How writing helps me to clarify and sharpen my thoughts in 2024
I started writing my blog ctnet.com in October 2020 during the height of the Covid pandemic. Blogging has, in part, led to me looking at how I can continue to develop as an individual.
Blogging has also required me to note down content ideas, research, and process concepts for the blog. I have also rediscovered a love for learning as much as I can about the world around me and my place in it.
The power of writing
Writing was invented some 5,000 years ago by the Sumerians or the Mesopotamians for the recording of economic data.
The ability to read and write enables humanity to overcome the limitations of human brain data processing.
The limitation writing was probably invented to overcome was the lack of reliable memory in the human mind. First, writing was used to store useful information on the production of crops. The fact that this information is stored externally allows for it to be shared with other individuals.
But it isn’t just information that can be stored externally and shared with others. I can also share my thoughts, ideas, and knowledge with others, as I have done with this article.
But something incredible happens when you write. It forces you to process your thoughts and slow down your thinking as you have to turn your thoughts into abstract and limited written language. This has the side effect of helping you clarify and sharpen your own thoughts.
I think clarifying my thoughts while I write is one of the reasons why I enjoy writing so much.
Writing to learn and share
I started writing to share my technology knowledge on a blog, and it has become a pathway to learning. One concept I encountered on this pathway was the idea of a Zettelkasten, a Personal Knowledge Management system. I will link to my introductory guide to Zettelkasten on my CTNET blog.
At the heart of the Zettelkasten method is the need to rewrite what you have learnt from other sources to create permanent notes within your Zettelkasten. As I mentioned previously, this forces you to process and think about the note you are writing, increasing the potential for that piece of knowledge to exist. But even if it doesn’t, it is still stored externally.
I have also found, at least on one occasion, that writing about something can lead to me changing my mind as I think about it. One example of this is a post I wrote asking if Information overload was a threat to the information golden age. That was going to be my argument, and as I wrote that post, I realised that it was a symptom of our Information golden age.
Do you find that writing helps you to clarify your thoughts and ideas?
