You can not concentrate? Take a pen
Productivity Inspiration / / December 23, 2019
Many have already forgotten the last time I used a pen and paper, and it is quite clear - to the productivity of the computer will not argue. But do not throw away the pen and notebook on the desktop, because the process of writing itself manually helps clarify thoughts, remember information better and achieve your goals faster. And it's not only his own observations, but also scientifically proven fact.
You know those moments when ideas like spinning somewhere near, but to catch them, and lined up in the right order does not work? You have already written ten times and rubbed some ice, and do not even know where to start.
At such moments, I always save a notepad and pen - after the first sentence, stupor passes and there are ideas that can be transferred to a computer.
We can assume that it is just a habit, and muscle memory - after all we are accustomed from childhood to write manually, even if now you have a print speed of just sky-high, and the handwriting resembles a muffled scribble.
But the scientific studies show that writing by hand, in fact, helps to better focus, and this is due to the peculiarities of the brain.
Concentration on the object
Writing by hand stimulates the reticular formation - a group of neurons and connecting nerve fibers associated with all of the senses and the areas of the cerebral cortex, hypothalamus and spinal cord.
Reticular activating system is a kind of filter for the processes that occur in the brain, distributing them in order of importance, and when you write by hand, this activity becomes priority.
In his book, "Write it and let it happen," Ph.D. Henriette Anne Klauser mentions this mechanism. Writing by hand involves the reticular activating system, which sends signals to the cerebral cortex, "Wake up! Attention! Do not miss the details! "When you write your goal, your brain will work on it, to achieve the desired, and will send you signals about the need for its implementation.
The development of cognitive functions
If you are using a pen and paper to record their ideas, you develop your cognitive function. Dr. Virginia Berniger studying the process of reading and writing, and their connection with the training, found that if the children are used to pen writing texts instead of a keyboard, they perform tasks faster and better, write longer texts and full offers.
The same applies to adults. In one study, researchers found that in the study of new characters, such as Chinese characters, adults remember them much better if instead of typing characters to write them manually.
Berniger noted differences in the brain, when you write something by hand or typing on the keyboard: the first process you write yourself and connect the letters, and in the second only to press the same keys that are written letters. That is, in the process of writing letters, your brain works more actively than when pressing the button.
As a result, you are more concentrated on the subject of writing, you can organize your thoughts and come up with something new.
Of course, completely switch to manual writing as something not important, but to write down their ideas and plans in the notebook can be useful. Also, if you prefer to keep all your information in electronic form, you can combine writing by hand with a computer, for example, using the electronic pen.