I was recently in San Diego and decided not to fly with a fountain pen.1My cohost Grant enlightened me when I had my first fountain pen leak that unless your pen is completely full (or completely empty), the change in air pressure will cause a mess. So when I sat down to journal I was back with my original roller-ball Retro 51 Tornado, and my handwriting was awful. It helped me realize how intentional I still am while using a fountain pen, and how that encourages better journaling sessions.
Going back to a traditional pen kicked my brain into a rapid jotting gear that spewed rough characters and jagged sentences all over the page. These entries were initially shorter and had reduced impact. Once I realized what was happening, I took additional care to write slowly and focus on my handwriting. This had a knock-on effect of making me think intentionally about my day and allowing the journaling sessions to improve.
That slow, methodical version of journaling happens naturally with a fountain pen partially because I’m still not totally used to using one, and because the ritual of opening up my journal and uncapping the fountain pen puts me in a mindset that encourages a distraction-free space that declutters my mind. Realizing that, I want to find other proxies for this effect when I’m traveling so I can make the most of that fifteen minutes in the evening. I’m not yet sure what that will be, but it’s good to have a clear sense of a problem I want to solve.
- 1My cohost Grant enlightened me when I had my first fountain pen leak that unless your pen is completely full (or completely empty), the change in air pressure will cause a mess.