The Benefits of Writing by Hand

In a digital world, sometimes it’s great to go analog.

To bring back the blast from the past.

Why?

Because analog has its role in the world.

If you are a content creator, then writing by hand is one of the best skills that you can pick up.

You can do it daily or at least once a week.

This may sound foreign to people who have mastered the art of typing on the computer and/or phone.

But bear with me.

We go to the gym to work out our muscles.

How though?

‘By lifting weights that make us UNCOMFORTABLE.’

Why not comfortable?

‘Because then we won’t grow.’

Likewise, if you suck at writing by hand…

Then I’m here to tell you, that can be a WEAPON in terms of bringing out your creativity.

Because it is in states of discomfort that we grow.

Is Typing Bad?

Typing is not bad at all.

I want to get this point out of the way.

Typing is a great way to get your ideas out there faster.

And you are able to be creative if you mastered the art of typing.

Automatism is when an act becomes autopilot.

A conscious act is now an instinct.

For most of us, typing falls into the automatism hat.

We are able to execute the behavior without much conscious effort.

So typing is not bad.

However, we do want to become VERSATILE.

That’s where the benefits of writing by hand comes in.

Leveraging Discomfort

When was the last time you used a pencil or pen?

‘Hm…’

No need to answer that.

I asked that question to show that you had to THINK about it.

Some people may write by hand every day.

However, in the information age, writing by hand (after our school years are up) has become a foreign act.

And this is GOOD in terms of creativity.

‘Why is it good?’

It’s good because we thrive with creativity in states of discomfort.

Doing a challenging task disrupts traditional brain waves, FORCING us to enter a new brain wave state.

This feels weird at first.

But once the initial shock subsides, you strangely have more out of world ideas.

If you are not someone who normally handwrites, then you are the perfect candidate to handwrite.

Especially if you struggle with creativity.

Discomfort = Good thing in the world of ideas.

Training Your Mind thru your Fingers

So now we understand that great ideas are born thru discomfort.

And since most of us are not handwriting, we can use this activity as a vehicle of getting outside our comfort zone.

The benefits surpass just doing a task that feels uncomfortable.

On the flip side, you become more MINDFUL as well.

Writing by hand requires cognitive effort.

If you REALLY want to challenge yourself, focus mindfully on EACH letter as you are writing.

Once you are done, you will feel present.

Anytime you are in the eternal present moment, anxiety & sadness melts away.

-Sadness happens when you are dwelling on what went wrong in the past.

-Anxiety happens when you picture failing at something in the future.

The mindful act of writing by hand FORCES you into the present moment.

Earlier, I stated that typing was an automatic act for most of us.

Although this is a good thing, it can also have its faults.

Like when we drive, our mind is often elsewhere.

Same with typing. The act is too easy.

When we write by hand, we train the mind to be more mindful.

Plus, this behavior also changes your brain.

You are using the motor skills of your brain to coordinate the letters, engaging your memory bank, activating language, using logic, etc.

When you think about it, writing by hand is the gym for your mind.

How To Begin Writing by Hand

Writing by hand seems pretty straightforward.

However, there are two ground rules that I would recommend.

1. Pick up a pattern.

2. Write whatever you are thinking.

1. Pick up a pattern

Picking up a pattern is huge because you may notice some initial discomfort physically & mentally.

This is you installing new analog concepts to your brain.

Physically, you may feel stiff in the forearm, wrist & fingers.

This is why I recommend gel pens.

Gel pens are smooth & have this nice slide to it.

Gel pens are not necessary though.

You can also use ballpoint pens or a pencil.

Whatever you use, stick with it long term.

Allow your muscles to get adjusted.

Also, getting a bundle pack of journals allows you to commit to the act long term.

The bundle pack allows you to have a constant supply of paper that you can review later on.

2. Write Whatever you are Thinking

We don’t want to make this overly complicated.

You don’t want to get too caught up in the grammar, punctuation, spelling, and all of that.

All those are secondary.

In the initial stages, since you are picking up the habit of writing by hand, you may feel some mental tension.

A part of you will wonder, what do I talk about?

Adding this hurdle with the physical discomfort will lead you to quit the act, even before you notice the benefits of writing by hand.

Rather, allow the act to be therapeutic.

Talk about whatever you want.

Surprisingly, you will get your best ideas that way!

When it’s that time of the day to write by hand, you are no longer dreading it.

We dread something when it requires a lot of cognitive effort.

Melt away the cognitive effort, homie.

If you adopt the mentality:

‘Eh, I’ll just talk about whatever I wanna talk about.’

This gives you a level of ease.

Heck, you will be PULLED towards the task on the days when you forget.

Associate positive emotions with the act of handwriting.

It will be worth it.

Bringing Oldschool into a New Generation

The old school has a lot of things that the new school can leverage.

This isn’t just in terms of writing.

It’s a philosophy in terms of life.

If you ask a lot of filmmakers where they get their insights from…

They will say that they studied the generation from before.

Similarly, we can do the same thing.

Humans have used pencils, pens & papers for a while.

Rather than going full in on digital, how about we embrace old school?

Let’s leverage both worlds when needed.

This allows us to remain well-rounded individuals who not only understand the leverage of technology…

But also understand the leverage of remaining PRESENT.

The benefits of writing by hand exercises mindset, builds emotional intelligence, makes you more aware.

And the final output?

Becoming an idea MACHINE.

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– ArmaniTalks