If you don't write much, start now

In your work, how often do you write good, old-fashioned prose? You know, full sentences, structured in paragraphs, possibly even in sections or chapters if long enough?

I do this a lot nowadays, but it wasn't always that way. In fact, I've been writing properly for about 18 months. Before that, I can't honestly remember what I did - lots of presentations and short emails and stuff, but no decent vertical writing. So yes, my recent adventures with my keyboard have made me acutely aware of the benefits of proper writing, and how destructive modern technology has become to those who might otherwise be great writers.

In this article, I want to describe the benefits that I believe come from spending time writing about one's work or other interests, to outline the destructive technological forces that we should be actively working against, and to make a pitch to encourage you to write more. Because I believe writing is making a big comeback, and we all should be a part of it.

The incredible benefits of taking time to write

The world around us is becoming more and more complex and fast moving. New ideas, technology, concepts are thrown our way constantly. Just keeping up with it all can be a challenge. I've certainly experienced this increasing intensity in my day to day work in recent years. I struggled to keep up with it all.

Then I started writing. I did this because I wanted to share my thoughts and ideas with others. But the more I wrote, the more I realized that I was starting to make more sense of my own world too. Through writing about a particular topic or subject I was forcing myself to:

• Organize the chaos that was in my mind, putting a narrative structure to the topic
• Record a progression of thought, which helped me understand the subject at a greater depth

The combined impact of this was that I could communicate more clearly and expertly on the topic, and in this way make it much easier for others to understand it too. It didn't take me too long to realize that this writing business wasn't just immensely satisfying, but it was a revelation to me and a vehicle with which I could share that revelation with others.

But don't just take this from me. Numerous studies have shown the benefits of regular writing on executive function, career improvement, motivation and general health. Frankly, I should have been doing this a lot sooner.

Why we don't write so much anymore

Believe it or not, there was once a time when writing was the only way that you could communicate with someone you weren't sharing a room with. But technology changed all that.

Don't get me wrong, I love tech. It's a fundamental part of my work as a data scientist. But nothing's perfect, and one of the things that technology can discourage is good, clear writing. Some of the most destructive forces in the workplace are:

• Presentation technology, which encourages us to write in 'slides', horizontally. This means our focus is on writing message by message, and spending more time worrying about illustrating each message than in determining if the narrative as a whole makes any sense.
• Message technology, which is determined to get us to 'think short', either by limiting our words and characters or by promoting rapid exchange which can interrupt trains of thought and distract you from developing a compelling narrative.

Research on the impact of these technologies on writing ability is still in its infancy, but a strong school of thought suggests that the impact is detrimental.

Why you should write more

If I haven't convinced you already of the benefits of writing more, here's something else to consider: writing is making a major comeback.

In the 5 years to 2016, self-publishing pretty much tripled in the US. Writing activity on LinkedIn is thriving, and sites like Medium are shifting the power balance away from publishers and towards writers. On top of this, we see emerging disciplines like data science bringing the culture of vertical writing back to the workplace, acknowledging its power in succinctly and efficiently capturing methodology and thinking.

So if you want to be part of the writing revolution, here are a few ideas for how to get started:

• Next time you need to put together a formal communication in your work, consider writing a vertical briefing instead of a horizontal presentation. Test your colleagues' reaction to it (outside of just the shock that you did it!)
• Pick a subject that you are feeling unclear or confused about and challenge yourself to write about it. Once you've written it, ask yourself if you think you understand it better?
• If you have a piece of knowledge or an opinion to share that you think would benefit others (and which is not proprietary), click that button on LinkedIn or whatever other platform you use, and get your thinking out there. If you've taken the time to write it down, chances are someone will be thankful for it.

Writing is making the comeback of the century, and those who can write well will be the thought leaders of the future. Will you be one of them?

All opinions expressed are my own and not to be associated with my employer or any other organization I am connected with.