Is hand-writing code worth your time in 2024?

There's been an interesting shift lately—some developers are stepping back from their IDEs and actually writing code out by hand. Whether it's on paper during the planning phase, whiteboarding with colleagues, or even coding on pen and paper before typing it up, people are rediscovering an older approach.

I'm curious what drives this. Is it about slowing down and thinking more deliberately? Does handwriting force you to be more intentional with your logic instead of relying on autocomplete and IDE suggestions? Or is it a way to disconnect from the constant notifications and context-switching that comes with sitting at your computer?

There's also a practical angle—many of us remember learning programming concepts better when we had to write them out. Some coding interviews still use this approach, and there's something to be said for that friction making ideas stick.

At the same time, there are obvious trade-offs. You lose immediate feedback, syntax highlighting, and the ability to run and test your code instantly. Plus, transcribing handwritten code into a file feels like busywork to a lot of people.

What's your take? Have you tried writing code by hand, even just for sketching out ideas? Does it actually help you think better, or does it feel like a step backward? And if you do it, what's your preferred method—paper, whiteboard, digital notebook?