We type a lot, whether that is on a keyboard or on a touchscreen.
We don’t create letters anymore with our hands as we used to.
When was the last time you wrote on a paper?
The last thing you wrote was probably a few words or a few sentences only.
This is not surprising. We don’t really write long letters anymore on paper.
There clearly are advantages when it comes to typing on a screen which I don’t need to explain.
There are some instances though where you do want to write in longhand.
An activity that really should be done by hand is journaling.
Journaling is an activity where you transfer what’s in your mind onto paper.
Since you’re converting thoughts into words, you facilitate the process by producing those letters with a pen.
That’s why I highly recommend getting a notebook when you want to journal.
When you write in a notebook, there is no distraction.
Also, you are not pressing keys on a keyboard which is unnatural in comparison to forming letters, words, and sentences with your wrist.
The whole process of writing feels more natural and tangible which doesn’t include emitted light from your screen and possible distractions.
There is also a lack of creativity involved when typing instead of writing.
What I mean with creativity is that you want to free-write.
You want to be spontaneous in your writing without having the possibility to press backspace.
The whole connection between transferring thoughts to visible words just flows better when writing in longhand.
You don’t want to be thinking about it.
You don’t want to be focusing on writing correctly and mistake-free.
You don’t want to be thinking of erasing words so you can rewrite them.
That’s not what journaling is about.
You just want to keep writing. Font, font size, handwriting, and spelling are inconsequential.
Now, what would you want to journal about in the first place you may wonder.
Well, here are a few subjects:
- Write your daily wins
- Write about your tasks and goals for the day
- Write an end of day review, what are you happy about and what not
- Write about your social media and phone use experiences
- Write about how you want to see your relationship with screens
- Write what you’re grateful for and why
- Write what you want to achieve in life (relationship, business, lifestyle)
- Write affirmations
Why you will want to write about these subjects, is essentially to hold a conversation with yourself.
It’s a way to hold yourself accountable.
You create clarity for yourself.
It’s a way to prioritize your own voice, feelings, and thoughts so they are brought into the light.
This is hard because normally social media allows everyone to have a party in your brain.
There is no room for your own voice to speak.
Journaling is a great way to have a better understanding of yourself.
You stay focused on life’s mission at hand that you have created for yourself.
Because if you don’t create this clarity in your life and you don’t hold yourself accountable, you will just keep letting yourself off the hook easily.
And as a result….people will just keep claiming your focus, time, energy whenever they please.