While there have been plenty of studies that aim to explain the durable allure of “manual” writing, if you look at the research closer, a lot of the benefits attributed to it aren’t exclusive to that kind of writing, nor have they always been replicated in subsequent studies
Boosts your memory through encoding
When you write something by hand, you can improve your memory, and therefore your ability to recall information, through the process of encoding.
- Writing requires far more brain processing systems than typing
- You have to think a little harder to write something with your hand versus on a keyboard or screen
Minimize distractions
Things that are written down by hand are more accessible in the midst of distraction
- This minimizes the need to toggle from screen to screen, app to app, and tab to tab, which presents fewer opportunities to get sucked into the internet’s “infinity pools”
Allows for more creative organizing and mental processing
One of the things I appreciate most about writing things on paper is the ability to organize things in a way that goes beyond the line-by-line format offered by most note-taking and to-do list apps.
- The mind does not often operate on a clear-cut, step-based path. Allow your writing to follow its back and forth, loop-de-loop processes by writing things out manually.
Forces you to think and filter
You have to pay more attention, think it all through a little more carefully, decide which items to cut and which to keep.
- The page is a built-in filter for the stuff floating around in your consciousness
- No matter your canvas when writing by hand, you’ve got boundaries
There’s a unique kinetic energy to it
It’s a very physical process that just isn’t the same when it’s words flowing through a keyboard and into the digital ether.
- The slowness of writing forces deeper contemplation; the way your hand muscles get just a little bit tired is physical evidence that you’re doing work; the visual and tangible proof of ideas come to life is far more inspiring.
Creates a visual reminder that keeps things top of mind
While list-making and note-taking apps are handy, once the screen is turned off or put into your pocket, those ideas go away.
- With a whiteboard, you can keep something that you’ve written down – whether it’s a list of tasks or an inspiring phrase – constantly in front of your eyes so you don’t have to remember to remember it.
