Several years ago, I read about someone making the decision to immediately throw away any pen that didn’t write.
Sounds logical. I was relieved to know that an otherwise normal-seeming person struggled with this, and I determined to do it too.
As someone who was forever finding and then re-finding pens that were out of ink, I’ve tried to be conscious about not putting non-working pens back into the drawer.
Because grabbing a pen (usually in a hurry), only to find that it doesn’t write . . . is near the top of the list of Life’s Most Annoying Little Things.
This morning, I grabbed a pen to do my Bible study. While technically, the pen wasn’t out of ink . . . it was very difficult to write with it. It didn’t guide smoothly and certain sections of my already messy handwriting were made more difficult to read by the ink randomly cutting out.
I was annoyed enough to get up and find a new pen.
I started to put the not-unusable-but-super-annoying pen back into the drawer. But then I stopped myself. I realized that I was putting it back just in case I was ever desperate.
I do this a lot.
I plan to be desperate.
I’m not so good at thinking ahead enough to remember to grab a new pen at the store, but I’m great at thinking ahead enough to know that I’ll forget to grab a new pen at the store.
So I keep the old one.
The almost-no-good one.
Ugh.
I threw that pen away.
I’m sure I’ll regret it someday. Y’know, when I’m desperate.
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Random Affiliate Link of the Day:
We’ll be making our once-yearly trip to the mall soon for Santa Pictures, and my boys will head straight to Sbarros when it’s time for lunch in the food court. I just found out you can get a free slice of cheese pizza with purchase by signing up here! Yay for saving money on something we do anyway!
What?! You didn’t shake the pen, try different angles, tap the pen, scribble on the paper to make it write, etc. Hmmm……this is a new idea to me, this throwing away of pens that don’t work. I’ll have to ponder this. Thanks for the (should be completely obvious but isn’t) tip!
Love that you tagged this post “figuring myself out” – that is key, I think, to finding a system that works for each of us individually. Some people would know which pen is for use in desperation only. Not you. Not me either! Best to just chuck what doesn’t work (literally and figuratively!) and move on. Thanks, Nony!
I do the “save the pen even if it doesn’t work” thing ALL THE TIME. What makes it ten times more annoying is my children love to draw and they use up ink like crazy…thus I end up with ten pens that don’t work at all that I keep saving…LOL!
Purposing anew to throw away a pen RIGHT AWAY if it doesn’t work.
I gave up that pen & pencil frustration decades ago. If given a promotional, cheap-o, disposable pen, they stay in one place strictly as take-aways for others (such as my tutoring students). Long ago I decided it would be overall much less expensive and frustrating to just get a really good (though not expensive) name-brand pen I like (my preference is a classic Cross or Papermate), then just get standard refills for them as needed. Same works for me with pencils; have used only mechanical pencils w/refillable leads & erasers since the late 1960′s. Works for me.
I have the drawer of doom? The drawer where I put all those pens and “things”. Then I go into a cleaning frenzy and just dump the drawer in the trash only to think you’ve thrown out that elusive battery or jump drive? Throw in there a couple packs of broken crayons and some dried markers. Slowly, but surely I’m beating this habit.
This years New Years resolution was,if it don’t work or its broke,don’t keep it.I haven’t completely broke myself of keeping what my hubby calls trash but I am doing better about throwing unusable stuff away.
what manual are you using for scripture study? Looks interesting!!
Hi Linda!
It’s my BSF lesson. Bible Study Fellowship. It’s a class you attend weekly and the lesson is part of that. Here’s the link to the class finder: http://bsfinternational.org/Classes/tabid/74/Default.aspx
(I highly recommend it!)
I can’t believe how often I keep pens that don’t work or don’t write well. I’m trying to do better, too. I’m sick of pulling out the same, crummy pen every time.
We should all make a pact to THROW AWAY PENS THAT DON’T WORK!
Reading this put a smile on my face…I was just looking for a pen to write with, took my DH, now he’s looking for a pen…guess it’s time to buy some. Thanks for a smile.