Pen and ink
On Saturdays (and occasionally in midweek) I conduct weddings. As a legal registrar, sometimes I conduct the ceremony and sometimes I take care of all the legal aspects of the marriage. Invariable every couple or witness remarks on the use of a fountain pen to make any additions to the marriage schedule and sign it. And it isn’t only the use of pen and ink that elicits comments, it’s the fact that people don’t write by hand so much (or at all) any more.
I ran a little unofficial poll recently, and the result pleased me more than it probably should have. The handwritten list is still the favourite. Not an app. A pen, paper, and actual handwriting.
As an English teacher, this matters to me. I see, day in and day out, just how little handwriting many of my students do now. Homework is usually set on line; we now have to train our students to handwrite to prepare them for their GCSE and A Level exams and as an examiner, deciphering handwriting is becoming more tricky.
There's been some genuinely interesting research recently on the links between handwriting and language learning, handwriting and memory, on writing before bed to support better sleep, and on handwriting and cognitive development. The message is hard to ignore. Handwriting matters.
A study published in Frontiers in Psychology backs this up nicely. Researchers wired up 36 university students to high-density EEG and watched what happened in their brains as they wrote words by hand versus typed them. The difference wasn't subtle. Handwriting produced far more widespread, elaborate brain connectivity than typing did: specific patterns linking regions of the brain associated with memory, learning, and encoding new information. Typing, by comparison, barely got the same networks talking to each other. The researchers' conclusion: the fine motor control, visual feedback, and precision of forming each letter by hand genuinely engages the brain in a way that pressing a key doesn’t.
I've written before about the quiet power of writing letters and lists by hand. Handwriting influences neural activity in a way that echoes meditation. It activates large regions of the brain tied to thinking, language, healing, and working memory. It forces us to slow down and be present. Need I say more?
So there’s a neuroscience to back up my love of stationery. I want a lovely pen and a hard-backed book with a cover that means something. Mine are always plastered in photos or wrapping paper, exactly like my exercise books at school. Some habits are worth keeping.
That's it from me this week. Pick up a pen and paper, and take a moment to reflect on the tiny things that have brought you joy this past month then set a few intentions for the month ahead, in writing, in a notebook.