Tuesday, January 10, 2017

The Idea Book

I have a Moleskine notebook that is my main spot for jotting down ideas. It accompanies me to ball games and auto repair shops, meetings and movies, restaurants and lobbies. 

You know what happens to good ideas if you don't write them down. No matter how brilliant they may be - how certain you are that they will be carved into your memory - if they are not on paper they disappear.

The notebook heads off that problem but it also has another trick: It spurs other ideas. You see one thought that has become stale, sort of so-so, and yet now, just by reading it, you can think of another approach that has much more merit.

When it comes to creativity tools, pen and paper remain the Undisputed Champs.

6 comments:

Richard (Rick) Georges said...

Michael, you are right. But, with a Livescribe Echo Pen you can have the best of both worlds. You can buy a Moleskine notebook with Livescribe pages in it that you write on in ball point pen with an Echo pen. Then, when you connect the pen to the computer at home or the office, the pages magically appear in digital form. You can move them to folders, convert them to text, and generally preserve them for posterity.

Michael Wade said...

Rick,

I will give that a try. How much is the Echo pen? Ten or twenty dollars?

Michael

Julian said...

Michael

I first started keeping a journal on reading Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way -- that was roughly 8 years ago. Since then, I've amassed a whole slew of journals from the very, very expensive Italian make to the cheap as chips variety -- a spiral notebook. I've never used an electronic device to take notes, and even though I don't count myself a Luddite -- hell, I'm only 49 -- I couldn't think of anything worse than slip-sliding around on a page. I love the feel of whatever pen or pencil I'm using and that 'process' is as much part of the meditative effect of keeping a journal as what I write. That said, I'd love to know how you get on and if it brings more joy to the process.

Regards
Julian

PS. I don't much care about posterity. In fact, I don't expect anyone to be remotely interested in what I've written when I finally depart these shores.

Michael Wade said...

Julian,

I completely agree with you. There is something about the feel that makes a difference.

BTW: I also found "The Artist's Way" to be helpful. Truly thought-provoking.

Michael

Unknown said...

I too always carry a notebook and pen, sometimes more than one of each. I also make quick notes on my phone. Anything worth really keeping gets put in a larger common note book.
Much fun, and memories involved.

Michael Wade said...

Michael,

That sounds like a very good system!

I really like the larger common note book idea.

Michael