Pocket Notebook

I've tried a lot of productivity software over the years. I seem to churn through apps and systems fairly regularly. I suspect part of this is because I just need a change from time to time. My brain requires a reset and adopting a new system provides that demarcation line and some fresh energy. Lately though I've moved to a very analogue system for personal note taking.

Since the beginning of this year I've started carrying a pocket notebook and a pen. Part of this motivation was some youtube video that popped up in my feed with a good story to tell about the concept. Another part was that I decided I needed to find a way to be less Phone Dad around my kids. Finally with my wallet becoming lighter as more cards become digital I had a little more space to carry something on my person everyday.

There is a plethora of personal notebook systems out there and you can tie yourself in knots trying to adhere to them. For me I began this with the clear goal that my notebook is strictly formatless and freeform. I must not be precious about it because that would cause me to write less if it wasn't "perfect" or within the system. The notebook is throwaway, a mental scratchpad and very much ephemeral. It can be torn to shreds and I'll just buy a new one and continue on. It had to be small enough to throw in any pocket, it must also be as reachable as my phone. Hopefully the goal was to reach for it first before my phone.

With all that in mind I bought the cheapest A5 notebook I could find and started writing in it. Obviously the first couple of weeks were high energy and I was writing multiple pages a day. As I settled in to it more a rough "system" emerged from my daily scribbles. I would write the date, a rough agenda of the day as I knew it and a rough "upcoming" list of events I should keep in mind for the coming days. After that it was a mix of personal journal entries, todo lists, scribbles and doodles, rough notes and a portable art book for my daughter.

As of today I've gone through roughly 10 of these notebooks and I suspect this might continue for some time. I wouldn't say on the whole it's been absolutely life changing but it has made a difference at the margins. I have something else to occupy my time with in those small moments where I would reflexively reach for my phone. I now am a slightly better example to my children with me reaching for my phone less, when my daughter is bored I hand her my notebook and she happily doodles some lovely art. It's a much more engaging experience to take a quick note during a conversation when it's written down on paper rather than in a phone. People notice. There are numerous studies saying that writing something down makes memories stick better than typing it in a device. I have found this to be true.

One thing that I found very interesting as time went on is that an online todo list lasts forever and you will always add items at a greater rate than you will complete them. The ephemerality of the notebook means that some items never get done. They live on a previous page and at some point you forget to move it to today's agenda. A natural attrition occurs where these tasks end up less important or don't need to be done at all. I am really enjoying this phenomenon. It feels much more natural in my busy life than doing a "weekly review" or having to consciously clean up tasks.

There are some downsides. I still lean on technology for reminders and calendar events. This is fine, the notebook isn't a system in and of itself but is part of a larger system that helps me manage my life. One of the most annoying things though is that I have run into unreliable pens. This has really annoyed me more than I thought it would! I'm happy with cheap notebooks but I definitely have found out that I need better quality pens. Sometimes carrying a notebook and pen is annoying in a way that a wallet isn't. Sometimes I forget my notebook!

Another thing worth noting is that I am effectively paying roughly $5 per month to keep this habit going. I have no issues with this personally but it is funny on reflection that I probably would think twice about paying that much for a personal software subscription that does largely the same thing. In any case it's a cost I'm willing to bear at this point because it does give me upsides. I also enjoy looking out for my next notebook. I've tried a variety and I mostly land on moleskins with a dotted grid since they're easy to acquire but I've found some nice ones from various book stores.

I've had this blog post down as a task for some time now transferring it from notebook to notebook and I guess now I can tick that item off, physically. It will feel good.