Why Writing Matters...

You might’ve heard that it’s National Stationery Week this week (24^th April – 30^th April 2017). And yes, it’s a big deal.

In such a technology-dominant era, using pens and pencils might seem pointless (I’ll save my broken pencil joke for later) But I can assure you, hand-writing is just as important as that mobile device you have sitting next to you. Why, you ask? Let me explain:

1.       There’s a feeling of joy writing by hand

What do you do when you get given a new pen from a colleague or supplier? Well, some of you might just place it in your drawer for when it is needed. However, if you’re anything like me you’ll drop everything you’re doing and write anything you can to give the pen a ‘test run’. For some reason this gives us joy, especially seeing your text so perfectly written on the fresh piece of notebook paper. Don’t get me wrong, writing text messages and note-taking on your mobile device can be quick and easy, but choosing a fancy font on your phone will never be the same as creating your own font by hand.

2.       It can calm the brain

Picture this, you’re typing up those important notes on your mobile device in a room full of silence, with nothing to distract you. And then out of nowhere, you hear that notification ping come through, telling you that Sandra has posted yet another picture of her evening meal onto the Facebook news feed. Whether you read the notification or not, you are now eager to know what Sandra has cooked up today, which has now entirely preoccupied your mind. My point is, your mobile device can be incredibly distracting when trying to concentrate, especially if you’re in the middle of writing up some important notes for work. Whereas, putting your phone on silent and using a pen and paper is somewhat calming in comparison. You can just get on with it, quicker and simpler, giving you the opportunity to escape the world of technology for a short amount of time.

3.       Writing is part of our daily lives

Even though we live in a digital world, most of us still write in some way every single day. We keep notes in meetings, we jot down reminders to ourselves and we leave messages for others. No matter how many devices you have in your office or home, you will always find that a pen is the object we would instantly go for when jotting down notes, writing down a shopping list or writing a birthday card. I think the sense of ease for hand-writing is why we would always choose a pen rather than a mobile device. We are also more likely to remember something we write down by hand than something we write using our phones.

4.       It can stimulate creativity

If you’re a designer and blog-writer like me, being creative is key for a successful working day. Even though sometimes it’s hard to find inspiration, I will always find myself writing down ideas with different coloured pens into my notebook. I find that using different colours and different styles of pens bring out new and inspired ideas, along with pretty-looking drafts on my notebook paper.

From a different perspective, today’s stationery market is driven by colour and design. For example, you are more likely to enjoy writing if your pen looks unique and ‘fancy’. Design-focused pens (and other stationery) are known to encourage people to write, and this will most definitely stimulate a creative mind!

All in all, the message couldn’t be clearer. If this week of celebrating stationery teaches you anything, it should be to keep writing, and spread the word.

And to finish that all off, do you want to hear a joke about a broken pencil?

Never mind, it’s pointless.

(Blogger by day, comedian by night.)