Anecdata

On Handwriting

Published on

As I write these blog posts this year, I have been on and off with my handwritten journal. It happens. But not everyday. It feels shorter each day. And, I feel like I am losing something crucial by not writing it. Not practicing the skill of handwriting is part of it. And, I miss that. However, there is an intimacy that exists in pen and paper that the computer lacks. I do not doubt that this is exceptionally subjective.

I find that when I write on the computer, my hands move faster than my brain. This leads to a lot of pausing. Which leads to editing. I don’t enjoy editing, and thus that leads to distractions. Which leads to less writing. And fewer writings completed.

This does not even begin to touch on the quality of my writing. I find that writing digitally tends to feel more stiff. As a consequence of my poor articulation, I can only say it “lacks soul”. Whereas, the writing on pen and paper flows a lot true to how I conceptualize my thinking. It is difficult to convey.

The other thing with writing digitally, is that I feel circumspect; Ink on paper is lawless. There are much fewer restrictions and reason to feel restricted on paper. I can write, sketch, or imprint notes next to each other. I have not found a digital counter-part that provides the same fidelity.

I think whichever way I go, it will have to be a compromise. Digital offers many improvements from analog that I am hard pressed to leave. And, it does not make sense to do so in today’s world.

I am always looking for a setup that balances the best of both worlds. That means, this is an ongoing iterative process. My current system is writing my digital notes on Logseq1. Logseq is an open source outlining software that supports powerful queries using datalog2. It works well with raindrop3, my bookmarking software of choice. It is easy to jot down my notes during the workday or while on my laptop using the outliner. Typical thoughts come as fragments and lists, this format works well for me. When a note necessitates it, I return to my fragments at a later date to transform it into prose/ full sentences. This is rare. These outlines are time-stamped, this is crucial for work and meeting notes. I can tell when and what the context of a certain thought was. I spent a good deal of time trying to figure out a way to take notes on my phone. My recent attempt was to sync these notes and use the android version of Logseq. Syncing was a hassle with is. Although Syncthing works, there would be delays and conflicts. The maintenance became a chore.

Prior attempts included using google keep, a running text document, emails, evernote, voice to text, bundlednotes4, a whole bunch of markdown editors, and anytype.io5. However, I think that is inconclusive at the moment. Picking up my phone introduces a wave of distractions and, more importantly, destroys the conversation or mental process. I am trying to carry a small notebook around for this. The habit needs to be built. However, If I succeed, this would allow me to practice my handwriting on a daily basis. This could even bring back my habit of carrying a sketchbook with me. This could work, because pen is my primary medium now. I could carry a single pen for both.

Similarly, I have a notebook for journaling that I write on to brainstorm ideas and posts. This was the journal I started last year as my own practice, but lately has been getting use in supporting this blog goal. I tend to write more personal writings there.

Interesting things from around the web

  1. Logseq A privacy-first, open-source knowledge base ↩

  2. Datalog Deductive Database Programming ↩

  3. Raindrop.io — All-in-one bookmark manager ↩

  4. Bundled Notes - modern note-taking app for Android & the Web. ↩

  5. Anytype - The Everything App ↩