Use a Daily Planner as a Notebook | Kicking Ass and Taking Notes
For the past few years I’ve been using Moleskine’s page-per-day planner, large (13 x 21 cm) size, as my main catch-everything notebook (not as a planner as intended).
It goes on to list several reasons why such a method might work for some. Interesting at the least.
Michael Palin: ‘Pleasure, pain – it’s all there in my diary’
Very little happened on that first day of the new diary, or so it seemed at the time. Yet when I re-read my entry for Thursday 17 April 1969, my diary reminds me that I played squash, had David Jason round to lunch, walked over Hampstead Heath to Kenwood House, and took a phone call from David Frost about a rumour he’d heard that I was planning a new show with John Cleese. If I had not kept a diary I would never remember all this. And how unremarkable it seemed at the time. David Jason was a friend, not a television megastar, and Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the new show John had talked about, was still a glint in its mother’s eye.
This, right here, is why it is important to keep a journal/diary/log of some sort. What seems mundane now might be one of the most important things in your life and there is no way to know unless you write it all down.
(Hat tip to Matt Kaspar once again)
If you wanted to ensure it lasted for 150 years – you’d choose paper.
— Garrick van Buren (@garrickvanburen) September 14, 2015
What we believe in.
Original source of the list is here.
When something really resonates with me, I capture it in my Core Commonplace book.
‘I’m awful, I’m awful’: writers spill the secrets of their diaries
What is it like to read your diary later in life? Sheila Hancock, Tracey Thorn and Rae Earl share their stories.
I love stuff like this. Thanks to Matt Kaspar for sharing it with me.
Hobonichi Planner A6 Book (January Start) – HOBONICHI TECHO 2016
The 2016 version of the planner I have used as a Daily Log for two years now (and foresee myself using as long as I live if possible) is now available for sale. They first went live last night but the rush was so great that it crashed their servers pretty hard. Yes, it is that popular and for good reason. I just checked and things seem a bit more stable now so, if you are in the market for a good paper planner filled with wonderful details and fountain pen friendly paper now is your chance.
If you want to get a sense of how I use mine, I wrote a bit about it on my personal site.
How The Ballpoint Pen Killed Cursive
The ballpoint’s universal success has changed how most people experience ink. Its thicker ink was less likely to leak than that of its predecessors. For most purposes, this was a win—no more ink-stained shirts, no need for those stereotypically geeky pocket protectors. However, thicker ink also changes the physical experience of writing, not necessarily all for the better.
While I disagree with the premise, that cursive was killed by the ballpoint pen, I agree with some of the points made to support the argument such as the one above.
Morning Pages Should Be Like Skimming Stones – Matthew Lang
Your morning pages should be like this. Just writing, seeing where it takes you and never worrying about that writing coming back. It’s an exercise to clear your mind and nothing more.
Yep. Though I too find it very hard to do. It’s hard to let go and just write everything that pops into the mind. It’s a practice that, like meditation, one just has to keep at and stop beating themselves up over how bad they are. And that takes letting go of one’s ego and pride. And, if there’s anything that most writers are full of it’s ego and pride.
Holly Hubbard: Commonplace Book // Motivational Speech
Whenever I come across something I like in a book or online, I copy it down onto a card. I don’t just make cards for overtly inspirational stuff; I also have sections in the box for funny things, good descriptions, dialogue, and research. I’ve been keeping the cards since the start of the year and have managed to build up a nice collection with very little effort on my part (which is the main criterion for any self-improvement project I’m actually going to stick with).
A nice idea. Sort of like building one’s own Oblique Strategies.
Can old world be more modern than new school?–Signalv.Noise
To much goodness to quote a single bit. Click through and read it. What we believe in.