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Have you heard about "The Power of Writing Things Down"?
At first glance, it may seem like a lot of work to write things down, especially when it is sooo easy to store information inside our brains ... right?
Look, when writing things down 2 things are happening within ourselves: external storage & encryption.
The external storage thing is a little easier to explain. By doing this you are saving information in a specific place (for example a notebook or a sheet of paper) and that makes the information easier to be accessed and reviewed. You can put your notebook next to your bed or stick that sheet of paper in front of the bathroom mirror or on the fridge. It doesn't take a neuroscience specialist to know that having daily visual references will make it easier for us to remember what is truly important and sometimes also what is not so important.
Now, this is where things start to get more interesting... There is another more profound phenomenon that occurs as we write called "encoding." Encoding can be described as the biological process by which things that we perceive around us travel to our brain where they are analyzed in an area called the hippocampus. From there our mind proceeds to identify the decisions we make and these are stored in our long-term memory, on the other hand what we do not use or do is discarded. Writing improves the coding process since what we write is more likely to be remembered (even if you do it or not).
During a study evaluating the performance of people during job interviews, they found that note-takers are more likely to recall 23% more details than those who did not take notes.
Although there are academic papers on different official pages (such as Google Academy) where you will find more information and scientific evidence about the power of writing.
In this blog, I want to share a curated list with information that I have collected to share with you and encourage you to use the power of writing things in your favour.
1. Writing things down helps you get the most out of your memory and keep track of your ideas.
When I was little and I forgot something, my mum used to tell me that I was having a chicken brain moment. During my life (yes even my adult life) I have had several moments in which that "chicken brain" makes me look bad!
Sometimes I'm talking with friends or family about a common memory and it turns out that we all remember the event in different ways! Sometimes little details but I have this friend who can't remember the time I welcome her at the end line of her first running race. Anyway, this lack of consistent collective memories is because we all interpret reality in different ways. We all have different filters, values, beliefs, and all of this plays a huge role in the stories we tell ourselves and the stories we tell others. The truth is that our "memory" is not our best ally (especially during those "chicken brain" moments!).
Writing things down helps us remember events in our life more truthfully. And to be completely honest with you, I don't think we can depend 100% on our memory, especially with important things, and if you ask the people around you, you will see that many of us face this same challenge.
Because today we constantly need to look after everything, work, family, partner, home, our needs, our community and many other things… it's only normal to get overwhelmed. We might be at risk of overloading ourselves.
And do you know what the biggest problem is? Information, tasks, distractions and responsibilities will continue to increase and the space in our brain, not to mention the 24 hours we have in a day, will remain the same size.
Writing things by hand is simple, very simple! And at the same time, it is a super powerful way to record everything that needs our attention.
And as I mentioned earlier when I started this blog:
Writing gives us access to that information whenever we need it!
That is why I ALWAYS (yes with a capital letter) encourage my clients to have some kind of written system to help yourself to remember. A journal or bullet journal about your important day/events may be options. The important thing is that you write it on the same day that the event has happened so that you can access all the fresh information.
2. Writing things down helps us to keep our mind clear
Once you have written down everything you have to do, you will notice a feeling of relief, almost as if a weight has been lifted from your back. Even if you haven't done anything at all from what your list. The transition from a state of chaos to a state of the organization will be evident.
I invite you to use this moment to take a deep breath and remember that it is you who is in control, you are now on the way to prioritize and take action.
Be mindful and kind to yourself, remember that we are humans and sometimes it will not be possible to keep several ideas simultaneously in your head. Don't use your mind to remember everything at all times, use the power of your mind to think more clearly.
Having everything written down will allow you to see things with a bigger and better perspective. Writing things down will help you create connections that can help you solve almost any problem.
3. Writing things down will save yourself energy and mental space
As I quickly mentioned in the previous point, writing gives us clarity. Having mental clarity makes it easier for us to use different parts of our brain. By writing, we save vital energy that can be used to plan. This happens because as we write we begin to develop our plans step by step taking into account several key factors.
Did you know, that when you don't occupy your mind with remembering every little detail, like how much fruit to buy at the grocery store or the time of your doctor's appointment, you give yourself the opportunity to manage and reduce stress.
And this is, at least in my opinion, one of the most important reasons of why it's so important to make the most of the secret power of writing things down: saving energy and mental space. It will make you feel calmer and it will be easier for you to feel relax.
In my Instagram posts, I have talked about my own experiences with the consequences of not managing stress so believe me when I tell you that paying some attention to these areas will improve your life.
Writing things down also helps us avoid vicious circles of thought. The result is the same in both cases: valuable resources of our brain been blocked. The solution is again simple: we write down our thoughts and no longer have to be afraid of losing them. Our mind is now free to focus on new tasks.
4. Writing things down is key to get to achieve goals, improve prioritization and establishing intentions
Do you know what is more powerful than clear goals?
Writing them down!
For example, if you write somewhere “start work” you may notice that the language is somewhat vague and has no reference point to be measured. I invite you to return to this page and evaluate how you can make this goal more specific. What specific action (or actions) you need to take to get there, how / when you will know that you are done.
