There is nothing more versatile as a medium than paper. The charge of our digital era is finding ways to replicate what can be done on paper in a more streamlined, efficient and extended way.
The problem is we’ve taken efficiency and function to the be the starting point, training us to change our behaviour for the tool instead of using the tool for our needs. Take, for instance, the word processor.
Developers are constantly adding new features to make work “easier.” While the functions are useful, they mask doing real work in exchange for getting distracted with the presentation. You can play with font styles, sizes, headings, etc. all you want, but that still won’t help with the actual writing.
Same goes for note taking apps, organization systems and even slide deck presentations. And then there’s also the issue of when software is abandoned, migrating to other platforms or even your favourite program getting an upgrade thereby making your older files unusable. You’re left with a decision of figuring out how to transfer your work or accept that it will be lost.
While I still love paper, I’ve gone back to simple text files for most of my digital life.
They’re versatile, small and platform neutral. You can open and use them anywhere, modify them as needed and never have to worry about them being obsolete (or so I’d hope, given how long they’ve been around).
However, their big advantage is they force you to do the work.
Consider the act of putting together a slide deck for a presentation. Most of us get lost in the design of our presentation rather than doing the hard work of making a good presentation. Getting it down first in simple text to see its flow bridges this gap nicely. Save the design for post-production to ensure the technical elements enhance, not distract, from the message.
Yes, there are an incredible number of tools out there, but I am done committing to a company looking to grow its user base in order to sell its platform to advertisers, a larger company or sell me on being a subscriber to their service.
If I find your offering useful in post-production, I’ll consider it. If not, I’m sticking to simple text files.