I read a lot of newsletters by scientists, authors, journalists, and other people I admire. Among them is Krista Tippett, host of the On Being podcast. In this weekly show, Tippett asks a scientist, a writer, an artist, a religious leader, or another “expert” deep questions about their work and life: What does it mean to be human? How do we want to live? And who will we be to each other?
In the last months, the On Being team took a break to prepare for a major overhaul of the show. So, I was delighted to find Tippett's “re-emergence” newsletter in my inbox a couple of weeks ago. I was even more delighted when I saw what Tippett wrote about: a routine she developed over the summer that involves writing by hand.
You should know that I am very attached to writing by hand. I feel it is a tremendously helpful tool for various aspects of my life, from remembering the groceries I need to dealing with difficult emotions. So I love to hear about the experiences of others.
Tippett describes a routine combining reading and writing and also draws connections to interview guests she had on the show. Here she is in her own words:
One of the gifts of this summer was a deepened experience of a ritual I’ve come to think of as contemplative reading. I began each day with an over-large sketchbook on my lap, and a book open on top of it. … Morning after morning, I read [in novels, poem collections or non-fiction books], and interspersed with reading, I wrote. By hand. I had to go slowly as my handwriting is very, very messy. The going slowly was good for me, and so was the distance from a screen.
I kept thinking of — and experiencing — that wisdom of [poet] Naomi Shihab Nye, that when we write in a journaling mode we are getting in touch with the many selves inside our self... I was also inspired to write by hand after learning from [clinical psychologist] Dr. Christine Runyan that when we write by hand, as distinct from typing, we are processing emotionally as well as mentally…
Sometimes I was copying sentences and paragraphs that moved me, sparked something, or were simply beautiful ... These jottings would often lead into my own reflections, and surface all kinds of memories and stories.
Isn’t this a wonderful description? I can easily see Tippett sitting in her chair, reading and writing. I will definitely try out her technique…
But Tippett’s post not only introduced me to the idea of “contemplative reading.” It also motivated me to think more deeply about what writing by hand means to me. As a journalist, I write a lot by hand during interviews when I jot down what interviewees say. But it also plays various other roles in my life, ranging from the mundane to the more profound. Here is a list.
Grocery list: I tried using an app but found writing by hand faster. The funny thing is that I often forget my list at home, realizing in the store that I don’t need it because I remember the things I wrote down. This works with a handwritten list but not so much with a typed one.
Letter writing: The occasional Christmas, birthday, and picture postcards aside, writing to friends and family mostly means emails and text messages. But there is one exception for me: the letters to my 86-year-old aunt. Renate is my late mother’s sister and lives in the black forest. We started this routine in 2012 after my mother died. The two sisters had been pen pals for years, and somehow it felt right to me to step into my mother’s place. I’m so glad I did. Not only has the correspondence deepened my relationship with my aunt, but writing these letters has also turned out to be a calming and centering device for me. To compose compelling content requires that I step back and reflect on what is worth telling. Also, I must slow down so that the words I put on paper are legible. (Another positive side effect: Since I usually write sitting in a coffee shop in my San Francisco neighborhood, some people who glimpsed at my writing pad have asked me about my “unusual” handwriting. It turns out that the letterforms I learned in my childhood back in Germany look unfamiliar to people who went to school in the US or other countries. This has sparked some interesting conversations. Wikipedia has a whole article on Regional handwriting variation. Fascinating!)
Brainstorming – Planning – Decision making: Whenever I brainstorm ideas or outline a new project, I reach for paper and pen to jot down what is in my head. The same goes when I have to make a decision, whether in my personal or work life. I use pens in different colors and point sizes, draw clouds around important words, and visualize connections between items with arrows. This technique which is similar to what is called mind mapping, helps me to be more playful and more structured all at the same time, which feels almost magical.
Journaling: I have been journaling since I was 12, not every day but several times per week. This amounts to dozens and dozens of journals I keep in a safe spot in our second home in Cologne. Occasionally I browse through them when I visit, and the experience can be mixed. Sometimes I am surprised by how much banal stuff I’ve chronicled, like my plans for a particular day or the weather. Sometimes I am deeply moved by the joy or sadness I expressed on a page.
The actual act of journaling almost always feels good. Even more than writing letters, journaling for me means stepping back and slowing down. Moving the pen over the page almost has a meditative quality. And putting words and sentences on the page feels like unloading a lot of stuff from my head, creating space and air up there.Learning: During my college and university days, I took all my study notes by hand. Mind you, this was in the late 1980s and early 1990s, so computers were around, but not laptops, tablets, or smartphones. Aside from the fact that handwritten notes were the default option for most students back then, I loved it! I could spend hours and hours rewriting my notes, highlighting essential terms in various colors, rearranging the content in a more logical way, and excerpting central concepts onto index cards. Not only did I enjoy playing around with the content. It also helped me to understand and remember it better.
Nowadays, note-taking for learning projects usually means writing digitally for me. It is faster and tidier, and I can move content from one app or device to another. Sometimes, though, I still revert to the old-fashioned hand technique. For example, when I feel stuck, bored, or miss the old joy of playing around with my notes. And usually, the effect I hope for kicks in. Things disentangle and make more sense to me; I feel more engaged and remember content better; and, most importantly, the whole activity is more fun.
It turns out my experiences are by no means unusual. Next week, I will report what scientists know about the effects of writing by hand - on emotions, memory, and other things. In the meantime, I would love to hear about your experiences with writing longhand. So drop me a line or leave a comment right here!
See you next week!
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