The password book, done properly

Paper gets a bad name, but a book in a drawer at home can't be hacked from the other side of the world. The trouble is usually how it's kept: passwords scribbled on whatever page was open, old ones crossed out three times, and no way to find anything.

One account per page

Give every account its own page, with the name of the service written clearly at the top. Write on one side only and leave the back of each page blank, so every account has a clean page to itself. Then on each page note:

• The website or app it's for
• The email address or username you sign in with
• The password, written in pencil so you can update it
• The date you last changed it
• Any recovery details, such as which phone number the codes go to

Keep it sensible

Keep it at home, somewhere a visitor wouldn't stumble on it, and don't label the cover "Passwords". Tell one trusted person where it is. If you also use a password manager, the book is a good place for the one password that unlocks everything else.