For the holidays this year, my brother sent me a set of pencils that I found really inspirational.

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I happened to be rough drafting something old school, using a pen and paper, so I immediately dropped the ballpoint and put the pencil to work. Although it is incredibly satisfying to write s**t down with a pencil so encouraging, I actually found that for extended writing, the pencil provided too much friction and resistance. A pen simply requires less muscle exertion, and when you’re (hopefully) doing a bunch of writing, it turns out that’s an issue – at least for me. (More on my experiment with old school writing in a subsequent post.)

So, I’m sticking with a ballpoint pen for long-hand drafting, but believe me I keep those pencils handy for messages and short notes, because you definitely have to write that s**t down – and sometimes you want the friction.