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I've always journaled though only electronically, in markdown, saved into a private git repo. Many journaling proponents insist that this only works if it's han

I've always journaled though only electronically, in markdown, saved into a private git repo. Many journaling proponents insist that this only works if it's hand written but I disagree. I get the same carthasis effect at the end of my writing, and the benefit is that it's actually legible compared to whatever squiggly lines my poor excuse of handwriting is. And most importantly, because it's electronic, I can go back and easily find how many times I've written on the same subject with a simple grep command. That tells me that this topic is important and I need to take action on it. Hard to do that with a paper journal.

ltriant 4y ago
That's interesting. I mostly had the opposite experience. I tried journaling electronically many times over the years, from basic text files with zero format, to markdown files... even a private Tumblr blog. I couldn't make any of them work for more than a couple of weeks. The electronic thing just kinda disappeared from my vision. I started a bullet journal about 12 months ago, and it's the first thing I've ever managed to use consistently for journaling. Partly because of the very short-form bullet points that a day of journaling is made up of, but the act of hand writing the entries and having a physical journal was the magic for me.
- langsoul-com 4y ago
  The biggest draw back of physical journals is your hand hurting after writing too much. It's easier to get ergonomic keyboards and chairs compared to writing gear.
  - egypturnash 4y ago
    If your hand hurts after writing with a pen you're probably holding it wrong. There are a lot of complex biomechanics going on and very little attention is paid to building proper form any more. Proper form costs nothing beyond a little of your time training yourself out of whatever bad form you happen to have adopted. The most common reason for your hand hurting after an extended writing session is a death grip on the writing tool; ideally you should be holding it just hard enough to put it where you want. Someone should be able to lean over your shoulder and snatch the tool from your hand with little resistance. Also very common is putting weight on your wrist. Your whole arm should be a little bit active, carrying your hand around the page as you write or draw. Ideally your wrist is completely stiff; this does little for control, but it helps lower the chances of the tendons that control your fingers rubbing up against the bones of your wrist and deteriorating. You could get a wrist brace to help you practice this. If you want more of this stuff you will find it in vintage "penmanship manuals", from the days when the most convenient method of writing was a fountain pen. I largely got it by word of mouth when I was working in animation next to old pros who routinely passed on their secrets of proper form as a way to help the new kids avoid career-ending wrist injuries from bad form.
andoofthewoods 4y ago
I have the same justification with study notes, and prefer typing most of the time for the speed and easy referencing. Some people just like the tactility of writing. I have a fountain pen I enjoy writing with, and the process is fun, and result can be more pleasing to look at. The slowness of writing also lets you stew in your thoughts a bit more. It really depends on how you like your catharsis.
cableshaft 4y ago
I go back and forth between digital and hand-written. Hand-written seems more thoughtful and I can more easily include diagrams (a lot of my journals are about game designs and how the game rules have been altered between playtests, so diagrams help illustrate the game there), but it just takes so damn long to write and my hand often cramped up. There'd be days I'd be writing for 90 minutes straight, the same amount of text I could type in probably a third of that time. I also eventually like to transcribe the handwritten to digital as well, so I'm typing it eventually anyway. Pandemic really fucked with the habit though, and so far I haven't been able to get back into the groove again. Maybe switching to handwritten again will help. Here are my stats by year: 2016(Hand):9K, 2017(Hand):47k, 2018(Hand):>9k (not all transcribed), 2019(Digital):123k, 2020(Digital):47k, 2021(Digital):11k, 2022(Digital):7.5k
- whiskey14 4y ago
  I think its absolutely fine to switch up mediums. Sometimes I think we get a bit caught up with the mentality of 'this is the way', but when it comes to thoughts getting them out however you can is what you need to. +1
- criddell 4y ago
  An iPad can work as a digital journal pretty well. With the Pencil you can handwrite on the days you want to handwrite and you can sketch. The days you want to type, you can do that as well. You can also paste in images, videos, sound recordings, or just about anything.
  - SenHeng 4y ago
    Yup. Switched to the iPad Mini just for that 2nd gen pencil support.
- tlavoie 4y ago
  My usual preferences are digital-first; I'm quicker at it, and my writing is abysmal. I have started carrying a notebook in my backpack, because sometimes typing is just not convenient. I don't want to sit in some settings, poking at my phone, as it is both inefficient and anti-social in ways that scribbling in a note book isn't perceived to be. It's all pretty new to me, but I think the paper supplement to text interfaces works where it gets transcribed in some form later. The paper can be disposed of, I won't be keeping that once it's served its purpose.
jrib 4y ago
I keep a work journal in markdown on the computer. Like you said, it has the benefit of being easily searched. I also keep a personal journal that I write in more freely once a week. I don't have the "search" requirement there. Reading and writing with pen and paper is more soothing to me for whatever reason. I do like the freedom of pen on paper when compared to typing. I can quickly sketch out a graph or diagram for example. Each has its benefits and drawbacks. Use what fits your use case best :)
ubermonkey 4y ago
"Many journaling proponents insist that this only works if it's hand written but I disagree." This is one of those things where people mistake what works for THEM as universally the best option. It's tedious. I journal longhand in notebooks. I enjoy that aspect of it, and I like fountain pens, and at this point it's one of the only times I actually WRITE vs type. But that doesn't mean MY approach is best for YOU. Off my soapbox now. (Have you tried Org?)

