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Thinking with pen and paper

ljvmiranda921.github.io

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Re: Thinking with pen and paper

#14

Post by bbonamici »

tartoran wrote: post #10
mikeholler wrote: post #8

I started bullet journaling with pen and paper and it has changed my life. Intentionality -- that's exactly right. When I write I feel intentional. I've also dove into the world of nice paper and fountain pens. I've always had hand cramps when writing, whether using a cheap Bic or a Pilot G7. With fountain pens, that's all gone, and writing is effortless. You can get started with this cheaply by getting a platinum pr…

> Your pen can be converted into an "eye dropper" pen with a little bit of silicon grease and a small rubber gasket, and you'll rarely need to refill it. Please expand on this. I’m utterly confused as to what you mean and why you’d need it.

idk op's specifics, but some pens use ink cartridges; by sealing the body of the pen, you can fill it with ink, have way more capacity and you can refill it.

Re: Thinking with pen and paper

#15

Post by tarentel »

tartoran wrote: post #10
mikeholler wrote: post #8

I started bullet journaling with pen and paper and it has changed my life. Intentionality -- that's exactly right. When I write I feel intentional. I've also dove into the world of nice paper and fountain pens. I've always had hand cramps when writing, whether using a cheap Bic or a Pilot G7. With fountain pens, that's all gone, and writing is effortless. You can get started with this cheaply by getting a platinum pr…

> Your pen can be converted into an "eye dropper" pen with a little bit of silicon grease and a small rubber gasket, and you'll rarely need to refill it. Please expand on this. I’m utterly confused as to what you mean and why you’d need it.

On fountain pens you can seal the pen body with silicon grease and then instead of putting ink in a container like cartridge or converter you just put it directly in the body of the pen. https://www.jetpens.com/blog/How-to-Do-an-Eyedropper-Pen-Con...

Re: Thinking with pen and paper

#16

Post by jmull »

Interesting how the tool integrates with the mind.

I used to strictly be a pencil and notebook person... to be mentally engaged fully (whether that is thinking, problem solving, planning, recalling, etc.) I had to use pencil and paper.

But improvements in text editors, and their convenience, lead to me using them more and more to capture ideas, lists, etc., and one day I realized I had switched.

Now I need to use sublime text to be mentally fully engaged.

If I could find something better I'd try switching again. Needs top-notch text editing integrated well with something like Apple Pencil. (Apple notes app is subpar when it comes to text, doesn't integrate text and pencil drawing/writing very well, and although I just want basic drawing/writing tools, it doesn't do that very well either.)

Re: Thinking with pen and paper

#19

Post by chadash »

in general, I use my computer for taking notes. But I recently started using pencil and paper for designing quick low-fidelity mockups for things that my team is going to implement and it's wildly better than working on the computer for several reasons:

- pencil/paper is just so much quicker

- if you think it, you can draw it... quickly. It's more flexible.

- key advantage: when non-engineers (or even engineers) see higher fidelity mockups, it's very easy to get caught up on some of the details like where a button goes or how big the font is. With pencil/paper, everyone realizes that it's a rough sketch and that the final product isn't going to look this way.

After I write things up, I scan them with an app to a PDF file and then email that out (or attach to a ticket). Of course, pen/pencil isn't great for final designs... there's no substitute for a high-fidelity mockup of what somethings is supposed to look like. But I find it very useful to start with the UX and then work on things like CSS last.

Some key tools I use:

notepad: $5

pencil: $7 (I really splurged here for the pentel Orenz, my favorite mechanical pencil, but a $1-2 pencil will be 95% as good)

6" ruler: $1.76

1/2" binder (I like to keep my drawings): $4

I've thought about investing in a ReMarkable tablet, but I find it hard to justify the cost since pen/pencil work so well.

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