Is the Pen Mightier than the Keyboard?

I’ve often thought about what would happen in the near future when AI and tech take over everything we do, will people still have handwriting at all? Or will there be anything such as handwriting?

Maybe. Maybe not!

What if I told you writing by hand (either shorthand or long-form) has more benefits than swiftly typing into your phone or PC?

I discovered the immense benefits of writing by hand in my teenage years.

Occasionally, certain thoughts dropped into my consciousness like tiny drops of rain, but I discovered that when I picked up my pen to write in my notes, the ideas opened up like the feathers of a Peacock in bright and beautiful colors, taking all shades, shapes, and forms.

I loved it. When I saw that this happened often, I never took any of my thoughts and ideas for granted.

Over a decade after, some of those ‘rain-drop thoughts evolved into full books, articles, mini-books, online courses, the list goes on.

SO HOW DOES WRITING BY HAND TRUMP TYPING?

1. Writing by hand is an exercise:

When we think of exercise, we think of lifting weights, pumping iron while drooling liters of sweat in the gym. But writing by hand is also an exercise. You are coordinating your motor skills as well as tapping into your mind in a very special way.

2. Memory recall:

Writing by hand helps to better recall memories that we may have about a certain event. It’s hard to explain, but I realize that whenever I wield my pen to write, it seems my focus increases X1000 more than normal and I’m able really to tap into my subconscious to draw out whatever idea, thought or experience I want to write about.

3. Idea-mapping becomes easy

Drawing mind-maps becomes easier when writing by hand as against dragging a mouse on a PC. One time, I was working on a ghostwriting project for a client and it appeared I stalled and didn’t know how to proceed with the ideas and concepts the client wanted to share.

Do you know what I did?

I left my familiar work environment, took my whiteboard and notes somewhere quiet, I then used my marker to scribble all the ideas on the plain whiteboard.

As I did so, all the ideas came together, in fact, new ideas came alive. I began to see all the different aspects and variations of the initial story idea. Literally, all the brain freeze I was experiencing disappeared because I chose to write by hand rather than sitting at my PC every single day trying to force the ideas out of my head.

The more I looked at the board every day, the more I got clarity and direction as to how to take the story. The book was finished, published, and launched a few months later and has been a delight to the author and readers.

TO ROUND THIS UP…

I doodle a lot when I write on paper. I could draw funny images, come up with diagrams that might represent what my mind is thinking at that time.

One thing writing by hand does is that it triggers and activates the creative side of the brain. That unstructured way of writing and representing ideas on paper is vital to the creative thinking process.

That being said, as a writer, I leverage the best of tech tools and apps to get my work going and faster too. I even voice-type when I have serious deadlines to meet. So, I understand the place of tech, but I still use my hands when I need to.

What has been your own experience?

If you have a different opinion or just want to agree with me, the comment section is yours.