No, this isn’t one of those gimmicks you see sprinkled around the web with screamy headlines like “LOSE TEN POUNDS IN A DAY WITH THIS ONE WEIRD RULE!” or “THE TRICK DENTISTS HATE!” This is actually something worth trying out, and you can thank Swiss-British philosopher Alain de Botton for it.
So what’s the trick? As de Botton told Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, on Ferriss’ podcast, it’s all about putting pen to paper. “I’ve realized that what I love doing at the end of the day … is to just download the thoughts that are buzzing around — slightly shapeless, slightly directionless, and they need a little help.”
Which means that, before bed each night, he grabs a pen and paper and writes down whatever is floating around in his head. The act of making those intangible thoughts tangible — actual ink on the page—helps him process them. “It’s a kind of housekeeping — intellectual housekeeping.”
The simple ritual means better sleeping for de Botton, who has struggled with insomnia. Sometimes the thoughts, written down, even turn into ideas for books. (And books are important to this man’s career: with published titles such as How Proust Can Change Your Life and The Architecture of Happiness, it’s easy to see that the harnessing of his thoughts is professionally imperative.)
De Botton went on to suggest that the pen-and-paper exercise might also be helpful to do first thing in the morning.
This author’s personal take on it: yes, by all means. And if I might go a little further (thanks, de Botton!), I’d suggest, through personal experience of my own, that writing thoughts down can be helpful at all times, not just before bed or upon waking. I struggle particularly with thoughts reminding me to do something I haven’t done (“You really need to change out that hermit crab water! And don’t forget about calling your mother again!”) popping up while I’m trying to concentrate on something else. The thought of losing that reminder is what makes it come up again and again, like some stupid mental Whack-a-Mole. The only way to really kill those mind-moles is to write them down so they’re out of my brain and can slide permanently back into oblivion.
To take it all the way home, mindfulness is a huge thing these days. Even Crayola is in on it, hypnotizing one part of our brain with pretty colors and borders so that the other part of our brain can achieve the all-important focus on the here-and-now. That way, we don’t obsess over whether our hermit crabs are drinking stale water. De Botton’s strategy is excellent for insomnia, and, if used during the day, it’s also excellent for mindfulness.
So stop worrying, and get those thoughts written down already.
