Writing to achieve clear thinking

In the past couple of weeks I’ve increased the regularity of my (now daily) journaling, and confirmed something I’ve been aware of for a long time; the more I write, the clearer my thinking becomes. 

An effective way to improve our ability to think clearly is to spend more time thinking. Writing provides a way to force ourselves to slow down and think more. 

Good writing requires good thinking, and clear writing exposes poor thinking. Clear writing involves getting key ideas across without using more words than necessary, and clear thinking involves focussing on the most important thoughts amidst the clutter of many disorganised ideas. 

Writing to achieve clear thinking

To think clearly is to be able to consider arguments, acknowledging nuance and weighing it up, and drawing a novel conclusion. You can spot logical fallacies and eliminate them. 

Writing makes it easier to think through an argument. By putting your thoughts down onto a page it becomes easier to identify thoughts and ideas which don’t make much sense, or where you have a lack of understanding. 

By writing out your thoughts, you have something to analyse, revise, and improve. The editing process clarifies your thinking. The better you get at editing your writing, the better you will get at thinking more concisely.

This process has parallels to when we were younger and studying for exams. One very effective method to fully master a topic was to try and teach that topic to a peer. It required us to communicate the key idea in its simplest form. 

Implementation idea

When you’re stuck on a problem or trying to sharpen your understanding and thinking about something, consider writing your thoughts down. 

I discussed recently the value in having a second brain to store ideas in the face of the increasing amounts of information we consume daily.

Whilst we may have somewhere to store the information, the thoughts and ideas that it can spark can clutter our minds, and one cannot think clearly when the head is cluttered.

The writing and editing process is one way to force stillness and slow and measured thinking.