I owe my dad an apology for laughing at his 'write it down' system

I used to think my dad was crazy for keeping a physical notebook for everything. He had this old leather one from 1987 with grocery lists mixed with work notes. Last month I lost a huge client because my phone's note app crashed and wiped everything. Now I keep a $5 spiral from Walmart on my desk and I get why he never trusted digital stuff. Anyone else go back to paper after swearing it was outdated?

3 comments

3 Comments

charlescraig12d ago

You ever notice how the smell of an old notebook is different from a new one? My dad had this beat-up one from his college days that smelled like coffee and regret. @stone.lisa brought up reliability and that really got me thinking about how we treat our past habits as jokes until they save us. My dad’s notebook had a to-do list from 1992 next to a recipe for meatloaf and a reminder to call his mom. It was a mess but it never let him down. I guess the real joke was on me for thinking an app could replace something that’s been working since before I was born.

kelly.charlie12d ago

That 'wrote it down in 1987' thing hits hard - I started keeping a pocket notebook after my phone died mid-meeting and lost three months of notes. Paper's just reliable when you need it most.

stone.lisa12d ago

Kelly, I've been there too with the phone dying at the worst time. Paper notebooks are just solid when you need something to hold onto. That kind of reliability is worth more than any app.