TwosWrite things down

Writing *Things* Down Talk

Writing Things Down Talk

by Joe · 77 things on Twos

Hi everyone - my name is Joe and this is Parker.
Today we're excited to share our personal experiences ~and~ scientifically proven benefits of writing things down.
Before we get started, by a show of hands how many of you would say you've had experience writing things down?
Of course, between writing essays, taking notes in class, or filling out forms, all of us know what it's like to write things down.
But by another show of hands, how many of you have used writing things down in your personal life? Like things you're thinking about/feeling, people you've met, or your life goals?
✓ Editors note: do we expect a lot of people to raise their hands for this? If not...
✓ My guess would be quite a bit if you use examples like restaurants you want to go to. It would be less if you used expressive writing, journaling, dreams, or goals. I'd guess
This is no surprise because we are taught in school to think of writing things down as a chore and rarely explore the benefits of writing things down personally.
✓ The benefits of writing things down are not always obvious and are something we had to be taught ourselves.
The benefits of writing things down are not always obvious and it is something we had to be encouraged to do.
So we are excited to share them with you too.
I'll let Parker share his story first...
When I was a freshman in college at Vanderbilt University I struggled with depression. I found relief in writing down how I was feeling and reflecting on my experiences in a Google Doc.
A few years later, I interned at Qualcomm and my manager suggested I start writing things down that I was doing and accomplishing at work in order to remember for interviews in a year, five years, or 25 years.
I loved his advice and began writing down much more than what I was learning and achieving at work. I wrote down my goals, thoughts, experiences, book notes, habits, and much more.
I enjoyed the act of capturing information and remembering things felt good. I never knew what I’d forget or want to remember, so I wrote it all down.
Writing things down also helped while I taught myself how to program, which eventually helped me land a job at a startup, Google, and may have even saved my life back in my freshman dorm room.
My story is similar to Parker's except it was my Dad was the one who suggested I write things down to ease my overactive mind.
My father and I both have moderate to severe ADHD
When I first graduated, I would constantly feel overwhelmed by the lack of structure and difficulty managing my own time.
When I told my Dad about the challenges I was facing, he recommended that I buy Red n Black Notebooks, a good pen, and start writing things down.
It seemed like simple advice but I did not hesitate and had my first notebook delivered two days later.
With Red n Black notebooks the first page is dedicated to keeping track of your goals. So once I had written my goals down, I almost immediately felt more in control and it was off to the races.
I would take my notebooks everywhere I could and would write anything that came to my mind from to-dos, people I was meeting, random thoughts, and more.
I was promoted 5 times that year and recently noticed I accomplished all of my life goals without even thinking about them.
Bring the red n black notebook
Writing things down has made a huge impact on our lives and scientific research shows writing things down helps people improve their memory, be more productive, and feel healthier.
In a study done in 2016 by the University of Singapore, it was found that the process of putting thought into evaluating information that we are receiving helps fix ideas more firmly in our minds, leading to greater recall down the line.
Need more convincing?
In a study from 2005, participants were asked to write expressively about stressful or emotional events for 15 minutes a day on 3-5 separate occasions. The long-term results were...
Improved mood/affect
✓ Feeling of greater psychological well-being
✓ Reduced depressive symptoms before examinations
✓ Social and behavioural outcomes
✓ Reduced absenteeism from work
✓ Quicker re-employment after job loss
Improved working memory
Improved sporting performance
Higher students’ grade point average
✓ Altered social and linguistic behaviour
✓ I'd only name a couple here
In another study from 2013, researchers in New Zealand investigated whether expressive writing could help adults medically heal faster
76 percent of the group that did expressive writing for 20 minutes a day 2-3 times per week had fully healed as compared with 42 percent of the control group
Long-term emotional upset can increase the body's levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, which impedes the immune system.
Writing about distressing events helped participants make sense of the events and reduce distress...
Still not convinced? Here are some well-known celebrities who have attributed their success to writing things down...
Richard Branson, entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin Group
David Allen, productivity consultant and author of Getting Things Done
Tim Ferriss, podcaster and author of The 4-Hour Workweek
Marie Forleo, life coach and motivational speaker
Tony Robbins, motivational speaker and author of Awaken the Giant Within
Oprah, media giant and former talk show host of the Oprah Winfrey Show
JK Rowling, novelist and author of the Harry Potter series
So why are we telling you all of this? Because Parker and I are developing Twos - an app and website to help you write more things down.
Twos makes writing *things* down quick, easy, organized, and most importantly, fun.
Every day, you get a new list to write down any *thing* you want to remember
These things can be your thoughts, memories, to-dos, names, or even restaurant recommendations.
Ideally, we speak about the *things* that our audience would want to remember
✓ When you want to organize your *things* in common you can create a new list...
✓ For example, I will make a restaurant recommendations list and write down West Tampa Sandwich Shop which we have been recommended all the time
✓ Then when I want to get back to my day, I can swipe down at the top of any screen to quickly get back to today and write new things down
✓ The last, but most important, part of Twos is *things*. *Things* are the individual pieces of information you write in Twos that can be moved, reordered, or shared.
✓ So let's say someone recommends a new restaurant I want to try
✓ I can write down King of the Coop on my day, then move it to my recommendations list.
✓ Then if I open my recommendations list, I will see my thing, the day I wrote it, and have the ability to reorder or share this thing with my friends.
✓ I actually don't think we need to talk so much about Twos. I think it should be about writing things down
Everyone has things they need to remember each and every day and writing things down is the best way to remember
We have to-dos, reminders, events, notes, names, recommendations, and the current systems are set up to leave our information spread all over the place.
Twos helps you keep all of your things organized in one place so you don't need to decide where something will go, waste time looking all over for something, or pay for many different solutions.
Twos is free, is accessible on any device, and you earn coins by learning how to use Twos which can be used for premium features and merch discounts!
✓ In the future, Twos will incorporate a public side of the platform where you can share lists of valuable information with your friends and family and even sell them to the world!
And while writing things down is very fun and beneficial, there is a reason why apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok have become so popular. They allow you to connect and learn about your friends. In Twos you can also share and discover things about people in your network
Everything you write down is initially private just to yourself but there may be things you want to share with others to form deeper connections with them
In the future, you will even be able sell valuable lists and things to the world!
Like lists of class notes, favorite recipes, travel recommendations, any *thing* you deem valuable and want to share
You can download Twos on any mobile phone and use it on your computer at twos app dot com. You don't need an account, but we highly recommend grabbing a unique username while they are available
Thank you, and happy Twosday bc every day is a great day to write *things* down! Any questions?