Switching from paper to digital half way through 2023

I started bullet journaling back in 2018 with a simple notebook and a pen, but last June I moved everything to a cheap tablet app. Now my spreads are cleaner and I can search past notes in seconds, but I miss the feel of my old pen scratching across the page. Anyone else ever go back to paper after trying digital, or is it just me being nostalgic?

3 comments

3 Comments

grant.nina19d agoTop Commenter

My 2019 BuJo was so chaotic that I switched to an app after I spilled coffee on it and the ink bled into a massive purple blob that looked like a sad octopus. I lasted maybe 3 months before I went back to paper because I kept forgetting to open the app and then found 6 half-finished digital lists that made no sense. Now I'm back to my old notebook and I swear the paper smells better than any app ever could, even if my handwriting looks like a drunk spider crawled across the page. Idk, there's something about the physical act of flipping back through months of your life that a screen just can't match, even if my fingers get stained with ink sometimes.

terryh2018d ago

That coffee spill story hit me right in the gut. I honestly don't know how anyone sticks with a digital journal for long. I tried a notes app once and ended up with five different tabs all saying "to do" and "maybe later" and "ugh." There is just something real about feeling the pen scratch across the page and seeing your own mistakes right there in front of you. Your drunk spider handwriting sounds like it has more personality than any clean digital font could ever have.

sageross16d ago

My buddy switched back to paper after his toddler drew 40 donuts over his whole digital to-do list.