The right tool for thinking and writing

You’ve probably already come across the idea that some people think better when using pen and paper. For me that’s absolutely the case. I cannot think properly about problems beyond a certain size without also having a way to write parts of that problem somewhere down with a pen (either on paper or using the pencil of my tablet).

Yes, using a keyboards and putting all that into file also works but not as well, interrupting a lot of side-thoughts and possible connections. I noticed something similar when it comes to writing especially when it comes to chats/text messages: Here I need a physical keyboard.

Just today, I needed to write an important email. Technical, my phone had all the necessary access and accounts set up. The result would have been the same but for some reason I simply couldn’t write it there. The virtual keyboard there felt like the wrong tool for the job.

These two things, thinking on paper and writing with a proper keyboard, might just be the same. In order to think or act properly, I’ve become used to specific tools. For chatting I was socialized in the late 1990s and early 2000s where everything was done on PCs with keyboards. For free-form thinking and pen and some physical or digital paper just offers the least amount of resistance to my thoughts.

So both processes require their respective “right” tool. For communications, though, this is quite tedious, though. I don’t want to think of the number of emails and Signal chats that I haven’t answered or only answered with a long delay simply because I didn’t have a physical keyboard nearby. I sincerely apologize to those affected!

I will now try to force myself to at least get better at chat messages but I’ve now always a mobile keyboard in my bag next to my tablet. In my head this isn’t the same as using my laptop, but it needs to be close enough!