Hey,
I’m annoyed that when I am in certain super cluttered mental states, that I can’t read my handwriting after.
My handwriting generally isn’t great, but I used to do shorthand for journalism, so I know how to write readable. But it requires some strain, especially in these states, where the focus is lost on what I actually want to write. So either I write clearly then, but won’t be able to free-flow, because I strain on the writing, or it’s unreadable after.
Usually I’m just scrambling to find a paper and pen, since getting to my offline laptops and booting them up is too much. But I’ll also be getting a mini-laptop now for this purpose.
Still, though, I feel like there should be something that can be done.
Thanks for your help :)
E: I’m talking about a situation of being myself with stuff that needs to be let out, not doing professional work or similar.
The simple answer is practice, practice writing while getting interfered with (like while you’ve got loud music on, or while watching something on TV)
The more complex answer is grab yourself a mini-recording device. Not one with AI though, that’s stupid. Something simple like https://www.amazon.ca/Recorder-Playback-Tonnlog-1536Kbps-Activated/dp/B0D9NWQXSH/
Then you can just make a quick voice note, or record your meeting with someone (make sure this is legal in your jurisdiction, some places it isn’t) and then you can play it back later to make proper notes.
record your meeting with someone (make sure this is legal in your jurisdiction, some places it isn’t)
Unless you get consent, then it’s chill in all jurisdictions.
Also, to clarify, I’m not talking about writing for work. This is me by myself having things in my head that need to get out.
Recorders still good for that.
I was thinking ordinary practice might not have much of an impact in those states. But there’s a lot on the other side of the argument, so I think, you’re right.
Urgh, I have a recording device, but that’s bs. It’s completely different to writing. Also, the reasons we learned shorthand at uni (aside from not being allowed recording devices in court rooms) is that it’s so much quicker to transcribe an interview from shorthand than listening to the whole audio, stopping, pausing, removing “uhm, ehm, pause” etc.
Thank you :)
I know it’s not the advice you want, but have you considered working on your mental health? This sounds a lot like the byproduct of burnout or depression unless you’re genuinely saying you have psychotic episodes in which case, mental health is all the more important.
It’s a central part of my life already and for a long time, I’m also in therapy. So, don’t worry about that :)
That’s good to hear, work has me dealing with tons of people who do not have that handled lol.
In that case I’d suggest 3 things. Firstly, try different writing utensils. Nothing improved my handwriting so quickly like switching to 0.7mm roller ball pens. They provide a thick wet line that hides my naturally scratchy movement and allow for a smoother motion that I need to write cleanly.
Sencond, penmanship exercises. My son and I did them together to help his writing and it did a lot for me even if it was intended for second graders.
Third, learn a new writing style. We don’t really think about it, but the method taught in schools is an industrialized process that won’t quite fit every single student. The start points, tilt, angle of pen, character spacing, all of that can apply differently based on hand size, wrist angle, pen grip, etc. Instead, take characters you have a particular problem with and try writing them different ways until you find one that you like then just practice that to overwrite your indoctrination. I personally do my “a” with the top hook, my “E” has a “)” shape to its back, “jgq” all have invented hooks, “mnr” lose the solid bar, and any capital with a bar other than E gets the curves as triangles first with a down stroke added for the bar, so “D” looks like “|>” if the shapes were more proportional and overlapped.
Thank you! This is the kind of advice I was initially hoping for :)
Anything to help! You can get free school oriented handwriting printouts from the k12 resources page online, then just ignore the suggested arrows.
I have two handwritings. The sloppy jot it down, and the somebody has to read this.
Slow down and “draw” your letters. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but take your time and it will improve.
I have no idea what this is called, since I’m still new to Apple, but iPad has a handwriting correction feature in its Notes app. I recently had surgery on my dominant arm, so that feature really came in handy for taking notes at uni. I write in cursive with some mixed symbols and it’s able to handle that.
Maybe when going for a mini laptop you can try finding a tablet that also allows for a Bluetooth keyboard, this way you get practice writing by hand but can swap to keyboard after some time.
Alternatively, you could try the Pomodoro method while writing. I find it helps when my adhd is too stronk
eat some mints, should help.
Are you saying, when someone is in a somewhat manic, or near psychotic state, and they want to get what’s in their head on paper, that they should eat mints?
I’m saying that it will calm them down a bit, improving handwriting, I have the same problem and mints help me.
Thank you for elaborating, because it sounded really trollish to me. :)
oh, I really forgot to point out the main thing. in Russia (I’m Russian) we have something called “Tabletki oskorbinovoi kisloti” which is like a pill to make emotions fade out, I’ve took them before but mints just work better here.
So either I write clearly then, but won’t be able to free-flow, because I strain on the writing, or it’s unreadable after.
From a shorthand user to another, don’t try to force those two things in the same process: free flowing, aka letting it go, and taking exact notes.
- don’t try to write everything down. Exactly like when taking notes during a lecture or when doing an interview. Don’t transcribe: summarize, synthesize. When doing an interview, let the audio recorder do the absolutely boring (but still essential) job of being true to what the person is saying, allowing you to fully focus your attention on getting the important ideas jotted down as well as your own reactions to whatever they are telling you.
- As far as that ‘free flow’ state of mind is concerned: use it to, well, free flow which implies to not worry at all about transcribing it, at least imvho. Once again, only jot down key words, ideas, notions. Most of the time complete sentences won’t be your friends at this moment. If you really fear losing that one good sentence (why bother? If it’s good it will stick and if it is not good riddance) you may want to write and talk aloud at the same time, recording it as a backup.
I feel ya. I always have to go through and clean up my notes immediately when I can still recall what they may have meant, or the meaning will be lost to time.
I second the recording, it seems like the surest way to save your thoughts word for word but i personallydont like speakingout loud while thinking.
You can type your notes on your phone if you’re as quick or quicker there than by hand. Autocorrect will mess up some words but those will probably be understandable through context rather than the whole sentence being unreadable.
Or try mind-mapping where you only have to write a few words and draw connections between them. This can take some time to practice, and you can figure out your own sort of shorthands for figures and imagery.
I also like bullet points, where I make sure to make key words readable and can add details that may or may not be legible, but the key words are likely to trigger the same thoughts later as when writing them down.
And always go through and clean up whatever notes or voice memos you take as soon as possible after when it’s still relevant in your mind.
Would dictation work instead of writing? An old black berry with just a notes program may also be handy but IDK how easy it is to get your hands on that.
Best of luck!
Answered this in another comment here. But no. Dictation would pretty much be a last resort.
