I'm Going Old School: Why My Future Blog Posts Might Be Written in an Actual Journal

I know.

In a world where I can talk into my phone, have it magically turn my rambling into text, then edit it on a computer while simultaneously watching fish videos and forgetting why I opened half my browser tabs, deciding to write by hand seems a little ridiculous.

Yet here we are.

Recently I started reading about the effects handwriting has on the brain, and apparently those elementary school teachers who made us fill entire pages with cursive letters may have been onto something after all.

Several studies have found that writing by hand activates more areas of the brain than typing. Researchers using brain scans and EEG monitoring found that handwriting creates much stronger connectivity between regions involved in movement, sensory processing, memory, and learning. In simple terms, your brain has to work harder when you’re physically forming letters than when you’re repeatedly tapping keys on a keyboard.

The interesting part is that this extra work appears to be beneficial.

People tend to remember information better when they write it down by hand. Researchers believe that’s because handwriting forces us to slow down and process information rather than simply transcribing it. Since you can’t usually write as fast as someone can speak or as fast as your brain can race off on random tangents, you naturally have to summarize, organize, and think about what you’re putting on paper.

Which may explain why I can spend twenty minutes typing a blog post and then immediately forget what I wrote.

Handwriting also engages multiple senses at once. You’re seeing the words appear, feeling the movement of your hand, controlling the pressure of the pen, and physically interacting with the page. All of that creates stronger neural pathways and helps reinforce memory.

There are also studies suggesting that writing can help with emotional processing, focus, and organizing thoughts. Journaling in particular has been associated with reduced mental clutter and improved ability to work through stressful situations.

So naturally, after learning all this, my first thought wasn’t:

“Maybe I should take more handwritten notes.”

No.

My first thought was:

“What if I write entire blog posts in a journal like some kind of woodland hermit who occasionally has access to Wi-Fi?”

And honestly, I kind of love the idea.

For years I’ve written almost everything digitally. The convenience is hard to beat. I can type quickly, edit instantly, delete embarrassing sentences before anyone sees them, and rearrange paragraphs without drawing arrows all over the page like a conspiracy theorist explaining aliens.

But there’s something appealing about slowing down.

A handwritten page doesn’t let you endlessly tweak every sentence before moving on. It doesn’t tempt you with notifications. It doesn’t offer seventeen open tabs competing for your attention. It’s just you, the pen, and whatever thoughts manage to make it out of your brain and onto the paper.

That’s probably good for me.

At the very least, it will be an interesting experiment.

So for a while, I’m going to try writing future blog posts by hand in an actual journal. Real paper. Real ink. Real evidence that despite working in technology, I haven’t completely abandoned 5,000 years of human writing history.

Once I’ve finished a post, instead of typing it all back out, I’m planning to simply photograph the journal pages and use those images as the blog post itself.

Will it improve my memory?

Maybe.

Will it help my creativity?

Possibly.

Will it reveal just how terrible my handwriting has become after decades of typing?

Almost certainly.

There is a very real chance that future historians will discover these pages and conclude I was either documenting nature hikes or experiencing a medical emergency.

Either way, I think it’ll be fun.

So if upcoming blog posts look a little different, that’s why.

I’m conducting a highly scientific experiment involving journals, pens, brain function research, and my complete inability to leave well enough alone.

Results pending.

*edit: view the handwritten journal pages here: https://misskonstruction.github.io/blog/raw-and-unhinged