“When was the last time you wrote something substantive — a letter, a story, a journal entry, etc. — by hand? Could you ever imagine returning to a pre-keyboard era?.”

Anyone who has to switch between
Mac and Windows will know this pain…

A lot of the writing I do is by hand. And I think of all of my writing as substantive.

There is a reason for me putting energy into the action of writing with a pen, pencil, marker, blood-covered quill tip, or a keyboard.

If there weren’t a reason to write, I wouldn’t be doing it.

I write most of my to-do lists by hand, scribbled out in a spiral notebook each morning while I enjoy my coffee. These little lists, these ‘scribbles’, are the foundations for most of my days.

They are my road maps and guides for when things get crazy and overwhelming. They keep me focused and on track. They keep me productive and accountable for my actions and time.

The critiques I do for my students are almost always by hand, which I then type up into a Word document.

Writing into a notebook is easier than having to switch back and forth between programs. As I see an issue or have a thought I jot it down into the notebook. Order doesn’t matter, wording doesn’t matter.

Once I am done with the critique I can then go back and type it up, highlighting key points, organizing the thoughts into a structure that flows from one task to another, gradually walking them through the issues one at a time.

I can break it into sections as well. “These are your joint issues. These are things you want to take a look at for your icons. This section isn’t really important, just ideas you may be interested in.”

Coding demonstrations I normally do by hand, either on the dry erase board or on paper, because it seems to be easier for students to follow. I am also able to draw on top of the code, which would be harder to do on the computer.

The drawing allows me to show how different code elements connect to one another, and how the computer is truly handling the information we give it. It a way it is like connecting the dots.

I have not written a story in a very long time, though when I did write it was normally by hand first. I liked the feeling of the paper under my hand, the pencil or pen moving, etching my thoughts into physical existence.

I don’t really have a reason for not writing, but currently I don’t think it will really be something that I put much energy into.

I have too many other endeavors going on, and I do not feel unfulfilled for not doing it. So if nothing is broke there is nothing to fix.

I could write my posts by hand, but since they are free form and I do very little editing I do not see a point in putting my thoughts on paper first, only to transfer them to the computer.

They are organic and, in my mind, perfect the way they are.

If I were to write on paper first then I would have the ability to edit my thoughts as I typed them over, which would be missing the point of writing.

My writings are a snap shot of my thoughts and emotions at a specific point in time. Going back and rewriting them would alter them, and they would no longer be as pure.

So to answer the prompt’s question, yes.

I could go back to a pre-keyboard era, mostly because I still function perfectly fine on a daily basis without a keyboard.

I dislike touch screens, and I feel there is a level of detachment when using technology verses doing things in an older fashion. I like the physical world, to the point where I actually like engaging with it from time to time.

However, I see the advantages to technology and how it can improve the tasks that I want to do, both work related and personal.

I leverage technology when I need to, rather than using it as a crutch.