Writing Vs. Typing: The Art of Journaling on Paper vs Technology

There are benefits to journaling on devices. The accessibility from devices. It’s less to carry. Auto-correct! And there is something to be said about the lead pencil and paper that make the art of journaling one-of-a-kind.

Writing by hand gives you something tangible to touch and feel. To see move across the page from one word to a full page of thoughts. The experience of writing on paper, even against writing on a tablet with an Apple Pencil, is still a way to stimulate your brain beyond tapping on a screen or pressing a keys.

When it comes to writing on a device like a phone, it could be a source of stress & distraction. The act of putting pen on paper and the habit it instills is noteworthy (see what we did there~!). In 2019, paper offers a different experience. An experience of calm, reflection, focus, and completeness. In our case, journaling your trip on paper can make all the difference. There is a raw, creation process that pierces deeper than digital taping.

Both options have their advantages. Here’s why we prefer paper over digital.

Paper > Digital

More effective learning: The act of writing could draw out the unique sense of processing thoughts, remembering new ideas, and engaging more of your brain than typing/taping. (more about this from LifeHacker)
Focus: Your device is a house of distraction. A piece of paper is clean, simple, straightforward. No ads. No notifications. No noise.
Flow: You can enter what psychologists call flow, a state of full emersion into a subject/idea. Your full attention to something while writing can help you discover new feelings, unlock new connections between your thoughts, and manage your emotions in a more positive, healthy way.
Architect: It’s much easier to connect thoughts and ideas when you use paper. Ever try drawing arrows on your note-taking app? It’s easy to flip back and forth through the ideas as well. It makes for a full immersion process
Location: Our memory works much better with location/directions, than as a hard drive on a computer. A hard drive keeps everything you put on it. Our memory doesn’t work that way. It remembers things in relation to other things. It’s the process like when you forget where you read a specific verse in your Bible but you remember it’s on ‘a right page on the last paragraph’ or it’s in ‘chapter 3’.
Slow Down: Simple idea. Profound Implications. Slowing down with writing will help you crystalize your thoughts in a systematic approach.
Pattern Recognition: It’s much easier to see on paper the same type of behavioral patterns when you can physically flip through your journal day-by-day. This leads to discovery and understanding of how you operate, which can help you achieve a greater sense of growth and break perpetual emotional or relationship problems.