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it's great. i like fountain pens and write a lot by hand.

Handwriting no. Waste of time.

Drawing the beginnings of a layout by hand, that makes sense and it's faster than trying to draw something with a mouse.

I like writing and taking notes by hand. When I need to think something out I write it. I like this primarily because I can do things like add arrows, create bubbles, and create diagrams much easier and faster by hand than with a screen. I want to get an e-ink tablet at some point, but for now a paper and pencil/pen is cheaper.

I've gotten bad writers cramp within just a few minutes of writing since the 90s. Using the alternative pencil grip (where it rests between my index and middle fingers) helped me get through college, but I also opted for typing as much as possible. Now handwriting feels unnatural, to an extent.

I used to be quite skeptical about this in the same way as the OP here. However, after teaching for a number of years I have seen anecdotal evidence that handwriting notes does help with retention of information. Taking notes by hand forces you to process the information in ways that typing (or, let's be honest..taking pictures or recordings) cannot. Basically, aside from the fine motor skills involved, the slower process of note-taking by hand forces you to actually think more about what you write, as you have to summarize more due to the physical process being less efficient. Too many students nowadays make the mistake that simply being familiar with, having digital access to, or simply recognizing a particular bit of information is the same thing as actually knowing or mastering the info. (Yes, I know....old man shakes fist at passing cloud...)

I will second the bit about fountain pens helping with hand cramps/writing fatigue and being less wasteful than other writing methods. Same with the advent of e-ink screens helping with the often cited example of digitized info contributing to eye strain.

I find that it keeps me present to write by hand. I remember things better and I think it is due to the physical motion. I got through tech school with a top score by taking handwritten notes in class and then copying them over at home. I used to journal by hand, but it hurts my wrist. I still take handwritten notes on classes and for to-do lists. I carry a little journal. But the bulk of my writing is done online.

I'm 100% a "both" person.

I take notes on my phone, especially if it's something I'll need on-the-go (like a grocery list). But I also write a lot of physical notes with pen and paper.

Especially for things like a remodeling project on the house - I can scribble out my thought process as I go, small ammendments with measurements or whatever as needed, etc. I prefer writing notes by hand, but there's no one right answer. For me, anyway.

I have 10+ handwritten notebooks with all of my journaling from middle school and high school that I do plan to scan and OCR at some point; in college, I used 750words.com for all of my journaling, and since then I've migrated to TiddlyWiki for several years and Obsidian for several more.

I do still hand-write occasionally, mostly for really emotional or personal things, but I wouldn't want to make it my primary method of writing now that I have the majority of my writing digitized. Being able to search and find that thought from 5 years ago that I want to reference in whatever I'm writing today is great. I also find it helps make connections between recurring topics of interest.

I've started using handwritten physical kanban cards, though, and that physicality is incredibly helpful in visualizing the projects and work I want to do and keeping it at the forefront of my mind.

I am a software engineer and I hand write all the time. To me it is better if what I am writing is a work in progress. Typing is too constricting and makes me feel like I can’t make mistakes. I like to write it out. Cross or scribble things out etc. until it is the way I want it. Then I type it out.

On one hand (heh) there's apparently evidence to suggest that handwriting activates parts of the brain which aren't typically activated by just typing something out.

I agree, parts of my brain do get activated. The parts where I am annoyed and aggravated by how slow and ugly my handwriting is XD

I journal and take notes regularly by hand and have written novel-length manuscripts in the last couple of years by hand. I prefer using fountain pens or else my hand cramps up (and using anything else for that amount of writing can get a bit wasteful). I don't know if it's better for my memory, but I prefer it for other reasons.

My process is to write a first draft by hand to minimize digital distractions. I take my notebook and pen somewhere without internet, and leave my laptop and phone behind. Then, I type it up, and this is a sort of "natural" 2nd draft process, as I obviously make smaller or larger edits as I'm re-reading my own work.

