JLC Online: It’s clear that jobsite management software is here and not going anywhere. Some of these platforms have a monthly payment that can rival a brand new truck. We continue to run our job site with pen and paper for good reason. I have found when you’re initially meeting a client and they are walking you through their needs, wants, expectations, and you pull out a clipboard and start taking notes, it says to them you are engaged, and what they are saying is important.
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In a world that is making daily strides towards digital everything, the value of paper can't be diminished. There have been numerous studies that show that physically writing something down helps with understanding and remembering the information better. The same cannot necessarily be said for typing or creating something on a computer. Additionally, whether you are in class, hearing a presentation, or working on something one-on-one with someone, it shows that you care when they see you writing stuff down on paper. But if you are "taking notes" on a phone or laptop, you could be doing a number of other things are your screen, and the other party will view you as being less engaged. While you are onsite, whether in construction or a theatre, it is definitely easier to be able to hold and manipulate a piece of paper rather than having to view something on a screen. Plus, with the waterproof paper discussed in this article, you don't have to worry about the drafts being damaged from rain if you're outside.
It seems like over the past few years that we are in this liminal space between whether people are still using paper or if they are switching to electronic alternatives. We definitely see this more and more in a drafting world, where nearly no one does any hand drafting anymore, but I agree strongly with the article that calendars and to-do lists are much easier to keep track of when they are hand-written on paper. I love the small 5x7 notepads that have paper you can easily tear away, I think I have 15-20 in my desk at school and even more at my room at home. Using paper makes it much easier for me to remember what I wrote down, and it also is easy to just pin up to my board and have right in front of me until I'm done with it. The only part that gets annoying is when I have so many notes that it starts taking up my whole board and bleeds over onto my desk. I do appreciate having electronic note options, but if it's something important I will always write it down on my notepads so I don't forget.
I’ve recently been experimenting with keeping a small physical notebook with me for production purposes and I have really been enjoying it overall. I’ve often found that only having information logged only online often quickly escapes my brain while when I write it down, my retention increases. It’s also a useful communication tool, often during load-in, strike and prep calls I find myself tearing sheets out of it with task specifics for people which is quicker than them pulling out their personal devices to log information. I’ve also found handwriting things digitally (i.e. on an iPad or tablet) to be useful especially for planning schedules and figuring out specific needs for cable drops and power/data needs. While laptops and computers are incredibly powerful and convenient, sometimes, physical records are the way to go in my opinion. It’s definitely something that’s a person by person choice but I think everyone should try and go with paper for tasks they often do digitally, even once.
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