I grab my pencil and take a paper. I sit down and silently observe how the ink of the pencil transforms a blank page into a personal expression of my thoughts. The smell of the ink reaches my nose, and the scent of the fresh paper calms my brain.
Whenever I decide to sit down with physical writing equipment, there is a special feeling to it.
What I love about it is the artistic way of expressing my perception, and the words that flow onto the paper are inevitably filled with the personality of my handwriting.
Furthermore, there’s a liberating feeling connected to writing on paper. Without grammar programs, there is no instant judgement, and we are actually formulating the phrases ourselves as we leave tempting AI options to optimise our writing aside.
What adds to the particular feeling of writing by hand even more is the time it takes.
The prolonged process of expressing ourselves, compared to the speed at which we type on a computer, automatically leads to a mechanism of prioritising what we write down. Whether this happens while taking notes in class or while creating a journal entry, to me, it’s the deceleration of the process that matters, as it leaves me calmer, more focused and relaxed afterwards.
That probably is part of the reason why handwritten letters feel so special to us. It’s the thought that somebody is sitting down who is thinking of you and dedicates their time to write a letter exclusively for you. Additionally, these letters are way more personal, as you can see somebody’s handwriting and have a physical copy of the words, not just a message that was sent on the way to work and forgotten after a day.
In the end, hopefully, the person who sent the letter also enjoyed the moments of peace while writing it.
And let me tell you, these feelings and effects are not just imagination, there is scientific proof!
A study¹ has shown various positive effects associated with writing by hand, such as a higher level of electrical activity in different interconnected regions of the brain. One of the results being an improved memory of the information we write down by hand.
The main way I experience these benefits is through journaling. My preferred way of journaling consists of a simple routine. Every evening I’m writing down the events of the day and reflect on connected emotions. This always eases my mind because I no longer feel the need to remember all the details of the day. Additionally, I can get anything I want off my chest without a reaction or judgement from somebody else.
Another aspect many people seem to notice while journaling is a creative and easier flow of thoughts, leading to realizations we would not have had otherwise.
Thus, journaling can be a great tool to enhance mental clarity and understand yourself better, which can even result in a reduced stress level and less anxiety.
If you are not that much into writing but still want to get the experience of working with paper and creating something with your hands, a Junk journal might be your preferred approach. You can imagine a junk journal as a little booklet in which you glue things you get in everyday life that you would usually throw away. For mine I gather what you would usually refer to as junk, like napkins with nice logos, the packaging of a snack or flyers of a place you’ve visited. Once I feel like I have gathered enough material to fill a page, I sit down and assemble my favorite pieces into a collage. During this process I just let my mind wander and remember all the places I’ve been to.
Another interesting effect I have noticed since I’ve started junk journaling is my increased awareness of little details in everyday items. Now every thoughtful packaging will be appreciated and gets a special place in my little booklet.
Besides the mindfulness you gain during the process of writing, there is another bonus – you can go back to your old journals and see the progress you’ve made and how you’ve changed. It is a tool to document your life! With the popularity of social media the documentation of life is something we all crave. When looking at other people’s experiences we might feel like missing out, but by journaling we can focus on ourselves and see that we do quite a lot during a day.
All in all, writing and journaling with pen and paper has a very mindful and fulfilling character to me and brings back the connection between your thoughts and experiences.
I hope that my experience with writing on paper and journaling has inspired you, so I warmly invite you to try the same! Just remember to focus on the process and not the results and then nothing can go wrong!
¹ https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219945/full
