Writing longhand is GREAT! I’m all for editing, note taking, and drafting on paper. Over the years, I’ve invested a lot in composition notebooks and Moleskines. But writing longhand is only the beginning if I have any intentions of sharing my writing with the public.
Sending snail mail is always an option. Aside from personal or in-house use, it’s counterproductive to leave things in your handwriting, even if it is really pretty.
There is a time and a place for technology. If your goal is to free up time to smell the roses, to share your work with many, via publishing to print or the web, technology holds the bevy of tools you need. If you want to send an email, scanning and faxing what you write may be faster than regular mail, but it’s not your most efficient route. Now, you can guess what my answer will be to the title question, right?
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I am a fan of keyboard shortcuts. And the more I write and research, the more they come in great hand (no pun intended). Even after I got my fancy trackball mouse with a ton of buttons, (4 to be exact), I still like my keyboard shortcuts.
It’s often quicker to use the keyboard than to find the pointer and set it to where I need. Some examples are closing tab and opening tabs. Say I need to search for something related to a page I’m on but I don’t want to change the current page. I use these keys: Ctrl T to open a new tab, then TAB over to my search box to type my search.
Believe me, that was longer to type than to execute. And quicker than using the mouse. The reason it beats the mouse is because there’s no need to reorient yourself. I’m already on the keyboard. I don’t have to navigate anywhere to find the tab or button to add a new page. I don’t have to reposition the cursor to the search box to start typing.
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