But then comes the pesky addendums to the list about 30 seconds later. “Honey, if
you see the picante salsa, not too spicy, in the jar not the can, that would be
great,” she adds with full confidence that I’ll remember. “They’re right by the
low-salt gluten-free taco chips, you know, with the corn meal and the sea salt
not the regular salt. So, pick up an extra-large bag, not the normal large,” she
adds. “We have people coming over this weekend.”
Uh oh.
I tell myself I better write this list down.
I won’t have time to hit the store until after work and there’s too much time
to forget. In the old days I would have whipped out a pen and Post-It note and
stuck it to the dash of my car. And here’s the funny thing. The Post-It note
would often go missing by the time I got to the store. But since I took the
time to written down each item on the list, it was locked into my short-term memory,
and I usually brought home everything my lovely wife requested.
But now everyone makes fun of my system,
so I try dictating a voice memo to myself and add the request to my task-remind
app. And, more often than not, my grocery run goes sideways and there’s hell to
pay when I get home.
What’s going on?
In
this fast-paced world of AI, digital transcription services and note-taking
apps, it seems like we’d be getting better at remembering things and organizing
our thoughts. But all of this technology may be is making us even more
distracted, less organized and increasingly stressed. Research shows that writing
things down by hand improves retention, clarity and commitment and can also
reduce stress.
Here’s
why.
Writing engages different cognitive processes than typing or mental notetaking
alone. When we write something down, we process information more deeply and
retain it better. A frequently cited
study by Dr. Gail Matthews at Dominican University found that people who
wrote down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them compared to those
who didn't.
The
research found that the act of writing things down in a notebook or a journal
involves more cognitive activity than typing it out on a keyboard or on a
screen. This means that more areas of the brain are activated, and they are
activated more intensely as we write compared to when we type.
There’s also the accountability factor. If we
take the time to write down our goals on paper or on a publicly viewable
whiteboard, we are 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to achieve them.
Then there’s the act of handwriting
itself. a new
study in Frontiers in Psychology suggests that handwriting may be
irreplaceable when it comes to learning. Researchers found that writing by hand
activates far more extensive and interconnected brain networks compared to
typing, particularly in regions linked to memory and sensory processing.
Neuroscientists say that when we write our goals or
intentions down, encoding takes place in our brains. Scientists say encoding affects
the choices we make and how we act in extremely profound ways, even if we’re
not conscious of it.
“As a card-carrying boomer, I
keep a paper diary in addition to my electronic calendar,” admits Cecil Nazareth,
CPA, senior partner of a thriving international tax firm, adjunct professor
at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business and part-time field hockey
couch. Nazareth is one busy guy. But as he describes in his latest book, Making A
Difference, “Some of my staff laugh at me, but the paper diary really
helps prevent me from missing client tax deadlines, teaching assignments and
family obligations. If you write everything down, it won’t slip through the
cracks,” he adds. “There’s just something about writing down an important
assignment or appointment on paper that makes it seem more real and less likely
to be overlooked.”
Minimize distraction and procrastination. Personally, I’ve found that writing
things down by hand won’t tempt you with other distraction like digital devices
do. Swipe into your phone to take a note in your note-taking app and you’ll
find your finger wandering over to the Instagram app. And the Twitter app. Soon
enough, even though you finished typing your note 10 minutes ago, you’re still idling
the hours away on your phone.
Clarity. The human brain has on average 6,000 thoughts per
day.
Putting our thoughts on paper is a powerful form of decluttering.
When we declutter our lives, whether it's our brains, our desk or our garage, we
become more productive. When you write your
thoughts by hand, you can only write one word at a time. Your thoughts slow
down to match your writing speed and you’ll find that it’s easier to slip out
of your overthinking mindset. You’re also forcing yourself to decide what’s most important. But,
if you’re taking notes or writing out to-dos on a screen, there’s literally
endless space to do so; it’s actually pretty easy to mindlessly type out
highlights from a lecture or make a list of every single thing that
you’re thinking about in the moment.
Better attention span. The act of writing by hand requires our full
attention. Because we are fully engaged, our thoughts are less likely to wander
off into tangents. That’s quite rare in this day and age where attention spans
are markedly shorter. Developing the habit of writing by hand will strengthen
your sustained focus and attention muscles. This will help your complete tasks
and become more detail oriented.
Improved productivity. A study published in The
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience showed that
writing by hand improves neural activity in certain parts of the brain,
particularly those associated with focus and attention. In contrast, the ease
of typing can make it tempting to multitask, reducing overall productivity.
Frees up working memory. Our working memory, also
referred to as our short-term memory, is the RAM of our brain. Our brains are
incredible machines, but our RAMs are sadly limited. Unlike our long-term
memory, which is vast, our working memory cannot hold too much information at a
time without freezing up or encountering performance issues. An overburdened
working memory degrades our cognitive function, causing us to make careless
mistakes.
Enhances creativity
and problem solving. There’s a reason why
many creative thinkers—writers, artists, and innovators—still prefer pen and
paper for brainstorming and problem-solving. Writing by hand engages different
neural pathways, often leading to more creative thinking and better solutions.
Stress relief. One of the best ways to quiet a busy and
racing mind is to write things out longhand. Getting our thoughts and feelings
on paper can offer a sense of relief. It can turn our minds from chaotic to
calm in an instant. That is what the concept of writing therapy is all about and it’s extremely
beneficial for our mental health. If you don’t have the time for long-form
writing, you can still engage in some writing therapy by doing periodic brain
dumps. This is one of the things the bullet journal is good for. This is the
process of externalizing our scattered thoughts by writing them down. At a
later time, these brain dumps may be organized into lists or reflections.
In my next post I’ll discuss why writing
on whiteboards is so effective for organizing your thoughts, staying on track
and preserving your sanity.
Conclusion
From enhancing your career, to reducing
stress, to improving your relationships, taking the time to write things down strengthens
your cognitive muscles and makes you more present. Sometimes going slow is the
perfect antidote to this fast-paced world.
Our free
resources have more.
What are you and your colleagues doing to improve your notetaking
and recall? I’d love to hear from you.
#businesswriting, #thoughtleadership, #businesscommunication
#businesswriting, #thoughtleadership, #businesscommunication
Posts
