Why accepting to have ugly notes helps to write by hand?

In the first few days after getting my refurbished Remarkable II tablet I went full hand mode.

As someone who shares a lot of his writing I found even nice to be able to share the handwritten notes directly. When I concentrate a bit I have a very readable hand writing. But writing by hand so that others could really read my hand writing I made my life a bit harder. To write like this I had to write a bit slower, and couldn't write in bumpy train rides. So I started to use more the keyboard to write on my Remarkable tablet.

But a few weeks later I wrote again more fully by hand. What changed?

I stopped to want to use the hand written notes as something that has to be easily read by others. So I could write much faster. I still add to my articles a copy of the original notes just for the curious minds who want to see how the sausage is made. This is a transparency I had for years. First by letting people see the many drafts that it took to write a principle for a book or by showing at the end of an article how and with which tools I wrote it while walking and recording audio.

So not publishing directly the hand written note but keeping it as a behind-the-scenes elements reduced the time and pressure I had when writing by hand.

One thing I know for sure is that the way I write will continue to evolve with time. In fact the way I write is often a good indicator of the life period and mental state I'm in.

For the next few weeks I'll continue to write mostly by hand because it has a beautiful calming quality and it sets a nice example for my son.

And when it comes to typing a longer or more technical piece, like a grading feedback, I think I'll stick with the keyboard attached to the tablet.

Backstage of this article

This article was written and illustrated by hand on a refurbished Remarkable II tablet. You can download the original note below if you are curious.