Transcription
Just over a year ago, I uploaded my most viewed video. It was a video on pocket notebooks. In this video, I got a lot of things right, and I also got a lot of things wrong, and the comments were sure to let me know about the latter. People were rightly concerned that I'd been touting a system I'd only been using for a week, and many wondered if I was using the notebook at all.
Yes, I still use the pocket notebook quite a bit, but a lot has changed.
Chapter 1: The Hardware of the System
Beginning with the engine of the machine, the previous iteration of the system employed the Parker Jotter. The updated system now employs the COO Al Sport, a solid hunk of aluminum built like a tank, writes like a dream. A pen is nothing without its writing surface. Come to think of it, a writing surface is nothing without something to write on it. The O.R. enthusiasts might disagree. I digress.
I believe the Field Notes to be a direct upgrade to the Moleskine: thinner, bendier, more back pocketable, better looking. I love how it gets destroyed with use. I love precisely half of the paper in it. I often use the notebook as a coaster or to balance the legs of a bad table. It's a tool, and we ought to use it as such.
I have a lineup of notebooks to be used, and at the top of that list is this pocket notebook from Great Fountain. This is a company in Italy run by a craftsman named Gabriel. Excellent paper, excellent notebook, excellent build quality, perfect for fountain pens. Unlike the Field Notes, Gabriel sent this notebook to me at no charge to give him feedback on what to improve. When there is no feedback, the next step is promotion. I'll leave the link in the description; go buy everything in his store.
Chapter 2: The Mechanics of the System
In short, I've become more liberal with how I use the notebook: shopping lists, aphorisms, quotes, books to read, journaling, chord progressions, and poetry. It replaces my phone in times of short-term boredom. I don't necessarily need to write to be in tune with your past self.
To be uniquely yourself, according to John Locke, great ideas are seldom our own. Aristotle practically invented common sense, and now we've come to expect it of everyone. So, I compile words that are not my own: quotes from books, videos, movies, and wise people, and unwise people such as myself. An empty wagon rattles the loudest, and the same applies to people and dogs.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Creek Wrangler School: a wise man writing quotes encourages comparison of one's own thoughts to that which is written. To think for oneself is a trained skill. My memory often fails me; ink on paper never does. Birthdays, books to read, movies to watch, coffee shops to visit.
Sure, a phone is more convenient, but the less I touch that thing, the better.
Chapter 3: The Philosophy of the System
Why bother using the notebook? Is it pretentiousness, romanticism, or stupidity? In reality, it's a hatred of my phone and a hatred for the relentless pursuit of maximum efficiency at the cost of our ability to reason and think critically for ourselves. And it's also pretentiousness.
At this point, I've been using the notebook for just over a year, so I hope not to see any comments poking fun at how I have little experience with the system. If you're just on the fence, try it. It's nice, I promise.
Field Notes, if you're watching this video, please sponsor me. And viewer, if you're still watching, think more, write more, and carry pocket notebooks more.
Thanks for watching! Also, subscribe.
[Music]