Paper vs. digital — Part 2: Tasks
Based on the surprising result that paper-based solutions seem to be still a better way to organize oneself, we compare the solutions for managing goals, tasks and calendar one by one. In this second of three articles we analyse the pros and cons of paper-based and digital task management.
While I have talked to many friends and colleagues about their habits using to-do lists I was surprised that no one managed tasks 100% digital. Writing down a to-do on a piece of paper, on a post-it or even on a napkin to keep an important task in mind seems to be still at least an assistance. Why? Because noting a task on a piece of paper is still the easiest and fastest option — at least for a single task.
An important aspect for many persons who mainly use paper task lists is the motivation: striking through a task with a pen is much more satisfying than clicking on a check box in a to-do list app.
Another advantage of paper-based task-management reveals only at a second glance. When the piece of paper is full and the next task doesn’t fit on the piece of paper anymore you have to transfer the open tasks to a new piece of paper. Regularly writing down a new list and transferring open tasks is not a waste time as it forces you to review the open tasks. Are the open tasks still important? Can I delete or delegate some tasks now? Reviewing the tasks is one of the most important aspects of productivity.
Along with reviewing the task list comes another advantage: very long and demotivating task lists are avoided. If a todo app offers collaborative access to the lists, endless todo lists become even more likely. Every team member can dump some tasks and within no time over 100 open tasks without due date, priority and responsibility demotivate everyone who wants to get an idea about what to do next.
Obviously, digital task management has also many advantages. With todo apps you can keep the overview also with many tasks thanks to a folder structure (e.g. for each project) and filter options. A digital task list can easily be shared with and edited by others which facilitates working a team. Tasks can be displayed in various views and reprioritising the tasks won’t affect the clarity. Mobile todo apps offer time and location based reminders which can be extremely helpful in everyday life. Repeating tasks can be created with only a few clicks. Additional information (e.g. links, photos, documents) can conveniently be added to each task. Finally, you have your task always at your fingertips, if you use a todo app on your mobile phone.
In summary, paper-based and digital task management solutions both have their advantages and there is no todo app out there yet, which also offers the main advantages of writing down the tasks on a piece of paper.
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