ltriant 4y ago

That's interesting. I mostly had the opposite experience. I tried journaling electronically many times over the years, from basic text files with zero format, to markdown files... even a private Tumblr blog. I couldn't make any of them work for more than a couple of weeks. The electronic thing just kinda disappeared from my vision. I started a bullet journal about 12 months ago, and it's the first thing I've ever managed to use consistently for journaling. Partly because of the very short-form bullet points that a day of journaling is made up of, but the act of hand writing the entries and having a physical journal was the magic for me.

langsoul-com 4y ago
The biggest draw back of physical journals is your hand hurting after writing too much. It's easier to get ergonomic keyboards and chairs compared to writing gear.
- egypturnash 4y ago
  If your hand hurts after writing with a pen you're probably holding it wrong. There are a lot of complex biomechanics going on and very little attention is paid to building proper form any more. Proper form costs nothing beyond a little of your time training yourself out of whatever bad form you happen to have adopted. The most common reason for your hand hurting after an extended writing session is a death grip on the writing tool; ideally you should be holding it just hard enough to put it where you want. Someone should be able to lean over your shoulder and snatch the tool from your hand with little resistance. Also very common is putting weight on your wrist. Your whole arm should be a little bit active, carrying your hand around the page as you write or draw. Ideally your wrist is completely stiff; this does little for control, but it helps lower the chances of the tendons that control your fingers rubbing up against the bones of your wrist and deteriorating. You could get a wrist brace to help you practice this. If you want more of this stuff you will find it in vintage "penmanship manuals", from the days when the most convenient method of writing was a fountain pen. I largely got it by word of mouth when I was working in animation next to old pros who routinely passed on their secrets of proper form as a way to help the new kids avoid career-ending wrist injuries from bad form.

andoofthewoods 4y ago

I have the same justification with study notes, and prefer typing most of the time for the speed and easy referencing. Some people just like the tactility of writing. I have a fountain pen I enjoy writing with, and the process is fun, and result can be more pleasing to look at. The slowness of writing also lets you stew in your thoughts a bit more. It really depends on how you like your catharsis.

cableshaft 4y ago

I go back and forth between digital and hand-written. Hand-written seems more thoughtful and I can more easily include diagrams (a lot of my journals are about game designs and how the game rules have been altered between playtests, so diagrams help illustrate the game there), but it just takes so damn long to write and my hand often cramped up. There'd be days I'd be writing for 90 minutes straight, the same amount of text I could type in probably a third of that time. I also eventually like to transcribe the handwritten to digital as well, so I'm typing it eventually anyway. Pandemic really fucked with the habit though, and so far I haven't been able to get back into the groove again. Maybe switching to handwritten again will help. Here are my stats by year: 2016(Hand):9K, 2017(Hand):47k, 2018(Hand):>9k (not all transcribed), 2019(Digital):123k, 2020(Digital):47k, 2021(Digital):11k, 2022(Digital):7.5k

whiskey14 4y ago
I think its absolutely fine to switch up mediums. Sometimes I think we get a bit caught up with the mentality of 'this is the way', but when it comes to thoughts getting them out however you can is what you need to. +1
criddell 4y ago
An iPad can work as a digital journal pretty well. With the Pencil you can handwrite on the days you want to handwrite and you can sketch. The days you want to type, you can do that as well. You can also paste in images, videos, sound recordings, or just about anything.
- SenHeng 4y ago
  Yup. Switched to the iPad Mini just for that 2nd gen pencil support.
tlavoie 4y ago
My usual preferences are digital-first; I'm quicker at it, and my writing is abysmal. I have started carrying a notebook in my backpack, because sometimes typing is just not convenient. I don't want to sit in some settings, poking at my phone, as it is both inefficient and anti-social in ways that scribbling in a note book isn't perceived to be. It's all pretty new to me, but I think the paper supplement to text interfaces works where it gets transcribed in some form later. The paper can be disposed of, I won't be keeping that once it's served its purpose.

jrib 4y ago

I keep a work journal in markdown on the computer. Like you said, it has the benefit of being easily searched. I also keep a personal journal that I write in more freely once a week. I don't have the "search" requirement there. Reading and writing with pen and paper is more soothing to me for whatever reason. I do like the freedom of pen on paper when compared to typing. I can quickly sketch out a graph or diagram for example. Each has its benefits and drawbacks. Use what fits your use case best :)

ubermonkey 4y ago

"Many journaling proponents insist that this only works if it's hand written but I disagree." This is one of those things where people mistake what works for THEM as universally the best option. It's tedious. I journal longhand in notebooks. I enjoy that aspect of it, and I like fountain pens, and at this point it's one of the only times I actually WRITE vs type. But that doesn't mean MY approach is best for YOU. Off my soapbox now. (Have you tried Org?)