The Evidence

We call our tools evidence-based because they are. This page shows the proof. Every claim links to a named study, and we say where the evidence is thin.

If a claim about OCCO isn't backed by something on this page, we don't make it.

Handwriting vs screens Getting things out of your head Why paper on purpose How common this is What we don't claim Sources

Does writing by hand do anything a screen doesn't?

Yes, in the brain at least. A 2024 study recorded brain activity while people wrote by hand and while they typed.1 Handwriting switched on wide links between brain areas involved in memory and learning. Typing didn't.

The honest limit: this was one study of 36 university students. It's recent and peer-reviewed, but it's a single result. It measured brain activity, not how much people remembered.

Why does getting things out of your head help?

3 separate lines of research point the same way.

  • Your head has a small workspace. Working memory is the space you use to hold and juggle things. It fills up fast.2
  • Unfinished jobs keep nagging. They keep pulling at your attention until you make a clear plan for them. Making the plan is what quietens them, not finishing the job.3
  • Writing things down frees space. Moving things onto a page or a list is a sensible way to free up your head. It's not a weakness. Researchers call it cognitive offloading.4

Put together: a full head isn't a broken one. It has a small workspace. Unfinished jobs take up room until you write a plan. Writing it down gets the room back.

Why choose paper when an app is right there?

Because the extra effort does something. A 2024 study found people choose harder, hands-on tools on purpose.5 The effort gives them a real sense of control. It also eases the empty feeling of everything being automatic.

That's the case for paper over another app. It isn't nostalgia. The effort is the benefit.

How common is a mind that won't switch off?

More common than most people think. The NHS Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey found this among adults in England:6

13.9%screen positive for ADHD, about 6.5 million people
5.8%believe they have it
1.8%have a diagnosis

That leaves about 1.9 million adults who see the traits in themselves but have no diagnosis and no NHS support yet. A lot of what we make is built for them.

You don't need a diagnosis to see yourself in that number, or to use anything we make.

It's not only about ADHD. In a UK survey, 91% of workers had high or extreme pressure and stress in the past year. 1 in 5 took time off because of it, rising to nearly 4 in 10 workers under 25.7 A busy, overloaded mind is close to normal right now.

What we don't claim

None of this is a clinical trial of our products. It's the published research behind our design choices: why handwriting, why a fixed layout, why undated pages. It isn't a study of the Morning Mindset Journal itself. Where it's one study, we've said so.

Nothing here is medical advice. Nothing we sell replaces professional support. If you think you might have ADHD, start with your GP. Mind, the mental health charity, can help while you wait. We make tools for a busy mind, not a treatment for one.

This is why the Morning Mindset Journal is built the way it is: a fixed layout, undated pages, made for a pen. £39, free UK delivery over £50, and 90 days to try it.

Shop the Morning Mindset Journal

Sources

  1. Van der Weel, F.R. & Van der Meer, A.L.H. (2024). Frontiers in Psychology. EEG study comparing handwriting and typing, n=36 university students. ↑ back to text
  2. Cowan, N. (2001). Behavioral and Brain Sciences. The capacity limits of working memory. ↑ back to text
  3. Masicampo, E.J. & Baumeister, R.F. (2011). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Unfinished goals, intrusive thoughts, and the relief effect of specific plans. ↑ back to text
  4. Risko, E.F. & Gilbert, S.J. (2016). Trends in Cognitive Sciences. Cognitive offloading as a rational strategy. ↑ back to text
  5. Beverland, M., Fernandez, K.V. & Eckhardt, G. (2024). Journal of Consumer Research, Vol 51, Issue 4. Why consumers deliberately choose "difficult" analogue technologies. ↑ back to text
  6. NHS England Digital, Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2023/24, Chapter 9 (fieldwork March 2023 to July 2024). ADHD screening, belief and diagnosis rates in English adults. ↑ back to text
  7. Mental Health UK / YouGov, Burnout Report 2026 (fieldwork 3 to 5 November 2025, n=4,502 UK adults). Workplace pressure and stress-related time off. ↑ back to text