The Return of the Pocket Notebook

Covid almost killed my pocket notebook habit. At home, I had plenty of larger format notebooks to use, books more suited to fountain pens and longer form writing. In Cyprus, if we wanted to go out, we had to send a text with a specific "reason code", and lingering was not encouraged. As restrictions eased, I was out of the habit of carrying a book.

Last year it struck me that I had also got out of the habit of going out. I couldn't remember the last time I'd taken myself into my local town for a wander. I stay at home, until there's a specific purpose, when I jump into the car, do what I have to do, and then return. An unexpected casualty of Covid. I resolved to make more time to get out and about without a specific reason and this, in turn, has led to a revival of my pocket notebook use.

The photo above is of my pocket notebooks used so far this year. For those who were not readers and customers of Nero's Notes, some explanatory notes:

  1. Loggedoff is the company that owned Nero's Notes. There were 121 notebooks used over the lifespan of the business.
  2. Lime is my other business - and has taken over the notebook count as of February this year.
  3. Going from top left to right bottom, Norderly, William Hannah, William Hannah, a pilot trial from MadeforInk, a special edition from Dapper Notes and another William Hannah.

The choice of books is instructive. They're all singles. I have a LOT of notebooks to choose from; many singles and many in multi-packs (usually 3s). Choosing the singles is an unconscious choice to "tidy up", I think.

What am I writing?

Going through the last book-

  • Flight and hotel options for an upcoming trip
  • Stage points for a long hike I'm planning for next year
  • Albums to check out
  • Apps to check out (for photos outside Big Tech)
  • Directories and their sizes, as I worked out which cloud services to use
  • Notes jotted while recording Stationery Adjacent
  • Date and flight options to catch Simple Minds on tour
  • First notes on making a weight loss plan
  • Keyboard shortcut for Emoji's on Linux
  • Books to check out
  • List of people I play golf with
  • Quick capture To-dos
  • Tracking details for my still-not-arrived Padel racket
  • Bank details to pay the plumber
  • List of telephone bill payments - so I could dispute the last one

A few of those are repeated, but you get the idea. There's no specific purpose, but gradually my default is to reach for my pocket notebook rather than my mobile phone.

You look much more windswept and interesting jotting a note than you do scrolling through your phone.

People like you support my writing. Sign up for my free newsletter. Become a paid member, and get access to all my writing, including anything I publish, and a Member's Slack.