# Using a Notebook (This Way) Still Beats Every Productivity App ![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/U24y_QdPDZ4/maxresdefault.jpg) ## Introduction - The paper notebook is a technology that has helped people make sense of their world and lives for hundreds of years, and it is being reviewed as part of a series on "conscious Computing" [(00:00:12)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=12s). - Conscious Computing is about using technology to live a better life, and it is evaluated based on five criteria: inputs, throughputs, stay puts, compute, and outputs, each on a scale from 0 to 10 [(00:00:37)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=37s). - The five criteria are dials, with 0 meaning no technology and 10 meaning fully technological, and the goal is to find the right balance based on one's intention [(00:01:05)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=65s). - The intention is to find technology that helps live a more intentional life, which begins by paying close attention to thoughts, feelings, and actions [(00:01:22)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=82s). - Writing is a powerful technology for paying attention, and notebooks are an elegant platform for writing [(00:01:36)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=96s). - The paper notebook is being reviewed as a technology that can help anyone live a more intentional life, and it is not biased despite being sponsored by [[Bullet journal | the Bullet Journal]] company [(00:01:41)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=101s). - The Bullet Journal is a personal operating system that can be run on any platform, but it is highly encouraged to use it in a notebook [(00:01:53)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=113s). ## Input - For the input criterion, the paper notebook scores a 1 because it offers little to no information and has no pre-printed input, allowing users to focus on their inner world [(00:03:20)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=200s). - The best tools for capturing and organizing information are those that disappear and get out of the way, allowing focus on the work, and handwriting in a notebook remains unsurpassed for this purpose [(00:03:57)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=237s). - [[Bullet journal | The bullet Journal]] notebook features special sustainably sourced 120 GSM paper that works well for most inks with minimal ghosting, making it suitable for expressing thoughts with the writing tool of choice while keeping things neat and legible [(00:04:27)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=267s). - The notebook includes 206 dot grid pages, which offer the flexibility of a blank page with the structure of a grid, and additional features such as a grid guide to help with complicated layouts and generous margins to keep text legible and clean [(00:04:46)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=286s). ## Notebooks: Fixed vs. Fluid - Notebooks can be categorized into fixed or fluid, with fixed notebooks offering structure and support but requiring users to shoehorn their lives into predetermined layouts, and fluid notebooks offering flexibility but little to no support [(00:05:32)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=332s). ## The Bullet Journal Method (Bujo) - [[Bullet journal | The bullet Journal]] method (Bujo) provides simple and flexible tools to help quickly capture and organize thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and experiences through the lens of conscious computing [(00:06:42)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=402s). - The Bujo method was created to address the tension between fixed and fluid notebooks, which can be either too demanding or too chaotic, and provides a solution for those who find notebooks to be a mediocre organizational tool [(00:06:40)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=400s). - The Bullet Journal (Bujo) is a technology that can transform any platform into a personal operating system, making a notebook highly useful for organization and productivity [(00:06:54)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=414s). - The official Bullet Journal notebook has several organizational features, including a key page with symbols to categorize thoughts, feelings, actions, and events, as well as space to create custom symbols [(00:07:31)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=451s). - The notebook also includes an intentions page to help define goals and frame choices for the next chapter of life [(00:07:44)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=464s). - The index section serves as an address book for ideas, allowing users to quickly find topics by writing down the topic and page number [(00:07:58)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=478s). - The future log helps capture actions and events that will happen in the future, increasing the notebook's searchability [(00:08:11)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=491s). - Each page features page numbers and a page bullet that can be modified to mark a page as complete, in process, important, or all of the above [(00:08:20)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=500s). - The notebook includes three bookmarks in different colors to quickly jump between active pages, such as daily, weekly, and monthly logs [(00:08:39)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=519s). - A sticker sheet is provided to help set up pages for months, calendars, and more, and can be stored in a pocket at the back of the notebook along with business cards, post-it notes, and small pieces of paper [(00:08:49)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=529s). - The additional layers of organization are designed to be visible when needed and invisible when not [(00:09:22)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=562s). ## Throughput - The notebook's throughput is rated differently with and without Bujo's tools and rituals: a standard blank notebook would receive a score of one, while the official [[Bullet journal | Bullet Journal]] notebook with Bujo's tools receives a score of four, striking a balance between built-in benefits and manual effort [(00:09:32)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=572s). ## Distraction-Free Focus - A low-tech solution is preferred for living a more intentional and mindfully productive life, with the key criteria being distraction-free and staying focused on the information at hand [(00:10:13)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=613s). - The digital age offers many ways to tune out, including social media, brain-rotting misinformation, doom scrolling, and endless notifications, which take people further away from themselves and each other [(00:10:27)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=627s). - To tune back in, technology that does not depend on willpower is needed, as relying on willpower to resist distractions from digital devices is unrealistic [(00:10:49)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=649s). - One of the greatest challenges with digital devices is their larger ecosystem, which includes many addictive and distracting apps [(00:10:58)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=658s). - Journaling apps are not used due to the risk of getting sidetracked by other apps on the device, and instead, a notebook is used to create a distraction-free space for reflection [(00:11:21)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=681s). - Notebooks provide a perfect platform for exploring big and important questions, such as what one is thinking, believing, and doing, and whether those things are moving towards or away from the life they want [(00:11:53)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=713s). - Notebooks are rated as a top choice for staying focused due to their simplicity and lack of distractions, providing a canvas for thought with very little else [(00:12:01)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=721s). ## Compute - The concept of "compute" refers to how much technology is being done for the user versus by the user, and finding the right balance is key [(00:12:12)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=732s). - There is a middle ground in using technology to think better, and this involves using "technologies of the mind" such as journaling, meditation, and mindfulness-based stress reduction [(00:12:36)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=756s). - [[Bullet journal | The Bullet Journal]] method is a solution to the problem of forgetting to use these technologies of the mind, as it synthesizes them into a sustainable practice that keeps valuable ideas in play [(00:13:14)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=794s). - The combination of the Bullet Journal (BuJo) operating system with a notebook environment is considered ideal, as it provides a balance of technology that helps with thinking without doing the thinking itself [(00:13:46)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=826s). ## Conscious Computing and Intentional Living - The purpose of conscious computing is to become more aware of what one wants to build, fix, or do, and to prioritize purpose over product in living a more intentional life [(00:14:04)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=844s). - The question of who one wants to be is a deeper question that can be explored through the use of a notebook, which has been a tool for cultivating awareness and intentionality for over 30 years [(00:14:18)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=858s). - [[Bullet journal | The Bullet Journal]] method is considered the most effective technology for living a more intentional life, and it is a tangible tool that strikes a perfect balance [(00:14:52)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=892s). - Writing in a notebook for intentional living allows for the cultivation of conscious awareness of choices and their impact, and provides a blank page to put insights into action [(00:15:24)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=924s). - The act of turning to a new page in a notebook can be a motivating and hopeful reminder that anything is possible, and that one has a say in how their story unfolds [(00:15:38)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=938s). - The notebook prompts consideration of how one wants to live their life, making it a powerful technology for living a more intentional life [(00:15:50)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U24y_QdPDZ4&t=950s).