In today’s digital age, there’s little need to buy planners or calendars—almost everything is available on your phone. Still, some people won’t give up a good old-fashioned diary for keeping track of their plans.
According to calendar communications platform ECAL, 70 percent of 1,000 respondents rely most on a digital calendar to manage their lives, while 28 percent use a journal or planner instead.
While it may seem easier and more efficient to have everything on the device that never leaves us, for some people like Jolie Lennon, 40, there’s no appeal to a digital planner.
Personality Traits Linked to Handwriting Enthusiasts
Describing herself in a few words, Lennon, an actress based in London, said: “I am creative and like the art of writing. I also enjoy physical things. I am a maximalism.
“I like to be in control but also love spontaneity.”
Clinical psychologist Dr. Ashleigh Powell told Newsweek that people who enjoy writing by hand may have certain personality traits, including:
- Conscientiousness
- General reflectiveness
- Creativity
“Reflective individuals may enjoy writing by hand to slow their thoughts down to make sense of them. Those who enjoy laying out their thoughts or plans, colour coordinating or making notes may prefer this method,” she said.
Why some people still prefer paper
“I don’t want to be dependent on my phone,” said mom-of-one Lennon. But that doesn’t mean paper planner users are anti-technology, explained Powell, co-founder of Regal Private Therapy Practice in the Harley Street Medical District of London.
“I don’t think paper diary users are behind the times; if anything, I have noticed a modern counter-movement towards using pen and paper,” Powell told Newsweek.
In 2024, Norwegian researchers found that handwriting is better for brain connectivity, meaning it could improve memory while studying.
Powell shared her own experience: “I personally keep both a digital and pen-and-paper diary. The digital diary helps with all my appointments, meetings, reminders for months in advance, whereas I review my paper diary at the start of each week to focus on the week ahead and a particular day.
“The paper diary helps me slow down, think clearly, organize which tasks are the priority of the day and to stay intentional.”
‘Everything Is Immediate’
Lennon agrees that writing plans down—and mostly leaving her planner at home—allows her to take a different approach to making plans.
She said: “These days, everything is immediate, but I try not to subscribe to knowing everything immediately. Before we had phones, you had to wait until you got home to check your calendar, and that’s exactly what I do now.
“I like that I must chill out when it comes to making plans and I can’t instantly say yes to something.”
It takes only a few seconds to check a digital calendar, but Lennon doesn’t see that as an advantage.
“Losing my planner would be the only disadvantage,” she said.
Do Paper Planner Users Follow Through More?
Are paper planner users more likely to follow through on tasks or habits? Powell said it depends on the person.
“What works for one person may not work for another, as we are all unique with different brain chemistry,” she said.
In 2020, one study found that students who wrote clearer and more detailed plans for how they’d reach their goals earned about 22 percent more academic credits than students who didn’t.
Powell added: “Psychological research does suggest that when you physically write down a task or a goal, your brain recognises it as more meaningful (known as the generation effect). Because of this, we may be more likely to remember the task or feel more committed to it.”
That rings true for Lennon, who writes her goals down in a fresh book at the start of every year.
She said: “Because it’s in my hand, it feels like I’ve made a commitment – not just typed something that I will forget about on my phone.
“I’m also not tempted to get sucked into another app when writing in a diary. It’s so easy to pick up your phone for a purpose and then end up scrolling on social media.”
Powell emphasized that paper calendars can support productivity too.
“There may be fewer opportunities for distraction,” she said. “The very action of crossing off a task can give the brain a little hit of dopamine which reinforces that sense of achievement and makes us more likely to keep completing further tasks.”
Reference
Berkman, Elliot T. “The Neuroscience of Goals and Behavior Change.” Consulting Psychology Journal, vol. 70, no. 1, Mar. 2018, pp. 28–44. PubMed Central, https://doi.org/10.1037/cpb0000094.
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