What Your Stationery Says About You

Wonder what your stationery says about you? Find out here!

The office is split between people who ‘get’ stationery – and those who don’t.

Not quite a marmite phenomenon (love it or hate it).. But opinions can be divided as to what good stationery looks like.

Pilot Gel Pens vs. Parkers. Bics vs. Biros.

For many, the priority is pure functionality, for others it’s a design statement. Then, of course, you always have colleagues who pinch anything that has fallen onto the office floor. (We’re watching you.)

So, what does your choice of stationery say about you?

The Office Supplies Hoarder

Are your desk drawers stuffed full of pens, post-it notes, notepads and highlighters?

Then it’s likely that you’re an office supplies hoarder! (Don’t worry you’re not alone…)

A survey by cartridgepeople.com found that 80% of people admitted to regularly stock up on office supplies. They claimed they went for pens first and foremost.

But you wouldn’t believe that workers have also admitted to helping themselves to toilet rolls, teabags and even light bulbs…

Mark my words

The stationery experts at Euroffice have compiled a list of pen types and the statement each one makes about your personality.

This is the description for ‘marker pen’ users:

Just like the big, bold marker, you are not one to shy away from a challenge. You are loud and proud and tell it like it is. A  quick thinker and you love throwing ideas around. You can usually be found with your beloved flip chart, or whiteboard conducting a brainstorming session. Not you? Then you must be a power seller on an online auction site and you can pack ten boxes in under two minutes.

…Is this you?

Choose your colour

Your selection of pen is one thing, but did you know that the colour you choose to write in also gives away some clues about your character? We can thank our high street favourite for stationery WHSmiths for the next pen-tacular bit of insight:

If yellow is your colour: you may be a logical thinker and like a sense of order in your everyday life. You’re  cheerful, fun to be around and have a strong independent streak. (We say: No one can read what you’ve written so you either don’t want to be heard.. Or take great pleasure in being a nuisance.)

For those who prefer blue: you are trustworthy, genuine and sincere, always thinking before you speak.

Now, what about fiery red lovers? Likely to be ambitious, confident and courageous. You are full of energy and excitement and you always work hard to meet deadlines and get the job done. You embrace challenges and are committed to pursuing your dreams. (We say: You probably took umbrage with a teacher who marked your work with too much red pen and unhappy faces and are now acting out.)

The Stress Ball

Now, there exists in every office the colleague with promotional stress balls piled up. We can safely say that you need to join a yoga class and stop attending stress-inducing trade shows. It is time poorly managed. This then leaves you worrying about getting your day job finished. And you’ll be frantically squeezing the branded foam truck or worse… the poor senseless duck.

The I-can’t-write-because-my-notebook’s-not-right

Are you happy with the equipment the office provides? Or do you go ‘off piste’ and source your own specialised stationery supplies?

If you’re verging on stationery addiction or think that your love for everything in the world of office and desk supplies is getting serious… We’ll finish with this excerpt from a blog from Learning Fundamentals:

“The more expensive, precious and important a notepad is, the less likely anything of note is going to ferment or foment between its pages.

The stories of great creative minds writing their ground-breaking, best-selling works always run along the lines of: “I wrote it on table napkins in between my waitressing shifts” or “he bangs out all his novels on a poxy old typewriter”.

They never go: “It all started when I bought a notepad made of horse hair and recycled 1950s children books at a design market”…these notebooks are not made to be used.

Far too intimidating.

The gorgeous journal, frankly, is the creative equivalent of the cross trainer ordered at midnight from the home shopping channel.

It will end up in the spare room taunting you for your lack of discipline”.

On that note, what does your stationary say about you?