Why I'm Writing Some of My Posts By Hand (Plus An Update On My Book Experiment)
07 Feb 2026 #miscI’ve started writing some of my posts by hand.
Last month, I started reducing my phone time. To embrace boredom, I schedule a “Nothing” slot away from tech.
The other day, it was “Nothing” time and I hadn’t written my daily post. So I decided to grab pen and paper to write it. Yes, I had to “work” twice: write and then type. But somehow it felt different.
I’m not alone in handwriting
This experiment made me think of Roberto Gomez Bolaños, aka Chespirito, who also relied on pen and paper to write scripts for his TV shows and sketches.
When he started his writing career, he didn’t know how to use a typewriter. And later when he injured one of his hands, he kept the habit. At least, that’s what his biopic shows.
It’s extra work, but here’s what I’m doing less
For my February book experiment, I wrote the last two chapters by hand.
Like Chespirito, I wrote by hand, but only a few chapters. I planned 13 chapters. I wrote the first draft of 12. 2 of them need transcribing. Chespirito probably had an assistant for transcriptions. I don’t.
It might seem like extra work.
But pen and paper force me to think hard before putting the pen down. I don’t have a backspace key. Well, I can cross out lines and scratch. But I don’t find myself going back to edit while I’m writing by hand.
When I’m transcribing (like now. I handwrote this post first), I edit less. Handwriting and transcribing force me to switch tasks and detach from the original text—and of course, slow down from the rush of digital writing. That’s a point for pen and paper.
The backspace key is a blessing, but sometimes a curse. And slowing down can be its own blessing.