The other day, when my writing group had to settle on its next meeting date, I, too, whipped out my calendar. Everyone else was tapping on a phone, but I still use a paper calendar; some kind of day planner thing; in fact selecting it each fall is one of my more important decisions. This year I’ve gone to 8 by 10 size, when I had been at 5 by 7, because this year I decided to stop trying to hide my paper state of mind. I feel a little awkward, true, and I always feel out of fashion, as folks in another group I’m a part of pull out phones instantly for any future planning. But today the newspaper included a story about using paper planners, and I gave a sign of relief. It isn’t only me.
There are others who like being able to spread out a page, who like penning something in, who get monumentally impatient with the tiny keyboards of a phone for noting anything complicated (that reason may belong only to me). I can still remember when having a handsome daytimer was as big a fashion statement as carrying the latest hot purse. I remember being in New York, and every women I saw had a filofax. Remember those? I thought they were so glamorous. Anyway, the nerd among my groups (being me) is still using paper for her calendaring needs. I just like it. I like being able to look at a month at a glance and see what’s ahead with detail in all those little daily squares. And I like going to day entries and entering in my activities. As a writer, as someone who works at home and alone, entering what I’ve accomplished, even if that is only answering emails, make me feel less frail. Yes, I, too, have a work life, my psyche can announce in triumphful tones to my inner critic. Just look here what I did on Wednesday.
So the story in the newspaper made me smile. I’m not alone, not quite yet………How do you keep up with yourself? Paper or phone? Why? Do you feel like you’ve given up anything to go digital? Or am I just a dinosaur braying in the paper tar pits?
Karleen Koen — writing life 