Writing Metrics

Going Analog

On the subject of writing, productivity, and creativity, I recently came across a simple, obvious trick to shut off that internal editor: write it out longhand.

I tend to avoid longhand writing. My penmanship is sloppy, my endurance is lower than with a keyboard (meaning I can write fewer words without my hand(s) getting tired), and a digital file is easier to manage, sort, and store than a piece of paper.

But I've never thought seriously about the downsides to writing on a keyboard, namely the backspace key and the cut-and-paste function. I have to work hard to keep from editing while composing at the keyboard. When I write out longhand, however, I don't have to keep the editor at bay. It just comes out of me.

So I did a little test this morning. I wrote longhand for 20 minutes and basically filled both sides of a piece of legal pad paper. It took me six minutes to key in those 369 words. I type at 60.5 words-per-minute and write longhand at 18.5 words-per-minute.

photo credit: Be seeing you by Olivander