Digital planner vs paper bullet journal for 6 months straight

I spent January through June this year using a digital planner on my iPad, then switched back to my old A5 dot grid notebook in July. The difference in retention was huge - I actually remember things I wrote down on paper compared to the digital version where it feels like it disappears into the void. Has anyone else noticed their brain checks out with digital but locks in with physical? My goal tracker alone went from 40% completion to 75% after the swap.

2 comments

2 Comments

barbara_taylor831mo ago

Blake I actually thought the whole "writing it down makes it stick" thing was kind of a myth before this. I was a full on digital everything person, thought paper was just nostalgia or whatever. But nope, it was pretty immediate for me, like within the first week I noticed I was remembering what I wrote without even trying. The physical act of writing really does something different to my brain I guess. It forced me to slow down and actually think about what I was putting down instead of just typing and forgetting.

blake_smith1mo ago

Was the 40% to 75% jump immediate or did it take a few weeks for your brain to adjust to paper again? Just curious if the physical act of writing is what makes it stick or if it's more about the ritual of setting it up.