Darn You, Autocorrect: Or, Why I Use Pen & Paper

My life is very high-tech in most ways, but there are still a few areas where I prefer a more “Old-school” approach. One of the things I get teased about is my heavy reliance on notebooks: Right now, I have two daily planners, one notebook to keep track of projects, one notebook to write down ideas and information, and two notebooks for my passwords. There are many things that I organize on the computer – you should see my Google Docs lists! – but when it comes to scheduling and keeping track of projects, it’s gotta be on paper for me. I can write down a good idea on paper much faster than I can boot up my phone. Which brings me to…

DYAC, the auto-correct humor site, is one of my favorites for a good laugh – people submit their unfortunate text message autocorrects, and some of them have me literally crying with laughter. (Side note, autocorrect often gives people naughty words by mistake, so the site isn’t for everyone!) Fellow blogger and humorist Robin shared one of her auto-correct stories with me today, and it reminded me of the one and only time I have tried to rely solely on a mobile device to jot down notes. Maybe if I share it here, people will stop giving me such a hard time about my notepads. 😉

So I tried to “Get with it” and use my phone for taking notes while I was at the Safeway Just4U Blogger event, because I forgot my notepad I thought I should give mobile devices a fair shot. After all, it’s supposed to make my life easier, right? So during our session, I pulled out my phone to quickly jot down some information about how Safeway’s new program would work in different areas. Here’s what I ended up with.

As soon as I typed the word “Price points”, my iPhone very helpfully corrected it to say PROTOCERATOPS. You know, the dinosaur?

No, I don’t know why. I’ve never even written that word before, so I’m a little unsure as to why it was in my phone’s dictionary. I managed to fight with the autocorrector and type what I meant to say after the “Protoceratops”. In the time it took me to type 4 words, I could have written at least a paragraph by hand. So, I think I’ll just stick with notebooks. If I have to decode cryptic scrawlings, I’d rather they be my own. 😉