7 Reasons to Use a Paper Diary at Work

The paper diary isn’t dead. Digital may have secured a place in time management, but its conquest isn’t total and it can never offer the benefits a real paper diary still can.

Maybe it’s a nostalgia thing or a craving for the tangible that has caused the resurgence in traditional forms of time management like diaries and calendars. Paper diary sales have experienced an increase for two successive years now with sales equivalent to the 1990s. Whatever the source of this upswing there are many reasons to use a physical diary planner at work.

Touching base

A paper diary is physical and solid. You can hold it in your hands. You can flip through the pages. You can leave it open on your desk all day to refer to at a glance. Touch is our first sense and important to how we relate to the world around us. It helps us to confirm the reality of an object.

The write way

Entering important dates and to-dos in a real diary requires us to use one of the most basic and important human skills. The art of handwriting offers us many benefits from idea generation to memory building. By forming the letters with a pen we are connecting to what we write, activating neural circuits and stimulating our brain. When we write something down we are more likely to remember it and we’re more committed to doing it.

Commitment level

The aim of a diary, calendar or planner is to manage all your appointments and tasks. As described above, writing something by hand cements your commitment to achieving it, and from a business perspective this is a great reason to keep a paper diary. By jotting down your appointments and tasks you are assenting to fulfilling them.

Own it

When you buy a paper diary you own it outright. It is yours to use as you like, take where you want, and keep forever. What many people don’t realise is that "buying" an app doesn’t make it yours. You have only purchased a license to access and use the digital platform. Anything you store here is at the mercy of the supplier.

Cloudy days

A non-digital diary’s contents aren’t stored in the cloud, giving you secure data back-up. No hacker’s going to access a paper diary and you won’t experience interruptions due to site maintenance.

Out of range

Telstra’s service dropping out won’t disrupt your plans when you use a real diary. You also won’t lose connection when travelling or in remote areas. Just open you diary planner and read or write.

No batteries required

A paper diary will never say the two words you dread most: "low battery"! You can use it as much as you want, open it and close it repeatedly, without worrying about finding a charger in time.

You don’t have to be some sort of techno-backward luddite to prefer to use traditional, physical forms of time management. Whether you choose to use it alone or prefer coexistence with a digital platform, your trusty paper diary will provide you with a reliable time management system while improving your mental capacity and offering peace of mind.