Remember when people sent postcards to friends and family while traveling? I really miss those days. (sad emoji) Recently the New York Times Well Newsletter published a piece by Elizabeth Passarella about the importance and impact of handwritten notes, cards and letters.
“Research shows that writing by hand lights up multiple parts of your brain — areas that are associated with creativity, memory and your senses — in a way that emailing does not.
“It’s not that those areas aren’t engaged when you type, but the extent of engagement is much greater with handwriting,” said Audrey Duarte, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.
And, of course, letters create connection. As Evans, the author of “The Correspondent,” told me, “Finding a handwritten letter addressed to you is a singular experience. You think,
‘I am sought out. I am seen.’”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/well/handwritten-letters-habit-connection.html
For the past 30+ years, I’ve sent handwritten thank you cards to every single person who has sent me a professional referral. As a self-employed person, this is more than just “best practices” or “warm-touch marketing.” It also feels personal. Sending a handwritten thank you card is an opportunity for me to genuinely express my gratitude for someone’s faith and trust in the quality of my work. Often I send cards that I’ve made myself, rather than buying pre-printed thank you cards.
I also miss the days when people wrote and sent handwritten letters to one another. I have a large tin box at the top of my closet in which I keep a stack of old letters from friends from college and summer camp years. When I reread them from time to time, I can still feel the unique warmth, shared humor and connection that’s expressed in the writing.
I also still send birthday cards and holiday cards to dear friends and family, not out of obligation but simply from a place of love and joy. These cards are a welcome contrast to the now familiar texts or audio notes people send by cell phone.
When was the last time you received a handwritten letter or card in the mail that made you smile? How did you feel when you opened it?
To whom might you send a handwritten card or letter sometime soon? What feeling or message might you want to express? How do you want them to feel when they receive it?
Why does this matter?