By writing and having options in front of us, we can stare at each of them and evaluate them to make options. That is why I always urge my clients, friends, family and myself to write down goals, priorities and intentions and then ask ourselves these questions:
What resonates with you the most? Are there any (or some) that sound very vague? How can I be more specific? How can I polish this that I have in front of me? Which ones urgently need to be polished? Which ones do I want and have to prioritize? What can you expect for later?
Write your answers!
By writing you can find new insights that bring more clarity and focus to your goal and your life.
5. Writing things down will help you stay motivated
It doesn't matter who you are or what you have accomplished in life if there is one thing many of us know, it is that sometimes motivation (like defined abs) doesn't last unless we work on them! One day you will feel super energetic and motivated to carry out your new project but you will also notice that on occasions you will go through periods in which you feel that you are sinking into a hole of doubts and insecurity ...
I like to describe motivation as a tide and the reason behind that motivation is the moon, controlling the sea levels. I'm going to confess the secret to sustainable motivation: accept that it is something you must constantly work on! Feed your moon so that your moon can guide the force of your seas.
The most important goals we have we must write them down to stay focused. Also, write why you are behind that goal. Remember the "big picture". It does not matter if you write it on your cell phone, if you paste it on your refrigerator door or if it is printed on the cover of your daily notebook. Keep your goal and your "why" visible every day.
A written goal is a powerful reminder that you can use to stay on track when you feel stressed.
Personally, I like to leave reminders in different places, the computer, cell phone, social networks and even around my house. Messages like “Is this useful? What is the most important thing I can do now? " “What else can you do to get there?”… Be inspired to be inspired throughout your day.
8. Writing things down will push you to take more sustainable actions and to move forward
Before trying to improve ourselves, our thoughts or our actions… .. the first step we must take is to evaluate our current situation. By writing things down and having a record of what we have done, what we thought about, and what we plan to do. This helps us reflect on what has worked and what has not. By weighing our strengths and weaknesses and identifying how we invest our time and energy
As Aristotle Onassis said:
Remember to always have a notepad. Write everything ... That's the million dollar lesson that they don't teach you in business school!
Do you still need to read more to convince yourself that writing things down will help you make better decisions? Here I share with you 10 leaders who use the power of writing things in their favour:
Richard Branson, entrepeneur and founder of Virgin Group
David Allen, author of Getting Things Done
Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek
Oprah, billionaire, entrepreneur, mentor and among other things she is also the host of her show for tv and internet Oprah Winfrey Show
JK Rowling, novelist and Author of Harry Potter
Hal Elrod, Author of The Miracle Morning
Robin Sharma, writter and leadership trainer
Michael Hyatt, Author of Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World
7. Writing things down will help you identify new process and rethink your emotions
Today it seems like everyone is super busy, but unfortunately being busy is not as good as our society might makes us think. It leads to stress, anxiety and even other serious health problems.
In fact, according to the American Medical Association, stress is the root cause of more than 60% of all human diseases and ailments. Fortunately, writing things down is one way to help significantly reduce all of that: writing things down.
By putting our emotions and ideas in writing, we can process our thoughts (whether positive or negative) and feelings at a much deeper level than just thinking about it. It is also a form of release or therapy when you feel angry, depressed, or overwhelmed.
Sometimes when my husband and I have a disagreement (like any normal couple haha) I like to take a few minutes to write the things that I have in my head using the free writing method and "throw up" with the pen and paper. After doing this I feel in a more balanced place where my ideas are organized and ready to explain how I feel and also to really listen to accept what the other person has to say.
8. Writing things down you will get to know yourself and what is around you better while improving the long term focus on what really matters to you
By writing things down, you help yourself uncover problem areas and get back on track to where you really want to be in the long run.
You can keep a journal and write down your ideas every day, perhaps before bed. A journal is ideal so that over time you can recognize positive and negative aspects in your patterns of thoughts and actions. Maybe you recognize something you want to change or something that makes you feel great. The main purpose of keeping a journal is to document things that you generally don't pay enough attention to.
Picture by Hannah Olinger in Unsplash
To continue inspiring you, I want to share these 2 phrases that inspire me and that have a lot to do with this topic:
“When you write down your ideas you automatically focus your full attention on them. Few if any of us can write one thought and think another at the same time. Thus a pencil and paper make excellent concentration tools.” Michael Leboeuf
“Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable.” Francis Bacon, Sr.
I know that for a lot of people plans and priorities have had to change this year. There have been lots of compromises and sacrifices, and for many people, things are still up in the air. BUT… that doesn’t mean you’re completely out of control.
For lots of my clients this has been an opportunity to reflect and really figure out their life goals. That’s where I help. As a transformational coach, I give you the tools to really figure out what you want to achieve and help you with a practical plan to getting there.
2020 can still be the year you took realistic, proactive steps to make changes in your life.
Are you interested in committing and taking action? Book a free exploration call to evaluate your option!