Going Old-School: Why Top Achievers Shun Digital Tools for Productivity.

If you listen to interviews with incredibly productive people, you will notice that most of them are not using many digital tools to organise their work. Yes, they use a digital calendar, which makes sense as it solves a particular problem.

Before the digital revolution, we needed to carry around a diary. If you were fortunate enough to have an assistant, they needed a copy of your diary to know where you were on specific days. The digital calendar solved that by allowing assistants and family members to access their calendars.

Beyond that, very few are using the plethora of digital notes or task managers available today. Christian Horner, CEO and Team Principle of Red Bull Racing, carries around a leather-bound A4 notebook (and Mont Blanc pen), taking notes and presumably writing out his to-dos for the day. Red Bull’s Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey, is rarely seen without his red notebook.

David Allen, the father of the modern productivity movement, still collects ideas, notes and to-dos using his notetaker wallet and, when at his desk working, will more likely scribble down a thought, idea, or to-do on a notepad on his desk for processing later than adding it to his digital task manager directly.