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#Finding tips on writing fast

You can find much information on the internet about increasing your handwriting speed, but when searching for such information you should be careful about potential downsides that might not be properly explained. Writing unnaturally does not only feel bad while writing, but it can be damaging to your hand in the long run. If it just doesn't feel right it's better to write slow in a pace that won't hurt you rather than forcing yourself to do something that might be harmful. Be especially careful when reading guides with the typical "X things that will make you more productive immediately" - attention grabbing titles are often a bad sign. Not always, but often. 

Here are some of the tips from [*How to Easily Improve Your Handwriting Speed* at effectiviology.com](https://effectiviology.com/how-to-easily-improve-handwriting-speed/)that might be useful to you. They are pretty generic, but it can be a good idea to go through them to see if there is something you can easily improve:

> -    **Good handwriting technique** involves using your fingers as guides, and moving the pen using your forearm and shoulder muscles. This allows you to write quickly, without tiring out or getting cramps.
> -   **Bad handwriting technique** involves drawing the letters using your fingers, moving your wrist constantly, and repeatedly picking up your hand from the paper in order to move it across as you write. These issues slow down your writing, and cause your hand to tire out and cramp.

>Maintain good posture

>Hold the pen whichever way feels comfortable

>Avoid gripping the pen too hard

You find similar tips on many other sites, such as [wikihow](https://www.wikihow.com/Write-Faster), who also have tips for [writing neatly](https://www.wikihow.com/Write-Neatly). 

# Practice regularly and slowly

I also think you can find nice tips for regular practice in the article [*How to Improve Your Handwriting* on bulletjournal.com](https://bulletjournal.com/blogs/bulletjournalist/how-to-improve-your-handwriting):

>quotes: start a collection in your bullet journal of favourite or interesting quotes
>Crosswords: see if you can use the tips above to make your morning crossword the neatest it's ever been
>Snail mail: include a small handwritten snippet such as a quote or even your entire letter, where you focus on writing with consistency. A short and sweet thank you note can be a nice starter

They even mention what you have tried, though not as a speed run, but instead as a slow and mindful practice: 

>Pangrams: you might be familiar with "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." A pangram is basically a sentence that uses up all the letters of the alphabet. This one is my personal favourite: "Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs"

Choose a starting point and practice writing like a hobby. It's a good tool, but if you focus too much on being fast you might end up hurting yourself and learning a bad style that is harder to read. 

# Don't obsess over speed - think about *what* you write, too

At the same time you shouldn't obsess over your writing speed. Sure, faster writing means you can produce more content in a short amount of time. But in the end you have to remind yourself that quality is often far more important than quantity. Being able to explain your ideas in a concise way is incredibly important and if you are struggling with writing fast anyway and your writing becomes hardly legible if you are writing too fast you should just take a stept back and think twice about what you write. Your thinking speed is very likely *a lot* faster than your writing speed after all, which means that taking your time to lay out what the most concise way to write something will be a big timesaver. It's a timesaver for everyone, but especially for people in your position.