The Case for the Handwritten Note

For many of us, writing out Christmas cards is the most handwriting we do all year. Wrist pain and eye strain aside, I believe there's a deep personal connection created in that moment of thought transfer, from mind, to pen, to heart.

Years ago, when I was in pharmaceutical sales, I'd visit about 10 doctors a day. Every Friday night, I hand wrote a thank-you note to each of them, about 50 a week. The notes themselves were brief, but writing them forced me to recall each visit. More often than not, it gave me clarity about the conversation that I'd use as intel for my next visit.

The spirit of that habit has stuck with me. In today's world of Zoom calls, we can record every conversation and let AI document what was said and pull out the key points. Forget handwritten notes. Plenty of people aren't even typing notes anymore, trusting the technology to do it for them. Is there a benefit to that? Sure. But whether it's because old habits die hard or because my mind happens to learn more through the physical act, I still depend on (and enjoy) my chicken scratch on paper. When I reflect on a meeting, I might rewatch the recording or read the AI summary, but it's the key phrases, single words and sentiment I jotted down by hand that usually give me the most insight.

There's science behind it, too. As Fast Company explains, writing by hand engages the brain differently than typing, especially when it comes to processing and remembering information. One well-known 2014 study found that students who took notes by hand understood the material better than those who typed, because they couldn't write fast enough to copy everything word for word and had to put it in their own words instead. Maybe that's part of why so many of us turned to hobbies like gardening during the pandemic lockdowns. When life moved onto screens, we craved something we could work through with our hands.

Technology can do a lot for us, but we're still emotional and physical beings. So whether it's cards, notes, classroom study or putting your family's secret Christmas cranberry recipe on paper, pen to paper still has its place. Just don't judge my penmanship.