CARRY A NOTEBOOK & PEN
In the age of digital devices, there’s something magical about uncomplicated tools. They don’t carry the same “static” that seems to surround phones, tablets, and computers.
A simple pair of pen and paper give you the freedom to think clearly to write the thoughts or draw the images in your head without the interference of the thousands of texts, emails, and push notifications desperately pulling at your attention. Take a step back to where none of that mattered; a time when people could bleed ink onto a tangible page with unmatched focus.
This habit is fairly simple: just make a pen and paper part of your walking-out-the-door collection of items to grab. Then, when time allows, put everything else away and try writing things down.
Don’t get me wrong… Having a phone that has the ability to record your notes-to-self or access your calendar is life-changing. What I’m advocating here is to keep a small (or large) notebook and a pen or pencil in your bag, your car, your desk, or just your pocket so that sometimes, you can turn off the digital noise and focus on that little blank page that carries so much potential.
Keep a journal, write a letter, begin a novel, compose a sonnet a song, sketch a masterpiece, or just doodle those little 3D cubes we used to draw when we were bored in high school. Our brains spend so much time “connected” that sometimes you just need to let the noise fade away in order to come back to neutral.
With paper, what you write doesn’t need to sync to the cloud or maintain its batteries just to exist. The simple act of writing things down or drawing things out makes them exist. You can scan the page later if you try to live a paperless life. Or you can just write a little note to the universe, tear it out of your notebook, and burn it to let those ideas drift away into the wind. Just do it safely.
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