Ten Ways to Minimize Discomfort Writing by Hand

Corwin Olson reports:

"Have an assortment of pens or pencils with different sizes and grips, and try a different utensil when using one starts to hurt...Expensive pens/pencils are not necessarily better: [A] lot of times the cheapest mechanical pencils or BIC pens feel the [best/hurt] the least...Lightweight pencils can be more tiresome at first than larger/heavier pencils, but they tend to be less tiring with extended use...For pencils, go mechanical – the lead is much thinner and doesn’t become dull like traditional pencils (unless you’re an artist and you want that effect)...Get a good eraser for pencils – these make a huge difference if you’re erasing a lot. I recommend one of the white Hi-Polymer erasers that easily erase most anything...Pens can be pain for taking technical notes, but the decreased resistance can be worth it. I found that I preferred pens for taking class notes after a while, as I didn’t have time to erase anyways...If possible[,] write on a single sheet of paper on a hard surface, instead of on top of a pad of paper or other soft surface. This lowers the resistance, and results in much cleaner lines in my opinion. This can be difficult if you’re using a spiral bound notebook, which is why I also recommend writing on loose leaf and collecting all your papers in binders (which also makes later scanning [of] all your written documents much easier...and easier to [reorganize])...If you’re at the point where [any]...pen/pencil you use hurts, and you just need to write something repeatedly to study, try using a chalkboard or whiteboard instead...This is 'bad form,' but you may need it, especially if you’re in a class: [I]f you write with the pen between your index and middle fingers, where most of the work is done by your index finger, try shifting the pen down one finger to a position where the middle finger does most of the work...Lastly, the most obvious solution: [T]ake a break...Often this doesn’t seem possible, but I’ve found that it’s usually more feasible than it seems initially. Perhaps do some reading without writing for a little while. You might actually find that you didn’t need to write as much as you initially thought."