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On Keeping a Notebook

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I purchased my first 3-pack of Moleskine Cahiers in September 2013. Prior to this purchase, sketches went in sketchbooks, to-do lists went in calendars and thoughts went on whatever scrap I could find at the time. Keeping a notebook merged all of these things onto 64 sheets of paper bound together, and I am currently working out of book #27.

Of the 27, there has only been one casualty. It’s a long and sad story, but #5 accidentally got sent to a Verizon Wireless store in Washington state and was never returned.

I fondly refer to them as my brain on paper. Instead of being organized by topic or project, my method is chronological, which makes my more Type A friends anxious. The non-organizational organization method seems chaotic—and it is (concept sketches and to-do lists waltz together in a delightful, if often turbulent, dance for priority on the page)—but it works for me.

If something catches my eye, it goes in the notebook. Color palettes, quotes, ads, graphs, contradictions and the occasional out-of-context quote overheard on the L.

The notebooks are for thinking and collecting; nothing stops thoughts quicker than organizing them before they even come out. It’s a free space to write down ideas—good and bad. Editing comes later. If something catches my eye, it goes in the notebook. Color palettes, quotes, ads, graphs, contradictions and the occasional out-of-context quote overheard on the L. Each note is made with the intention that maybe someday I’ll come back to it. Most times, I do.

Sometimes I want to reference a sketch or note I had written notebooks ago, and start digging through each book trying to find a single thought that was quickly scribbled as an undeveloped idea. (I have yet to figure out a good indexing system.)

Keeping notebooks has taught me to embrace the process. No thought or sketch starts out as a final product, and notebooks are a great visual index of solutions developing over time, through imperfect marks, iterations, successes and failed attempts.

Many people whose work and thoughts have deeply influenced the world—artists, writers, presidents, designers, inventors—have been known to keep notebooks. (Personalities as disparate as Thomas Jefferson and Joan Didion were compulsive notebook users.) And while each has a system and purpose that is unique to them and their needs, I would venture to say that all who practice keeping a notebook would agree that having a common space for thought collection and idea cross-pollination is an essential part of the creative process.

And if you’re still not convinced, the idea for this blog post started in #26.