It's surprisingly true. To the point I noticed that in times of stress, I would simply not look at whatever productivity tool I've been using. I found myself no longer invoke org agendas. No longer opening the paper notebook with tasks. Hell, I found my eyes glazing over the whiteboard with a list of tasks I put there the previous night.

Semi-conscious avoidance is a terrifying thing.

That's an underlying issue (PEBCAK) which can be mitigated with mindfulness. The same could happen with an abundance of p&p notes. Someone who claims it doesn't happen w/their p&p notes, why would it happen with digital ones? Because the storage is easier and accessible (cloud in on your mobile in your pocket)? But an agenda full with notes isn't hard to carry around. My mother has been doing that for ages. She writes her passwords in her agenda, for example, and she still can't find them because its not well-logically mindfully structured. That wouldn't be solved by digitisation. Its PEBCAK all over.

So what is the solution?

I dont know ‘the’ solution but, i can tell you what has been working for me for a year now.

1. Pocket notebook (physical) for this week’s todos and random ideas

2. sticky notes for chores and mindless lists

3 whiteboard for half baked ideas

4. google keep for digital content like images, bookmarks, phone numbers, shared lists

5. Notational velocity with notes organized in Noguchi’s chronological order.

I have a minor tweak in this where i paste sticky notes within the physical notebook so i can move them around.

There is not one solution but I can tell what works for me (and is based on scientific evidence) is mindfulness, exercise, and an anti depressant (Prozac). YMMV.