handwritten notes in scraps of time

why your brain loves lists and creativity doesn't need to be convenient

I read/watched/listened to three different writers this week and they all shared a common message: steal the scraps of time to take notes, jot your thoughts, write the book that’s in your head.

I’m well aware that not everyone wants to be a writer but we know that writing our thoughts - whether you use the term journalling, diarising or morning pages - is a big step towards mental wellness. And in a world as uncertain as ours, I think we need to reach for the habits that simultaneously comfort and bolster us. Words keep us afloat.

The why is simple: the brain has evolved to love patterns and predictability; it why we thrive on routine and rhythm and essentially fall apart when faced with uncertainty. The brain is uncertainty-averse (knowing this helps me better understand myself and that is always a good thing). It makes sense that something as simple and ordinary as a list can relieve mental pressure and aid our memory. The brain loves a dot point and we all know dot points are the simple, orderly boundaries we crave when we’re surrounded by chaos. Dot points are to-do’s and shopping lists and meal plans. They’re life goals, bucket lists and chapter outlines. They are the sensical anchors in a world that often doesn’t make much sense.

I think we all just want to understand what’s going on, don’t we? We want clarity, clear guidelines and an achievable end goal. But we rarely bask in that ease because life is inherently confusing and complicated. And when you live in a house with other people who are growing and learning and figuring out life too, there’s complex life unfurling in every corner and crevice. Absolutely inescapable but also, consistently intriguing. Sometimes it can be so noisy, you can barely hear your own thoughts. But you can write them down.