Jan 25

Jan 25 The Importance of Writing It Down

Clutter and disorganization are two things that I can no longer tolerate.

I say no longer because I remember the exact point when I made a conscious decision to organize my life a little bit more. It was my Junior year in college and finals were coming up, I had a million projects, birthdays, events I wanted to remember to attend, family obligations and a million other little things which were piling up fast.

People have always told me the importance of writing stuff down. By this I mean, quite literally, purchasing a notebook, planner, scrapbook, or even sketch book that you feel suits you or your character and writing down all the stuff you have to do, things you want to remember, and even positive thoughts or occurrences that you can look back on and smile.

I know this doesn’t seem like a revolutionary idea, and to this tech savvy generation might even sound boring as f*ck, but I want you to trust me when I say that this simple and seemingly archaic act is a game changer.

Personally, in the midst of my chaotic frenzy of disorganization I called a friend and demanded that we head over to my favorite local book shop Diwan, in order to buy a yearly planner. I had one in mind due to a couple of friends having recommended it at the time and several snaps of said notebook showing up on my feed, so I bought myself my very first official Planit.

I know there are a million ways to do this, but I found that this notebook was perfect for me. With spacious page dividers, calendars, space to brainstorm, empty pages and goal setting prompts; I was sold. This was in 2015.

Last week, I bought my third Planit for 2017 and this method has never failed me since. Granted you get better at writing shit down as time goes on, and with every year you appreciate being able to look back at a thick, crumpled, ink ridden book of accomplishments, challenges, to-do lists and little photos and stickers flailing out the edges.

Before using a daily planner regularly, I used to write things down in my notes, fill my iCal for a month then forget to ever look at it and scribble little reminders on the corner of my coffee receipt which would then be shoved into the black hole that is the bottom of my hand bag.

There is scientific proof and studies conducted that show evidence in favor of physically write something down; the idea is that you are more likely to register it in this way. So this year I invite you all to go back to being a little old school, and practice writing things down, even for a week.

Somehow you’ll find that much more fulfillment in adding a tick, cross, or whatever you choose next to that thing you finally managed to get done after months and months of “I’ll get to that later.”