On the relationship between notebooks and the weather

For me there’s only one notebook for the times when I need to write things out long-hand (for example, when I’m struggling to crack a creative problem and need to mull it out on the page). It's Muji's super-thin A5.

The size was the original appeal. More space in the rucksack for books and sundries. But it’s become more than that, something akin to ritual. Always the same notebook, always the same ink. Preferably with good quality caffeine. My preferred grey version of the notebook disappeared from Muji’s London shops recently. The sky didn’t fall in, but it does seem to be raining more. Maybe it’s my imagination.

However... Technology.

As much as it goes against my primitive, paper-loving instincts to admit this, it happens to be true: these days my most-used notebook is the one that isn’t a book at all. It’s the Notes app on my iPhone. Portability is the key. It’s always there in my pocket, and easy to write in, even while standing up on a crowded train. The new IOS7 font makes my words look fresh and clean, while the smallness of the screen helps keep the mind focused.

Under ideal conditions – a long Tube journey, for example, with no wifi or 3G connection – I’m probably more productive in Notes than I’d ever be on a laptop or with a pen in hand, pensively thinking. Released from the burden and trappings of ‘writing’ something, the words just flow.

These words originally appeared on the blog published by my friends at Wordtree.