There are numerous encyclopedias around that list various household items and what other uses they have. But one that’s often overlooked is one that can actually boost your brain power and that’s a simple pen or pencil. Using this every day is a fantastic way to increase your learning speed, creativity and focus in ways that a computer never will.
Here are some little-known facts about how a pen or a pencil can boost your brain power:
- You’re more focused: In today’s society, there are far too many distractions tearing us away from our work. There’s the internet, emails, news bulletins, as well as all the other hustle and bustle that goes on at work or at home, and it’s estimated that is could take up to 23 minutes to fully get back into the swing of things where you left off before you became distracted. By using pen/pencil and paper you’re taking away a great deal of those distractions, leaving you to concentrate far better on the task in hand.
- You learn faster: According to UCLA psychologists, Pam A. Mueller and Daniel M. Oppenheimer, University students perform better in both lab tests and classroom learning when taking notes by hand rather than a computer. And although some of it is down to there being less distraction when writing with a pen/pencil opposed to a computer, it’s also because handwriting itself involves “a process of reflection and manipulation that can lead to better understanding and memory encoding.”
- You’re more creative when using a pen/pencil: Research carried out at the University of Washington confirmed that those children who write essays by hand write far better and faster than those children who use a keyboard. According to Virginia Berninger, the study’s author, “Brain imaging studies with adults have shown an advantage for forming letters or selecting or viewing letters.” This suggests that performance enhancement continues into adulthood.
So, as you can see, there are many reasons why we should all adopt the use of a pen/pencil, at least now and then. Not only will it keep our minds sharp, but it will also remind us of what life was like before all the technology we have today was available. However, I must admit, it’s still nice to have both the pen/pencil and keyboard options to choose from.
Related Links;
- What’s Lost as Handwriting Fades / The New York Times
- For kids, pen’s mightier than keyboard / Futurity
- Work interruptions can cost you 6 hours a day / The Washington Post
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