Today is a bonus episode. I mean, post. I might be spending a little too much time listening to podcasts. Where’s that wide eyed unblinking emoji when you need it?

Today is January 23rd and it’s also National Handwriting Day. I’m not much for paying attention to ‘special days’ on the calendar because there seems to be one for everything. But Handwriting Day? I can get behind this one. Especially because there are so many creative benefits to handwriting.

For me, one of the biggest creative benefits of putting pen to paper is the fostering of ideas. One of my favourite ways to work through a story thought is to start listing the what-if possibilities. I usually aim for ten ideas. This way you can move past the obvious and perhaps find a different angle. It allows me to slow down and think.

Handwriting improves our memory. It has more mediative benefits than keyboarding. It’s very individual and can change with our moods creating for an emotional outlet. It activates your senses: the sound of pen on paper; the pressure of pressing down, seeing the words come to life. Those things connect different parts of our brain together and create a stronger memory than typing.

Also, you can make things pretty and have special pens, even glittery ones. You can colour code things. You also don’t have to be precious about it or have a fancy pen, to reap the benefits of handwriting. You can just hastily jot down notes in your messiest scrawl.

Until next time…

Do you use pen and paper to work through things? Make a to-do list? Or journal? Maybe you love to send handwritten notes to friends? I want to hear about it all.