Pencil and Paper Person? You’re Not Alone!

How a home budgeting system helped me embrace paper planning in my business.

I’ve recently formulated a new mantra:

Paper for Planning.

Digital for Doing.

Let me explain.  

I was thinking this morning about all the digital planning systems I tried over the years to help me get a handle on my kitchen and bath design projects.  There are so many fancy apps and online platforms out there that promise to get you organized, organize your projects, and do everything in one place.  I’ve tried and discarded more than I can count over the years, how about you?

Does any of this sound familiar?  I’d determine I needed to get organized/find a better way to plan, etc.  I’d do an online search to see what was out there.  Lured by all the gorgeous screenshots and testimonials for the fancy online apps and systems, I’d select one and sign up for their free two-week trial.  I’d hunker down and enter all my information into the system, watching endless videos to learn how to use it.  

And then when it was time to actually plan - to use the system on my computer or phone, I would freeze.  I’d feel like I had blinders on, like I couldn’t see what was going on.  My brain just wouldn’t make the connections needed to do this type of work on the computer.  I’m talking about actually planning my projects - that higher level thinking where you really have to feel like you can see everything in one place, make connections and get a higher level view of what is going on.  

I’d feel so frustrated with myself, and like a complete failure.  What is wrong with me?  I mean, all these folks on this website testimonials are obviously killing it using this online system.  It must be because I'm creative, and I’m just not cut out for project planning.  Or maybe it’s because kitchen and bath projects are more complicated than other types of projects.  I’m a terrible planner.  I just can’t do it. 

I’d throw up my hands in disgust and stop using the system.  All the time I had put into setting it up and learning it was wasted.  I was right back where I started, overwhelmed by all I had to do on my projects, and no closer to finding something that would work for me.  

In the meantime, I’d do what I had always done.  Grab a piece of paper and start scribbling down what needed to get done.  I could write everything down and spread it out on my desk, see it all at once.  It wasn’t fancy, it didn’t have any bells and whistles, but at least my brain could wrap itself around what was actually going on.  

Frustrated with how blind I felt when trying to plan out my projects in my google calendar (don’t get me wrong, I love my google calendar, just not for planning), I started printing it out and writing on it by hand.  While this felt better and allowed me to take the blinders off and plan, I felt pretty silly printing out calendars, writing on them, only to then turn around and re-enter that information into the google calendar again.  I mean, what gives?  

Meanwhile, I started following a home budgeting system that was completely paper-based. I mean, she has you printing out sheets and hand-writing all of your expenses and your budget each month.  A friend of mine was having great success with this and urged me to try it.  Although I was in desperate need of a home budgeting system, I completely rejected this “by-hand” method.  So inefficient!  Why on earth would you write by hand when there are so efficient online apps available (many of which I had tried and failed to use consistently, are we seeing a theme here?).  But I finally gave in and tried it.  I printed out the sheets.  I filled them in by hand.  I showed up and did it.  

And something completely unexpected happened that I never saw coming.  I began to enjoy budgeting.  First of all, I did find that my brain was taking in the information and processing it completely differently when I wrote by hand.  By slowing down and writing the numbers, I felt a connection with my money that felt solid and real… very different than looking at numbers on a screen.  

But more than that, I found that I enjoyed the tactile experience of sitting down with pencil and paper and writing.  Instead of spending even more time in front of a screen, it was a huge relief to simply grab my budgeting binder and a cup of coffee and snuggle up by the fire, writing by hand.  It was a much more enjoyable experience.  

I had a big “aha” that sometimes there is a benefit to not being efficient.  When we slow down and write by hand, we give our brains a chance to catch up with what is going on.  To really process and integrate the information on a deeper level.  Now let me ask you:  when it comes to planning your projects, isn’t that the level of deeper connection you want to be having with the information?  You do want to slow down, really be with your projects to understand where you are and what needs to be done next for the best result.  You need to slow down with pen and paper for your brain to make the connections needed to get that higher level view of what’s going on and what needs to be done.  

Science supports this.  A recent study found that writing by hand leads to more brain activity and better memory.  Oh my goodness, what a relief!  It’s not because I’m old, or because I'm creative, or because my brain just doesn’t work right.  Our brains work better when we write by hand.  

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Okay, so where does that leave us?  Does that mean we should ditch our computers, toss out our cell phones and buy out the office supply store of paper and notebooks?  Absolutely not.  And here is where my mantra comes in: 

Paper for planning.  Digital for Doing.

Planning a calendar out by hand is great, but for any of us who have tried to use a paper planner exclusively, we know how easy it is to not have it with you when you need it, and it doesn’t ping reminders or share itself easily with others.  Digital calendars just make sense for so many reasons.  So do so many of the other digital tools out there.  They work great for doing, just not for planning.  

I use paper to plan, and make no excuses for it.  Print out the calendar and write on it.  Brainstorm all your to-do lists by hand.  Scratch out your ideas on sticky notes and place them all over the walls. Get it all out on paper and embrace the way your brain more easily processes and retains the information this way. 

And then use your digital tools to execute on the plan.   Have clarity that entering the information in your calendar is not a planning exercise, it’s a data-entry exercise, which is totally doable.  Take advantage of all the bells and whistles and efficiency that the digital tools have to offer.  They are amazing!  I love all my apps.  I love them so much more now that I don’t try to actually make my brain do higher-level planning work while I’m in them. 

I do my planning work by hand, and then quickly enter the information I came up with into my digital tools.  No guilt.  No kicking myself for being inefficient and “doing the work twice” when I “should” be able to just do the work online to begin with.  Nope!  Now I embrace pencil and paper planning.  I don’t knock my head against the computer trying to get my brain to plan in the online app.  I shut off the computer and grab my pencil and paper.  Let my thoughts flow.  

Inspired by this,  I now do all my project planning by hand.  I print everything out so I can spread out, write by hand, and really wrap my brain around what is going on with all my projects.  Then, when the planning is done, I enter what is needed into my digital system, so I can share it with my team, clients and colleagues and take advantage of all the benefits the digital tools offer.  Embracing this two-step process has allowed me to work with my brain, instead of against it.  Now I’m planning regularly, and actually getting my plans done.  The two parts - by hand and digital - are working with each other, instead of against each other.  

I invite you to try this.  Separate out your tasks into planning and doing.  Try out the planning by hand method.  See if it doesn't help your brain work better, help you access higher level thinking and retain information better.  Then embrace your digital tools for the doing part.  I think you’ll find, as I have, that everything works better that way.  

Happy Planning and Doing!