The hardest lesson to deliver about writing, especially to my students, is the benefits come from the process and not the product. This is especially hard to teach in schools where rewards , in the form of grades, are product driven and you write to hand something in.

However, this misses the most valuable lesson the act of writing has to offer, which has been picked up by mental health experts, bloggers and even athletes.

The act of writing helps to clarify your thoughts, organize your mind and reflect on what’s really happening with you. It’s the reason Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages are such a life changing habit, or why the act of journaling is necessary for progressing in our mental health wellness.

Hell, it’s even recommended by David Goggins, who isn’t known for holding back on what he considers to be bullshit.

From my experience, the act of writing hasn’t turned me into a different person as age, experience, kids and a loving partner have done all that. What it has done has helped me pay attention to the flow and structure of language. More specifically, the way I communicate.

My mind has always been a scattered mess, overthinking everything. It was very common for me to spend inordinate amounts of time processing what people were telling me and preparing what I was going to say, only to have it come out a complete jumbled mess. It was like my mind was trying to get my mouth to say five things at once.

The act of writing, which is a form of communication that happens through the hands instead of the mouth, has given me the practce to drastically diminish this hurdle. I actually think clearer now.

My personal experience aside, writing as an act of clarity is the single greatest benefit to engaging in it as a habit. Its usefulness can be catered to whatever you need without ever having to engage with it more than the process.

I highly recommend it.