Writing vs. Typing: Which Is the Best for Your Desired Results?
Writing vs Typing: Which is the Best for Your Desired Results? • Cryptic Butter





When Should You Think About Writing vs Typing?



Ask me several months
ago to decide between writing and typing. I would have certainly concluded that
typing, digitalised information etc is far better. Nevertheless, I’ve found
that this is not always the case…



Organising your life can be difficult when you have a
shortage of a clear, definitive, step-by-step plan. Accordingly, a lot of
organisational aspects, such as the question of writing vs typing, are up to
you.







Above all, getting
ideas out of your head is ridiculously important to help clarify and organise
your life. But how do you do this?



In today’s day and age, the two most obvious forms of media
are:



Pen and paperDigital storage



Boil that down further, you subsequently reach the decision
between two methods of expressing information:



Write
stuff down by hand, orType,
with a keyboard, words into a digital device, for example, your desktop
computer or smartphone.



So, which method is better? I hate to say that this depends
heavily on your objective as well as your
preferences.







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What Can Either Be Written or Typed Out



Following are a few examples of ways of formatting
information, each with their own ideal uses. Most importantly, realise that
each format comes in a digital or
hand-written variety.



Mind mapsNotes (notepads)To-do listCalendar,
daily planner, and the like



Furthermore, here are the sorts of purposes for
writing/typing discussed in this conclusive article:



Which is best for committing to goals?Which should you use to plan
your life and daily tasks?How could you best take notes and consequently hang on to ideas?Is writing by hand more effective for learning and comprehension?



1. Writing vs Typing for Committing to Goals



When you want to set yourself a goal, you presumably want to
take it seriously hence commit. So,
is commitment more effective when you write down your goal or type it out?



Goal ideas for you: 55 Productive Things to Do in 2019 (The Best of 2018)



Write
Down All of Your Serious Goals/Affirmations on Paper—Like They’re Sacred



That is if you truly have the desire to realise them. The
process of writing words out by hand has numerous benefits for this purpose.







To demonstrate, this practice more clearly defines your goal
in the eyes of your brain, while typing is less meaningful. Your brain,
therefore, has a happier time remembering the commitment and takes it more
seriously.



Interestingly, it is as if writing by hand is a more deliberate practice: you consequently
prove to yourself your commitment to a goal.



Likewise, words are
far from permanent on the screen of a computer. In comparison, there’s no backspace key on paper; once
you’ve written it, the non-erasable ink is there to stay.



Indeed, you could rub out, scribble out, shred or—if you’re
really up to the task—burn your writing. Even though this stands very true, the
impermanent nature of digital information is as much of a disadvantage as it is
an advantage.



There is no return
after having spilt the ink.



Typing:
Keep Track of Your Goals and Commitments in an Omnipresent Being



Having said that, I would definitely advise keeping track of
your notes in some digitally centralised system. Above all, this applies most
to important long-term goals.



For instance, you could use a cloud-based to-do list or
note-taking software to keep your goals accessible. While paper is permanent, it can
easily be lost, if mistreated.



To clarify, taking note of your goals digitally should
complement writing them down.







What’s more, this tactic yields the advantage of easily
being able to share your goals with others. Perhaps use this as a technique to
hold yourself accountable to your goals.



You can allocate obligations and tasks to others, too. This
is critical for team projects and in business, for instance.



Technology makes it easier than ever to share ideas you've typed into a keyboard.



2. Writing vs Typing for Planning (and Reviewing)



An essential technique for progress: How to Save Your Time: The Most Powerful Planning Routine



Write
Out Your Daily To-Do List in a Notebook



Since writing wins commitment in the writing vs typing
battle, why couldn’t we apply the same principles to your daily plan? After
all, your daily to-dos are essentially short-term goals or commitments.



Additionally, during the planning process, it’s beneficial to keep disconnected from
your technological devices. This is because failure to do so introduces the
possibility of:



Becoming distracted, especially due to
notifications and temptations etcExposure to blue light—which, at the end of the
day, can hurt your sleep



For this reason, you may not always have access to your
computer hence to-do list. Conversely, your daily to-do list is always there in
your field of view, holding you accountable.



Writing:
Review Your Day in a Thoughtful Manner



Prior to planning the following day, I always recommend that
you review your day—to exemplify:



Firstly, did you live up to your purpose?Secondly, did you complete all the necessary items
of work?Finally, what could you have done better to
drive you closer to your goals?



Look closely; realise that reviewing entails meaningful,
important thoughts, so writing ideas down reigns supreme. Why? Again, the sense
of commitment and taking the process seriously comes into play here.



Moreover, reviewing
should happen at the end of the day, shortly before going to bed. As a
result—to maximise sleep quality and guard against distractions—I implore you
not to use electronic devices. The reasons for this are described above.



Typing:
Manage as Many of Your Tasks in the Cloud



However great writing is for daily planning, computers
inevitably take the rest of the cash. And this is for the very same reasons of
information centralisation discussed earlier.







One way in which is this clearly useful is, ironically,
during hand-written daily planning. 



“What’s that, Big
Cheese? I hope you’re not contradicting yourself here…”



No.



You can use computers
as a database for everything you need to do—ever. As such, they provide the
perfect help for deciding what tasks to plan for the subsequent day!



In addition, software
provides many benefits for processing tasks, such as priorities, labelling etc.



Typing:
Plan Your Week and Fill your Calendar Electronically



Online
calendars are such as brilliant trick to wrapping your head around
time and work. Not only can you establish the dates of events and due tasks,
but you can plan your entire day.



