What do you swear by?
What do you swear by?
Brand, thing, behavior, method, advice, mantra, etc.
I swear by Blackwing pencils.
Also, the 'two minute rule', which has really improved my life: "if it takes two minutes or less to do, just do it now; if it takes longer, schedule it." I've got untreated attention issues and it's very easy for me to notice something needing done, and overlook or procrastinate it because it seems inconvenient in the moment. Having a totally painless rule that forces me to acknowledge that thing I should pick up, that trash bag I should change, etc, or, to at least put on my calendar anything I mustn't forget in the long run has been great for me.
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Why are there so many writing utensil suggestions in this thread? I haven't written anything down physically in years, I don't even know why you'd need a pencil or paper anymore.
Three is a certain quality to writing things down. It is a nice break from screens, makes you contemplate and elaborate on your thoughts. It works that way for me.
because I can write something down, right now, without trying to boot up a device, find an app, open a word processor, or anything.
and it stays, exactly as is. interuptions dont risk losing it. power outages wont make it disappear. dead batteries wont render it inaccessable. Software update wont render it corrupt.
Musicians need pencils and erasers to work with sheet music. The music itself is printed, but you still need to write down fingering, dynamics markings, tempo markings, highlight ideas/themes/passages, etc...
Writing and drawing aren't lost arts, yet ;)
There's strong evidence, by the by, that writing things down by hand works different parts of your brain than typing does. This can be great for somebody like me, with untreated attention issues, as writing things down by hand can help me remember them better. It takes longer to do, so your mind is on it longer, and particularly when I'm journaling, it seems to help me parse through what feels like a jumble of chaotic, circular thoughts by laying them down one word, one letter at a time on paper.
And since I write pretty much everyday, whether it's notes at work, the occasional journal entry, or little notes for later in a nice Moleskine pocket notebook, I'd like that experience to be as nice as possible, in the same way a typist might invest in a mechanical keyboard (with just the right feeling and sound for their tastes) or anybody who can afford to will invest in a quality mattress, etc.
If you ever do give handwriting a shot, or if you get into art someday, you might check out some of the pencil and pen recommendations in the responses to this post. They can be a real treat when compared against, like, a standard no. 2 pencil you got in a box of 50 for $2.
Also, writing things down physically has become almost painful for me. I do have atrocious handwriting, which probably contributes to this feeling.
Have you tried fountain pens?
I try to avoid purchases of tools to accommodate activities that I don’t do
Yeah, that's fair. I suggest them only because they're a bit easier on the hands
Yes. I too like to ruin not one but four pages at a time with my terrible handwriting
What do you mean?
I have terrible handwriting. In top of that problem, I sometimes use too much pressure. And I tend to leave the pen on the paper while I think of what I'm going to write. With a fountain pen, too much pressure means more ink released, which leaves ugly blotches that readily soaks through a few pages.
So not only is the first page ruined by my initially ugly handwriting, the succeeding pages are further ruined with the blotches of ink that soaked through.
Ah, thank you for clarifying. If it helps at all, fountain pens can write with minimal pressure (although getting out of the habit of using a lot of pressure is hard to break [I personally blame shitty ballpoint pens + the intense pressure of standardized tests in the state of New Jersey for why I wrote way too hard for so much of my life]). As far as bleed thru goes, there are different brands and types of paper that help mitigate this too. Even if you're not using fountain pens, I would recommend trying different paper for more comfortable hand writing tasks.
Also, I'm sorry if it comes across as proselytizing. I just really like my current writing tools, and I spent a long time of my life hating my handwriting (and hating writing by hand because of how I'd cramp up). Because of that, I just want to share my experience with other methods