We live in a world where we cannot function without technology – phones, tablets, laptops, etc. Everything we could ever want is literally at our fingertips. Amazing huh? But what ever happened to the old school pen and paper? It’s time to swap digital for paper (no I’m not telling you to get rid of your phone). Here are 5 reasons why you should pull out that paper and get writing!
1. Handwriting helps clear your mind
Ever felt like you’ve forgotten something, yeah I know you have. Being an adult can be stressful as fuck. The stress of trying to remember appointments, meetings, social events, exercising and the rest can be extremely overwhelming. If you brain dump everything in your mind onto paper, it’s like an instant release. From there you can start to plan and schedule all the tasks into your week. Being able to visualise you week planned out will make you feel so much more organised and ready. That’s why writing things down is so important when it comes to clearing your mind.
Yeah, yeah! I know, “But you can just do all of that on your phone.” I understand that. We use our phones for everything. Our brains are so overstimulated with notifications, social media, games, emails, messages, and whatever else you use your phone for. How many times have you written a note in your phone, only to be scrolling through three months later to realise you forgot to do that thing. This is why I believe it’s time to swap digital for paper and get all the shit outta your mind so you feel clearer and more in control.
2. Science Doesn’t Lie – You’re More Likely to Remember
Have you noticed how you can go into auto-pilot while typing, because it’s happening so fast. Note-taking on paper might not be that fast, but it will help you maintain focus making it easier to retain information. When you physically write something down, whether it’s your goals, something you need to remember or jobs you need to get done, by physically writing it down you are much more likely to remember it.
Mark Murphy wrote an article about how neuroscience explains why you need to write down your goals if you actually want to achieve them. Neuropsychologists say “individuals demonstrate better memory for material they’ve generated themselves than for material they’ve merely read.” For example, there was a study carried out at Princeton/UCLA that proves when you hand write notes, you’re actually using more of your cognitive skills by processing the information in a way that you can easily understand and this boosts your memory. If that isn’t enough incentive to swap digital for paper, then I don’t know what is. I mean, we’d really like to be able to remember way more. Imagine how helpful that would be!
3. Is Your Handwriting Legible?
I had to earn my ‘pen licence’ at primary school. Now, some of you may be too young to know what the hell that even means. Basically, it is exactly what it sounds like. You had to write with a pencil , until your handwriting was neat enough to write with a pen. I even got a certificate (yay me!). Some of you never had to get your pen licence and it shows. Some of you have some real chicken-scrawl handwriting. So it’s time to swap digital for paper sometimes! Not only will your handwriting improve over time, but it encourages creativity and doodling during downtime. Fun fact: adult colouring is an amazing stress reliever.
4. It Boosts Productivity and Efficiency
Do you procrastinate? Are you easily distracted? Are you having trouble getting started with something? Don’t stress – we are all guilty of this at times. Grabbing a pen and paper and writing down your list of things to do for the week will make you more aware of how you are spending your time. It allows you to clear your mind by removing distractions and allowing you to organise your time and focus on the task at hand. Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, so schedule your time wisely in your planner to ensure you have the most productive weeks ever.
5. Satisfaction Guaranteed
Tell me crossing off a to-do list isn’t the most satisfying feeling ever. Whether you tick, cross or highlight your completed tasks, it feels like such an achievement to be able to physically check off everything you had to do today. Personally, I’m a highlighter girl, but whatever works for you. Swap the digital for paper, write out your to-do list and each time you complete one your tasks (no matter how big or small they may be) cross them out. Writing things down can give us a sense of achievement and progress, which increases our productivity. Feeling productive enhances our productivity, creating a healthy cycle in our life. Kind of like a good habit.
Swap Digital for Paper Right Now
Writing is such a creative power and if we choose to use this power, we can achieve some pretty cool things. If you don’t already, then you should give it a go. It’s time to swap digital for paper. You might not have the neatest handwriting ever, but it doesn’t matter when there are so many other benefits to writing things down on paper. Who wouldn’t want a clearer mind, better memory and increased productivity and efficiency, just to name a few.
Happy writing!
Alana x