The quick, old-school habit backed by new-school neuroscience

Written by Kristen San Pedro

Paper. Present Moment. Peace.

It’s Sunday night and you’re cramming that final episode of your miniseries, hoping for just that hour you’ll forget what awaits you in 10 hours: the glaring white lights of the classroom, 29 restless kids, and the fake smile you know you’ll have to put on to follow the gruelling act of dragging yourself out of bed tomorrow morning. Yep, it’s the start of Term 3, and after another liberating two weeks off, somehow you feel like you never left. 

 

17 hours later, you’ve racked up a spreadsheet of data to analyse, another staff compliance form, learning plans to update and six parent emails (one of them explosive). Plus you’re recovering from a meltdown with that student in the unexpected lesson you had to cover and now the queue for the photocopier is delaying your highly anticipated need to decompress. You console yourself with the thought of switching off on the weekend, until you remember it’s only Monday. 

 

We only need to look around the staffroom to know that the ‘how are we only at the start of Term 3?’ feeling is real. Somehow it got busier, with holidays far away and no long weekend in sight. We know the wellness mantras: “take time for yourself;” “protect your peace.” Yet, almost half of teachers are considering leaving the profession and 52% are reporting symptoms of depression.[1] We do whatever we can do to restore wholeness, despite the fragmentation that we feel. We try to get on top of our meal prep, find even more creative ways to be organised, lean into the relationships that fill our cup and try to set boundaries. But if we’re finding it’s all not enough, maybe we skipped a very essential first step: putting pen to paper.

Recently, I got into journalling. Instead of pulling out the ‘notes’ app on my phone, I began carrying around a notebook. I jotted down my thoughts, my encounters, the small moments, the big moments, my ideas, my to-dos. It gave me silence; it gave me time to be with my thoughts, and nothing else. I realised that was what I had been missing. 

 

It seems I’m not the only one to experience the wonders that happen in us away from the screen. Writer and artist Austin Kleon divides his office into the analogue desk and the digital desk, recognising that “the computer brings out the uptight perfectionist in us.”[2] 

 

While many disregard handwriting for its inefficiency, writer and Bullet Journaller Ryder Carroll points out that its ‘slowness’ is precisely what “gives writing its cognitive edge.”[3] The slowness of the process means we have to be more attentive to the words we write, so we naturally synthesise information. It anchors our attention to the page and the physical movement of our hand. For once, our brain not only feels like it can keep up, it feels like it’s ahead. Writing activates more regions of the brain, enhancing our engagement with information and helping us come up with new insights. Studies add that handwriting improves our brain health, memory and processing and delays cognitive decline.[4][5] It declutters our mind and reduces distractions: there’s no information coming in, just information going out. Paper pauses the world of information and gives us a chance to breathe, make our own connections, and come up with creative solutions. It helps us to craft my actions rather than to react. It helps us focus on what matters. And it doesn’t crash or freeze. 

 

Carroll champions journaling as a powerful therapeutic tool, since “how we synthesise our experiences shapes the way we perceive and interact with the world,”[3] including the world of teaching. Who knew that using a notebook could be so revolutionary? 

 

Most importantly, handwriting anchors us in the present moment, which is the heart of mindfulness. Cognitive-Behavioural Psychiatrist Dr Kevin Majeres discusses the power of mindfulness to lower anxiety, alleviate depression, improve memory, strengthen attention, help problem-solving and improve relationships, as well as a number of physical benefits. Sounds like the solution we need. Mindfulness changes the shape of structures in our brain that govern memory, attention and emotional regulation. It improves productivity, increases health and improves sleep quality by 20%. 

 

It’s a small thing to try, but it makes a big difference. We begin by setting boundaries away from our screens, having time for stillness, and writing our mind – thoughts, tasks, plans – on paper. We protect the time to think through it, sit with it, process it, without more information coming in. 

 

Majeres recommends scheduling 10 to 15 minutes of mindfulness each morning, before the distractions of the day begin. This can be our time for journalling, for reflection or even for just silence. It’s a precious 15 minutes that can reward us with a whole day of peace: it gets us unstuck from our thoughts, clarifies our purpose, and gives us a new perspective on difficulties. 

 

It’s hard to be still when your mind is racing. That’s okay. Let it race, but let the pen race on the paper and then your thoughts can only go as fast as your pen can go, which is not very fast. Yes, going analogue is only one thread of the bigger wellbeing piece, but it’s the golden thread that stops the whole tapestry from falling apart. 

 

Majeres developed an entire online MasterClass to help professionals who are facing anxiety and overwhelm to work and live at their best. And we turned that MasterClass into a teacher’s planner: you’re welcome. 

 

Enter the Optimal Work Planner. It’s analogue, it’s backed by neuroscience, it’s designed by teachers. With insights, practical tips and space to think and put it all together, it will be your friend and survival tool for the coming year. Watch your emails (within your tech-free boundaries, of course) to find out more about the survive-and-thrive companion you’ve been waiting for.  Approach the new term with calm and peace. Start by putting pen to paper. 

 

Kristen San Pedro is a registered Australian teacher with experience in both primary and secondary classrooms, curriculum writing, and served as a Learning Area Leader. Kristen first completed the comprehensive OptimalWork Master Class in 2020 and is the lead writer of Createl Publishing’s new OptimalWork Planner.

 

Sources:

 

[1] Black Dog Institute (2023) ‘Teacher mental health and burnout could halve workforce, new data by Black Dog Institute,’ Black Dog Institute website, accessed 14 July 2026, https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/media-releases/teacher-mental-health-and-burnout-could-halve-workforce-new-data-by-black-dog-institute/

[2] Kleon, A (2012) Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative, Workman Publishing.

[3] Carroll, R (2018) The Bullet Journal Method, Fourth Estate.

[4] Rutledge, P (2024) ‘Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Your Brain’, Psychology Today website, accessed 7 July 2026, https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/positively-media/202403/writing-by-hand-can-boost-brain-connectivity

[5] Van der Weel, F. R. (R.), & Van der Meer, A. L. H. (2024). Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: A high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1219945. 

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219945/full#h1