I've been writing / journaling a lot lately. I use it for many purposes:
- clear my head
- reflect
- know myself better
- understand my feelings
- grow as a person
- to be grateful
- to slow down
- to focus
- to learn
- to plan
- to organise
- for fun
I have always written on a keyboard, and I always loved the feeling of it. I have a mechanical keyboard which feels so satisfying to type on and allows me to type really fast. Despite this, I've still tried to do a lot of writing by hand, on paper, for these reasons:
Feels good
It also feels good to write on paper, I like the feeling of pen and paper. Something about it is satisfying, maybe even more so than typing on a mechanical keyboard.
Physicality
I like how it connects you to the physical world. Typing on a computer feels very virtual and unreal, while writing on paper feels more intimate somehow. I write a lot on the computer for my work (really a lot), so I guess that writing on paper also gives me a break from screens which makes it more enjoyable.
Slowness
I type fast on a keyboard. Writing with a pen makes me slow down and really think in a deeper way about what I am writing about, and I feel it makes my mind slow down.
Mindfulness
Becuase it is slower I feel like it is almost meditative to write on paper. It forces you to focus, to listen to your mind and to put your thoughts on paper.
Focus
The notebook I write on does not have notifications or other apps that I can check if I get bored in the middle of a sentence. This is great because I can focus for longer without distractions and detox a little from the sometimes overwhelming digital environments that are out there.