Distractions are the enemy of productivity, especially when trying to study important content that you need to pass tests or perform advanced tasks. Many schools are banning digital devices and returning to traditional pen on paper and textbooks—citing better student learning and social outcomes. There are many advantages to putting the screen aside and embracing handwritten and printed notes:
Most people understand printed and written text better, and retain more information. Print readers also score higher in other areas (empathy, book immersion, and narrative understanding). One of the most effective ways to study and retain new information is to rewrite your notes by hand. That’s because putting pen to paper stimulates kinesthetic feedback and the brain’s Reticular Activating System (RAS). All people learn better when they perform physical actions with learning and have higher brain engagement. Reading and writing on paper make you smarter.
Digital readers tend to spend more time scanning for keywords than actually processing what they’re reading. With a print book, there’s no chance of getting distracted by links or losing hours on the internet. Study more efficiently with better focus and always remember, “distractions are the enemy of productivity.”
Did you know that a home library is associated with higher academic achievement and income? According to a study of 200,000+ readers from over 40 countries, students who have books at home are more likely to score higher on tests. It doesn’t matter how many books you have, but each additional book helps young people perform better in school. Researchers believe this is because having books at home encourages them to read for fun and talk about what they’ve learned, which only stands to benefit them in the classroom and later in life.
Writing by hand influences cognitive processes to slow you down and forge creativity and new ideas. One study even suggests writing by hand is more strongly linked to emotion processing compared to typing or swiping at a screen. One study found doodles made when note-taking and in periods of studying result in 29% more information retention. If you still want some digital options, consider a smartpen that allows you to write the text in a natural way. Smartpens stores the written contents as it is transferred to display devices.
Paper and pen, like a tree or a doorway, are recognized by your brain as part of the physical environment. Real physical structures are hard-wired to be recognized by your brain as a matter of survival and automatically make it easier for you to retain information and focus more easily.
Paper has high recyclability, carbon storage, and a renewable primary raw material (wood, recycled and alternative fibres). Many phones and their components (batteries, cases etc.) require significant and environmentally damaging resources in their creation, and are often difficult at their end of use recycling.
It is important to remember, different learning strategies work better for different people! Online learning may work best for you and that is okay! No matter the method, we have the best tools to help support your studies.
Check out all the educational tools and in-person seminars available to get the results you’re after!
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