When did you last receive a hand-written note?
So few people write them anymore? Why don’t they?
It requires much more energy, effort and commitment than sending an email or text. We have to get something to write on, a card or a nice piece of writing paper and an envelope. We have to find a good writing pen. We have to find a table to write on and then……… we have to think about what we are going to say. Many emails and text messages are fairly thoughtless and off the cuff.
We have to put it in the envelope, address it and then drive or walk to the post box with it.
That’s why sending a hand-written note has such impact. So much effort goes into it, so much thought. We are making a very public statement about how much we value and appreciate this person that we would take time out from our busy lives to write this hand-written note to them.
The person who is receiving it rarely gets a note like this so it has a real significance for them. It will probably be the first letter they open as they flick through the pile before them. You will be remembered as maybe the only person who has sent them a hand-written note in the last 6 months. Maybe the only one who has ever sent them one!
This week my motivational challenge is to begin writing hand-written notes to the people whom you genuinely value, those people who have made a difference in your life, who have supported your career or who have just been there for you through thick and thin.
Congratulatory hand-written notes are also greatly appreciated by colleagues who have had success in their careers, won awards, completed qualifications, achieved promotions.
If you’re the recipient of these notes or cards, display them in your office. Enjoy them and remember the person who sent them and be motivated to pay it forward doing the same for someone else
