notebooks as a capture source

What to expect...

Tone: outdoor voice

Snark level: low

Other special provisions: I love notebooks and pens and think other people should too

trying to get my notebooks just perfect has kept me from writing more. this notebook for this. this notebook for that. is it okay to keep these two topics in one notebook?

what a way to give yourself so much anxiety. you spend so much time obsessing over the detail of your writing process that you neglect the most important part of writing: actually writing.

some people see notebooks as a sort of archive. but not me. i like the idea of being the type of person who thumbs through old notebooks, pleasantly surprised by what he finds on a trip down memory lane. but the truth is I'm much more likely to revisit a digital archive, where I can find what I'm looking for via categories and tags and search.

these simple features make digital archiving more appealing than physical archiving. throw in other features such as syncing and ease of backing up, and digital archiving is a no-brainer for me.

but digital creation is another story.

why not create purely digitally?

if you can store your creations digitally, why not simplify the total process by creating digitally as well?

for one, digital tools such as computers, smart phones, and tablets are often great sources of distraction. how many times have you sat down with one of these devices with the intent to create something or knock out some work, only to look up three hours later to climb out of the rabbit hole you fell into on YouTube, reddit, or Twitter? resisting the temptation that comes with such easy access requires discipline, because the simple truth is we're addicted to distraction.

sure, with a little discipline you can remove this access.

put your devices in do not disturb mode. block certain websites with apps and browser extensions. these are legit options.

but sometimes you get tired of being disciplined.

so you give in.

OR—

...you can avoid temptation whenever possible.

notebooks as creative sparks

notebooks are great tools for thinking. in the context of this post, notebooks are an example of addiction by subtraction. the removal of certain features adds value to what's left behind.

this is a great example of less is more.

less distraction = more creativity

so put down your devices and pick up a notebook and a pen

and kill more trees in the name of recapturing your creativity.