My mom still has notebooks from when she was in high school. Digital amnesia means I don't have any of my high school and college homework anymore. I developed this system because realized I was putting a lot of effort into managing digital backups of all of my drafts and shit when simple folders and stacks of paper would do fine. But really, I mostly do it because I have ADHD, and using computers to write longform drafts is difficult because they are highly distracting devices. Typewriters and notebooks that only do one thing make things more straightforward for me. So, I get why most people don't approach things this way in 2023.

This year I started keeping a shitty little notebook I don't care about losing or damaging in my pocket with a cheap fountain pen. I use it whenever the need or desire takes me, which might be every day for a week, or not at all for a month. I use it to stabilize tables sometimes, or just to flip through if I want to do something with my hands. I've used to to keep score in boardgames, or to write down my thoughts and feelings. I really love it.

I'm a software engineer of about 8 years and I think the longer time goes on the more I want to be disconnected from a screen in my free time. I love coding and gaming and scrolling Kbin on my phone, but sometimes it's so nice to just put all that down, take a walk, and write stuff on real paper. Doesn't need to be anything more than that. Not for me, anyways

So, I really hate taking a laptop into meeting rooms so unless I know I'll have to share my screen I (used to) take an A4 sized paper notebook and a pen to jot down notes.

Recently I upgraded to a ReMarkable 2 which, while certainly not inexpensive, has so been worth it for me.

I do type pretty efficiently on one of my mechanical keyboards, but putting my thoughts into handwriting is a different experience entirely and I always want to retain this option especially for personal one-on-ones.

While I still hold a great appreciation for writing with pen and paper, I find I rarely ever do so anymore. I used to always carry a notepad and pen for writing self reminders, notes, or whatever came to mind. Writing by hand most definitely helps me to remember the content.

As time went on though, after numerous different schools putting me in typing classes (due to telling counselors my interest in computers, moving schools yearly, and a lack of CS curriculum), typing became the quickest means of writing for me.

I have taken to using a middle ground of sorts in that I use a stylus with my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 for my note taking. It still helps me somewhat to better remember the contents, and the unfolded dimensions (5.04 x 6.23 in.) are not dissimilar to using a small notepad.

I will second the bit about fountain pens helping with hand cramps/writing fatigue and being less wasteful than other writing methods. Same with the advent of e-ink screens helping with the often cited example of digitized info contributing to eye strain.

I know this is a personal issue of mine, but all the benefits of physical notebooks are cancelled out by the fact that they are more likely to get lost. I've actually had co-workers steal lined paper, binders and notebooks off my desk at work. It was a huge hassle so I'm back to all digital now.

I think its nice to handwrite things in some contexts. For notes i need to be searchable or to find again easily, I usually type them out in Obsidian. It's nice and organized and can link stuff together.

But for like, more emotional stuff or like, trying to organize my brain, its nicer to handwrite things. It feels more... permanent in a way? Like I've made this tangible thing, rather than just stored bits on a piece of silicon. I tend to remember handwritten stuff slightly better than digital stuff. There's something nice about writing out your problems in a notebook, closing it, and then just never really going over them again.

When I bought my iPad Pro I imagined I’d have this thing filled with gigabytes of handwritten text but that’s not the case at all. It’s not even the feeling of pen and paper that makes not want to use the iPad… it’s the immediate access to write and read what I want, that only a notebook and pen can provide. The iPad is filled with other apps and distractions, it heats up when you rest your palm on it, there’s always this anxiousness of balancing brightness and battery life.

Also, with handwritten messages you can convey so much more that it’s impossible to do with typed text. You can determine how fast or how methodical the person was while writing. You can convey emotions by how much strength you use or by the size and kerning of the letters, and also, a lot of the personality traits of the writer are mirrored on their calligraphy.

And yes, typing with a keyboard is so much faster, which enables me to ramble, which I often do I and I just did.

I prefer to journal by hand, mainly because journaling on the computer feels unnatural somehow. But I can't write more than 1-2 pages before my hand cramps up.

I hate the feel of writing on paper

Handwriting on screens also too slippery , unless you put matte screen protector , but that brings another issue : wearing pen nib down