7 Smart Ways Paper Can Make Your Day More Productive

A lot of the world may be digital, but paper can still boost productivity in your daily routine in unexpected ways. Paper can actually help make reaching the goals on your to-do list easier. Check out a few reasons going analog can make your day even more productive.

1. WRITING LONGHAND MIGHT BE MORE STIMULATING THAN TYPING.

If you do most of your composing on a laptop, you might be missing out on a key benefit of writing your work or your thoughts down on paper. Studies have shown that writing with ink stimulates the Reticular Activating System (RAS), the area of the brain that filters information. By writing on paper, you might find yourself concentrating more.

2. IT MAKES OFFICE SHARING EASIER.

Office notes, memos, and documentation are often passed around via email or a shared-space cloud system, but there’s a benefit to passing out hard copies. Printed documents can be marked up easily and scanned more quickly than scrolling through pages on a screen.

3. A PAPER PLANNER MIGHT BE SUPERIOR.

Cell phones offer a variety of apps to keep track of your event calendar, but that can be as much a burden as a benefit. Spread across multiple apps, you need to open different icons for appointments, note-taking, or work events. A paper planner removes that shuffling, allowing you to jot down ideas, reminders, and dates in one easy package. Even if you’re committed to a monthly digital calendar, having a quick-reference paper source for the upcoming week can help you keep things straight.

4. IT’S USUALLY FASTER.

The speediest Wi-Fi and most responsive texting keyboard still pale in comparison to writing by hand, which offers no barrier between the tip of your pen and paper. For taking notes or jotting down thoughts that don’t need to be emailed or communicated, having a notebook handy could save minutes—and cumulatively, hours—off your work shifts.

5. IT REDUCES DISTRACTIONS.

Tech devices can do pretty much everything, which means they also have an infinite number of ways of distracting you. A notebook or notepad will never interrupt your thoughts with a call or notify you of incoming texts, allowing you to focus on the task at hand.

6. YOU MIGHT LEARN MORE ON PAPER.

Studies have demonstrated that college students taking notes on paper instead of typing them on a laptop tend to retain more information. It’s believed that the act of writing and interpreting content instead of rote transcription leads to more knowledge retention.

7. PAPER IS A VISUAL REMINDER.

While email alerts can be ignored or forgotten, paper documents, bills, and other materials are tangible reminders of your commitments. Keeping them on your desk can be a visual push to get things done.

Paper can help make your day more efficient and productive, but its benefits don’t stop there. To learn more about what paper can do for you, visit howlifeunfolds.com/productivity.

Sources: Mental Floss, Staples, The New York Times, ToDoist, PBS, Forbes.