The Power of
Scrap Paper and Cursive
In today's world
of all of things digital and online, writing things down is perhaps becoming
almost obsolete in some quarters. Books have been replaced by kindles, print
magazines by websites and cribbing by multi-faceted telephones and ipads. I
just don't get it, I suppose.
Writing is
perhaps the best form of revision. This first became evident to me back in my
high school years, where we were blessed with some truly great, if not a little
eccentric, teachers. In standard seven (read: grade 9), we had one teacher who
would often try to a get a point across by giving analogies to every day life.
For instance, when it came to the subject of revision for examinations, he
relayed that revision needs to be developed not just by learning in
parrot-fashion, but by improving ones memory with simple tasks. And this was
not exclusive to school work either. Instead revision and education needed to
be applied to all aspects of a student's life, whether at home, school, sports
practice etc.
It was during
this same period that I came to know about the legendary athletics coach, BobbyMcGee. I came to know about Bobby, not via his coaching credentials, but
through a friend who had attended one of his training talks at a local running
club. Ever the innovator and ahead of his time, Bobby was handing out a
comprehensive training programme specifically aimed at triathletes and covering
all aspects of the sport: training frequency, intensities, specific sessions as
well as sidebars with miscellaneous comments and various tips.
Aside from the
fact that Bobby was handing out these training dossiers for free was that the
entire content was handwritten and photocopied. Each dossier contained about
twenty pages of information held together by one staple, a veritable
encyclopedia in Bobby's best cursive complete with asterisks denoting key
sessions and the like. Given that training principles have not really evolved
over the years (yes, I am serious), Bobby McGee's 1991 handwritten vintage
would rival any online training plan available in 2013.
Coincidentally,
that same friend who made me aware of Bobby McGee had a similar impact on a
fellow emerging triathlete of the same era. I recently had a conversation with
the triathlete in question whilst at the Cape Pioneer Trek MTB stage race last
month. This guy relayed how our mutual friend – one of the top South African
triathletes at the time – wrote out a foolscap page of training advice in his
distinctive “doctor's scrawl” whilst the pair shared Spartan accommodation in
France. Things like a weekly time trial or a bare minimum of twenty five
minutes of daily exercise year round may seem rather moderate in elite athletic
terms, but is sound advice giving credence to the age-old mantra of
“consistency is everything.” The fact that this guy still has that foolscap
page of handwritten advice is testament to the value of making notes.
Note taking makes
up the backbone of subject matter for this blog. Whenever I've managed to
secure an interview with any personality featured here, I more often than not
write various key words, phrases or thoughts as they come to mind that
eventually morph into a list of ten or more questions. This approach extends to
all articles and essays that appear on thenaturegym, where content is born out
of endless pieces of scrap paper. I just cannot imagine doing the same sort of
thing digitally; it just seems to tedious and artificial.
The other day I
consulted my boss about a particular work project, which diverted from the
standard sort of geo-data package that we produce. Within seconds of our
initial conversation, he was already writing down a prototypical operating
procedure, complete with crude sketches on the back of some fax paper
illustrating exactly what was needed in order to solve the problem. As it
happened, his solution was to use a standard method with a few extra trimmings,
but his intuition dictated that he write down what was needed before drawing
any conclusions.
Lately I have
been thinking of various blog topics to explore in the coming months. Given the
plethora of online content available these days, it is important to come up
with original subject matter. As a fellow writer said to me recently, some of
his best pieces come from expanding on an initial thought. This was an
important reminder as it can be quite challenging to acquire fresh ideas.
Personally, I don't know how some bloggers come up with new topics on a daily
basis. Mark's Daily Apple is a good example. A leading website in the world of
health and fitness, MDA was developed out of Mark Sisson's initial desire to
write a new and original post everyday. That was half-a-dozen years ago and
Sisson continues to churn out fascinating content on a daily basis. Whilst some
topics are naturally more interesting than others, each and every one of them
started with an initial thought. That is a lot of thinking!
Closer to home,
if I observe, hear or think of anything that might evolve into a possible
article of substance, I write it down. Sometimes I make notes on my hand but
those days are getting fewer and farther between. Besides, my fellow staff
members know that I'm the only guy in our company who actually appreciates
getting given piles of scrap paper! These various pieces of scrap do at times
get misplaced or lost in the shuffle, but make up a greater base for future
ideas.
