1 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:06,880 Speaker 1: Welcome to How I Work, the show about the tactics 2 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: used by leading innovators to get so much out of 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,559 Speaker 1: their day. I'm your host, doctor Amantha Imba. I'm an 4 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: organizational psychologist, the CEO of Inventium, and I'm obsessed with 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,640 Speaker 1: finding ways to optimize my work day. Today's show is 6 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 1: another mini episode where I share some interesting research about 7 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 1: how you might be able to improve the way you work. 8 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 1: So a few years ago, I largely abandoned paper notebooks, 9 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 1: despite being someone that has an unhealthy love of stationery shops. 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 1: I travel a lot, and so anything that adds weight 11 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:42,240 Speaker 1: to my bag needs to justify its space, and given 12 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,600 Speaker 1: I take all my notes on ever note I felt 13 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: that bringing a notepad with me was kind of redundant. 14 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 1: But I recently stumbled upon some research that made me 15 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: go out and buy a moleskin and also some pens 16 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: and high letters and pencils and a few other things. 17 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: Now here are the mainerieson is why you should schedule 18 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: a trip to a local stationary store. First off, your 19 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:08,679 Speaker 1: recall is better when you write things down as opposed 20 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: to type them out. Research from Princeton University and the 21 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: University of California has shown that taking notes by hand 22 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: in a notebook leads to better recall of the content 23 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:23,000 Speaker 1: compared to typing those notes on a laptop. In general, 24 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 1: when we take notes on a laptop, we tend to 25 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 1: do so robotically and type things out for betim But 26 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: when we write notes out by hand, we mentally process 27 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: the information much more effectively. So if you're attending a 28 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 1: meeting or a lecture or something else where, recalling what 29 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:43,680 Speaker 1: you learn is important, leave your devices behind and just 30 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 1: bring a notebook in pen. Your brain will thank you 31 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: for it now. The second reason is that when we 32 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: use a notepad rather than a computer, we cut out 33 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: distractions because one of the great things about paper is 34 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: that it doesn't constantly distract us by flashing notifications us 35 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 1: and even if we don't respond to those notifications, they 36 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: have a big impact on our ability to think. So 37 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,720 Speaker 1: research from the University of London has shown that when 38 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 1: we are bombarded with distractions and notifications such as incoming 39 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 1: emails and calls, we lose an average of ten IQ points, 40 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 1: and this is if we don't give in to them 41 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: and keep on working. Now, third, it's impossible almost to 42 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,640 Speaker 1: multitask when you're using paper. Now. I used to be 43 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: a chronic multitasker, and I hate to think how many 44 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:33,960 Speaker 1: times I would hit command tab on my MacBook to 45 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,639 Speaker 1: switch applications. But when I came across research that showed 46 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:40,960 Speaker 1: just how much this was affecting my productivity, I stopped 47 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:45,079 Speaker 1: that quick smart because research conducted into task switching, which 48 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: is basically what multitasking is, has demonstrated that the simple 49 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: act of constantly switching tasks costs us up to forty 50 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 1: percent of time, and switching to paper for projects that 51 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:59,520 Speaker 1: involve writing, thinking, or brainstorming can be a really effective 52 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,839 Speaker 1: way to come a single tasker, because, after all, it's 53 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:07,919 Speaker 1: pretty tricky to switch applications when you're writing in a notepad. Now, finally, 54 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:09,920 Speaker 1: the final benefit I want to talk about today is 55 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: that notepads don't give you insomnia. So let me explain 56 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: what I mean by that. If you happen to be 57 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 1: a working parent, you probably hop back on at least 58 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:20,919 Speaker 1: one of your devices to pump out a bit more 59 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:23,520 Speaker 1: work or maybe some Facebook time after the kids are 60 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:26,240 Speaker 1: in bed, and even if you don't have kids. This 61 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:28,119 Speaker 1: is a habit that a lot of people have got 62 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: into now. While this might feel productive, it's actually making 63 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: it harder for you to get a good night's sleep. 64 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: You've probably heard that the blue light emitted from screens, 65 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: whether that be your smartphone, tablet, or a laptop, messes 66 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: with your sleep hormones. So research from Harvard University has 67 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: demonstrated that exposure to blue light suppresses the production of malatonin, 68 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: which is the hormone responsible for making us feel sleepy 69 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 1: at nighttime. So if you're trying to squeeze in a 70 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: couple more hours of work switching to a notebook, make 71 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: sure that your sleep doesn't suffer. And now, while this 72 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 1: podcast isn't sponsored by your local stationery store, hopefully you 73 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:10,800 Speaker 1: can now feel vindicated in going out and shopping for 74 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 1: a brand new notepad today. Hello. There, that's it for 75 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:17,599 Speaker 1: today's episode. If you liked it, there are plenty of 76 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,159 Speaker 1: others that you might also enjoy, such as my chat 77 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:24,160 Speaker 1: with Mea Friedman about her trick for overcoming procrastination, and 78 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: my interview with Rachel Botsman, who shares her one minute 79 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 1: alternative to mindfulness. Finally, it's great getting feedback from listeners 80 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 1: such as yourself, so feel free to give this podcast 81 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 1: a review In iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts, 82 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: and if you like this episode, make sure you hit 83 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:42,920 Speaker 1: the subscribe button so that you can be alerted whenever 84 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: new episodes are released. See you next time.