Organise Your Time: Should You Have Faith in Online Calendars? (Kill Procrastination)



As a matter of fact, each day I open up my online calendar
to see exactly what I should be doing and when. By chunking your day according
to how you expect it to go, you can estimate how much work you can plough through.



Recurring events are nice too.



Tip: Computers are an exceptionally effective way to keep track of
recurring tasks.



3. Writing vs Typing for Organising Ideas and Note-Taking



Write
Spontaneous Thoughts/To-Dos on a Notepad for Later



In order to prevent
procrastination, I leave a notepad around during my day. To clarify, this
makes it far more accessible than a digital device;



I don’t need to turn anything on, unlock anything, or open
any applications—it’s just simply there.



Consequently, I can use it to note down any thoughts or
to-dos that come to my mind when working. This allows me to get on with my work
with minimal distraction, hence minimal procrastination, and maximum productivity.



Unlike tech, it’s so straightforward—so flawless.



Even for seemingly small tasks, I note the thought
down—since I know the devastation even
the smallest deviation can cause.



Evernote is my big digital brain.



Type
Everything into a Big Digital Brain for Long-Term Storage



Leading on from that last idea, when your work hours are up,
get your thoughts and ideas where they belong.



Since you cannot possibly rely on your brain for storage,
computer technology is vital; an abundance of floating ideas do nothing more
than cloud your brain from the real task in hand.



A lot of knowledge has no business being suspended in your
brain, making writing unnecessary. As a consequence, the way is paved for the
benefits of digital information organisation and management.



Trust me, technology makes it far easier to process ideas
through software including Evernote.



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4. Writing vs Typing for Learning and Comprehension



Write
as Much as Possible When Optimising for Maximum Learning



If your studying or otherwise learning about some subject,
pay a little attention to this section.



Typing answers into a computer screen is not the most efficient way to learn. To
iterate this important fact, the process of writing—by hand—is the better way
to clarify your ideas. Not surprisingly, then, if you write rather than type,
you’re bound to optimise your comprehension.



Naturally, this results in significantly better knowledge
retention.



More specifically, it is the act of recalling information
and getting it down on paper—a plan that could be implemented with something
like Anki.







Type
When Convenience Wins or Learning is Less Critical



On the other hand, not all learning styles suit the act of
writing. For example, the majority of learning programming will be typing into
an IDE; practise how you would apply your knowledge usefully.



While writing wins in many respects for theoretical
knowledge, typing will always have a place in education.



Also, you may find that in certain situations, the need for
convenience defeats the benefits of handwriting: you’re on the bus, surrounded
by the serene public. Are you really going to crack out a few sheets of scrap
paper and start studying black body radiation? I think not—so just use a mobile
software application!



Typing:
Use the Keyboard to Exploit Effective Software Learning-Aids



Speaking of mobile software applications, certain forms of
learning are supported by interactive content. Typically, this makes paper
unnecessary, though, writing things down may complement certain situations.



For instance, Quizlet uses a clever algorithm to
increase learning efficiency. Moreover, I don’t think paper can rival
quick-to-complete multiple-choice questions.



Equally, tutorials like those found at Pluralsight
might work well alongside paper-oriented knowledge consolidation.



If in Doubt, Choose Typing Over Writing



At the beginning of this article, I briefly mentioned my former attitude to the writing vs typing
predicament: typing with the assistance of technology is superior.







We’ve already covered the numerous ways in which I’ve
surrendered to “good old pen and paper”, so let’s explore my general argument
for a paperless life.



Here is why I would prefer digitalised
organisation of information by default:



The disposable nature of pens and paper aren’t
helping the environment’s situationIt’s expensive to plough through heaps of
disposable stationary and paper.Written mistakes are assuredly less forgivingTechnology brings an abundance of convenient,
magical featuresWe’re
living in the twenty-first century, for Musk’s sake!



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Conclusion: Should You Write or Type?



Whether you’re deciding between writing and typing for studying,
realising your goals, planning, or simply recording and structuring your ideas,
there are arguments for either case.



Amazingly, good olde pen and paper hold strong if you want to:



Learn
efficiently in addition to increasing your knowledge retentionCommit
to a plan or goalLeverage the power of affirmationsAvoid distractions and otherwise wasting time
with overcomplicated electronics (note thoughts down for later)



Although, the power of technology can never be taken away:



Software
adds a level of interaction that provides a magical
experienceData can easily be synchronised amongst devices
as well as sharedYou’re not disposing of any paper or writing
instruments!You have the power to structure and organise
information in a most convenient way—and typing mistakes are easily forgiven



Half a year ago, you might have considered me the most
frugal paper-hoarder you’ve known. Moreover, I would have thought that paper was the past. 



On the contrary, paper is very much the present, with a certain
future clearly in sight.



Do you want to type faster? Typing Proficiency: How to Boost Your Productivity



The Future is in Combining Technology and
Paper







To exemplify my point, I have recently dipped my nose into a
few interesting products.



Firstly, the RocketBook Everlast series of notebooks is entirely reusable; merely give it a wipe with a dank cloth in order to erase the page’s contents—as long as you solely use the refillable Pilot Frixion pens.



What’s more, these
notebooks use intelligent icons and QR codes alongside an app to scan each page.
It only takes your smartphone.



 So, as you frantically
scribble down ideas onto the page, you can rest assured of the ease of sending
that writing to Evernote etc.



But what if you want to use any kind of pen? Sacrificing
reusability, these (much cheaper) Oxford Campus
Notebooks retain the ability to scan
your notes for whatever dark purpose you intend.



With this in mind, what do you prefer—writing or typing? Is there anything I’ve missed out, perhaps? If so, voice your opinion in the below comments.



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