only switch to paper for UI and math. I love a fullscreen, empty text editor. I prefer to learn to focus instead of forcing myself to focus. Putting my editor in fullscreen is against visual clutter, but I don't have to shut down my laptop not to read HN instead (or do I? excuse: was not doing a deep focus task right now, but waiting for slack replies. Waiting makes me jump to other apps right away... So glad I don't have build times in my job).
- marcmerce 6y agoI have never been able to replace a pen and a paper. I've tried a ton of app and other systems with emails and notepad, but it just doesn't do the work for me. I feel like I remember it better when it's on a piece of paper.
- okprod 6y agoFor me it depends on context and need, but even if one hectic day I decide to use Jake Knapp's paper burner list instead of org-mode, at the end of the day everything still gets put into my electronic system. I still haven't found a paper system that can offer search and tagging as good as something like Emacs, OmniFocus, Evernote, etc
- sethetter 6y agoDefinitely agree -- paper is something that should compliment your overall system, it's pretty hard to get by with paper alone these days. If my goal is to focus in on what I'm thinking about, pulling myself away from the computer and putting pen to paper does a better job than anything digital has been able to provide me.
- sharker8 6y agoEvernote at one point a few years ago had a pen and paper thing with a grid on it they could recognize. You took pictures of it. I think it was made by moleskine. Has this been updated? This was to my recollection about 5 years ago when I first saw someone using this technique of hybrid analog/digital capture.
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 6y agoFor me, it is clay tablet and stylus to really get rid of distractions. Even with pen and paper, I can find myself doodling. However, with a clay tablet I am focused. As a benefit, the process of going out and collecting the clay and forming it into a tablet gives me time to organize my thoughts. Then when I do put my thoughts down, I can bake it it the oven and know that it will last a few thousand years. Pen and paper seems so ethereal in comparison.
- sebiw 6y agoI found this book by the team of Basecamp (DHH et al) really inspiring: https://basecamp.com/books/getting-real https://basecamp.com/books/getting-real
- jeppesen-io 6y agoAs someone who recently got a remarkable tablet for work, i wholeheartedly agree Not the same technically, but effectively is for me
- oneshoe 6y agoI really want one of these because I the pen and paper process (wholeheartedly agree with the authors statements) Is it worth it? Is it better than just having a whiteboard next to me? I feel like most the time I use the whiteboard it is temporary things that kick me off before moving to Visio or JIRA. The price tag seems so high for its single use. But, still itching to buy it.