This Notebook Transformed My Tasks

Should you use a digital task manager app – or is it better to use a notebook? Ryder weighs the pros and cons of his analog Bullet Journal practice vs. the power of a digital todo list app.

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[DataTranslator]

I admire Ryder’s humble confidence. He knows his methods work, but never claims they are the only solution.
That state of mind is inviting, realistic, and practical.

Following BUJO’s practices and rituals has helped to recover a purposeful way of living; that I had lost due to anxiety and depression.

[youvegotwings]

"We are not limitless" so so important to remember that. My digital task manager is a way for me to delegate my brain (so to remind me of things), but to actually plan my day, nothing beats pen and paper

[jl]

I fell in love with Bujo right away, but on the other hand, I was always wondering how it could realistically integrate seamlessly with my digital calendar and to-do lists. This series answers all of that very well. love it, thanks!

[BelIa]

I was always wondering how you use your bullet journal in combination with digital tools like calendars. First filtering and prioritizing everything on paper and only then putting it in the calendar seems like an obvious choice now that you explained it. Thank you so much for finally solving that mystery. I will definitely try your approach.

[ceciliagarcia]

OMG you read my mind, I was in a mental loop today asking and debating with a friend these topics, our conclussion was "we will never leave our bujo". Thank you for so much Ryder

[prlgy]

This is pure gold, I'm so grateful for your capacity to explain crucial ways of setting up the systems, and for your clarity and conciseness! Thank you so much Ryder!

[HPB]

The most calm and under control my life was was back in 2017 when I first started the Ryder's Bullet Journal method as a busy wife, mum, daughter and medical professional working shifts with many features of ADD. The BJM completely changed my life as it clears your mind, worries and honestly, I believe it to be a form of self care and therapy. I fell off the wagon as the covid years knocked me for six and I've been pretty broken since but I'm getting back on that bullet train ASAP. I have bought one of the dotted journals which are the best. I would highly recommend trying this. I will be using it together with my Google Calendar which is synced with my family. We will all be better off by using the Bullet Journal method rather than all the apps which I have tried over and over and make me more stressed. Thank you Ryder.

[youtubeaccount]

I feel like I don’t have a minute to myself between kids bouncing on the bed at 6am until after the dishes are washed at 8pm. At work I don’t get to choose what I do, yet still have to remember to do it. In my last 2 hours of being awake, I like to spend time with my partner, and feel like taking the time out here to indulge in introspection and slow-productivity is just that: an indulgence. I often feel like the zero-friction, quick-entry nature of a digital task manager is all that stands between me and ruination!

But I know these are all just feelings, and not necessarily accurate. I’d love to hear you speak on this topic as I’m sure you’ve felt the same from time to time.

[angelaharris]

I'm going back to watch your other videos. Love this! Just what I need to do. Thank you!

[Sypeth]

Analog planning is such a great tool for ADHD… I check my to do list on my phone and 1 hour later I still watch instagram reels ! 🤦🏻‍♀️ As much as possible I stay away from my phone to check something. However Siri is my best friend because if I think of something it’s now or never so Siri records it in the inbox and then I check the inbox and decide what to do with what’s in there. I use reminders on my phone when I need to do something at a certain time, both are very useful to me. Now if someone has a tool to resolve the ADHD procrastination that prevents me from actually doing the tasks ! 😂

[wowkekejmejjdneejenenhdht]

I really appreciate this video a lot! It's so true that convenience can become all too normal and yet we end up breaking past our limits. I love how a pen and paper approach can keep you accountable and realistic with what to do! It's such a great point that we should focus on what we need to do rather than what can seemingly be done all the time. Thanks very much for going through how paper and digitalism can coexist and continue to work! :)

[SunshineGrove]

I can appreciate all you are saying and of course, I come from old school, pen/pencil and paper.
SO old school, that I still use a paper agenda - regardless..
But BOY would I love an iPad right now..
saving up for one..
Yet when you start to have joint issues or chronic illnesses.. those tasks list digital managers can really save us for when we are in flares or our hand/finger joints are in pain..(as we can use voice to text).
It would be interesting to hear the perspective of others who have chronic illnesses and how it can be more beneficial for them. (probably have to go find a creator that does that. ☺).

[Andrew-dgqm]

Yes, conscious creation. And energy management. Not time management or task management.

We don’t know how we’ll feel. Whether we’ll have the energy to do the tasks we’re assigned ourselves or not matters. Sometimes we don’t assign tasks wisely. Some tasks drain us. Sometimes we write down tasks that don’t need to get done and don’t know it yet. And when we have clarity and realize that we didn’t need to do it we just needed to write it down.

He’s right - our lives are not never ending “to do” lists. So why treat them they way. I don’t believe AI can better organize my list. That’s one thing I’m not delegating

[ashleyw]

I am reading Building a Second Brain,
I highly recommend along with bullet journaling

[carlotatoledo]

Amazing video with powerful messages and reminders for why analog planning is so critical.I am sharing this video with my planner bestie and my law students ASAP. Thank you for sharing your Words of Wisdom (WOW). Keep them coming!

[csikomas]

Ryder, I don’t even think our eyeballs and brains are meant to be on computers and staring at screens for so long each day, day after day, or our ears to be plugged with ear buds for hours per day. With analog our brain engages how it’s meant to, our eyes and brains aren’t being assaulted with colors, images and having to make constant micro decisions. Look here, look there. It’s overwhelming. No one can admit it. Everyone is going with the electronic flow. I’d like to see Analog more encouraged in the workplace. When I worked I had A5 journals provided by the company and I kept on top of everything in a bullet style method for years. I never lost, or forgot or missed much. Flipping back through a journal puts you back to that time, that conversation, the nuance. Scratching off tasks is the best for mind and soul at work. Having your sequential hard bound books, your work history as a collection is a sound practice. You can’t get this from electronic anything. What’s old is new again. ❤️ yeah bujo!

[ChickensBarbie]

BuJo keeps me sane ❤ I haven’t been productive since I discovered this method

[Jamiebmurray]

Ryder I think you have a marvellous gift of teaching and communicating. Thanks for your you tube content your book and guidance.

[katwow]

I really like the concepts of bullet journaling. I have previously used Franklin planner (another paper approach with theory behind it) and several digital apps. I am no longer analog, so I have taken the things that work for me from bullet journaling into MS OneNote (although its competitors are equally good: Google Keeps and Goodnotes being the largest). These digital note keepers give me the flexibility that apps do not. They have several advantages (for me) over paper. First, being on my phone, tablet, computer and Internet, I always have access and do not have to carry a journal when I normally have my phone anyhow. It automatically syncs between all my devices. Second, I do not need the hard linking in BJ, as the digital note keepers allow almost infinite page sizes and the ability to reshuffle your organization easily. Overall, I totally agree that planner apps are constrictive.

[Matthewwithers]

I have ADHD and I have learned that if I put notes or tasks in my phone I never go back and check them or get them done, however if I write them physically I remember it later and can go back and check, I even wrote down a note to get my trucks oil changed and because I hand wrote it I still remember to do it Saturday, if it were in my phone I would completely forget it 😅