Open a printed notebook. Feel free to write, draw, or make a grocery list next to a big concept. Paper has a smell and a weight. Something that digital notes can’t quite copy. You can touch memory foam with your mind.
Do you remember how you used to fidget with the corners of a fresh notebook in school? The pages are as crisp as leaves in the fall. Every first page is both exciting and scary. Hi, blank slate. Goodbye, putting things off—at least for the next five minutes.
Printed notebooks pick up fingerprints from life. Stains from coffee? Doodling pictures of happy kittens on accident during boring meetings? Proof you were here, your thoughts wandering as your hands labored. The silly ink stains, heart doodles, and cheeky sticky notes stuck between the pages can’t be erased.
There is now a type for every writer. Little notebooks fit in the pockets of jeans. Thick, cream-colored sheets in journals want to hear your best ideas. Wire-bound squares that beg for grocery lists or action plans. Designers have gone crazy, mixing and matching covers that are as elaborate as tapestry or as plain as recycled cardboard.
Have you ever tried bullet journaling? Some people say it seems like a diary, a planner, and therapy all at the same time. Some people think it’s a great method to seem to be organized while drawing everything that comes to mind. All of them have their adventures on the ruled or dotted ground. The only limit is how long your favorite pen can last (or how patient you are).
There is a strange pleasure in writing on paper. The pencil’s drag. The gentle sound of a ballpoint pen. It keeps you grounded, keeps your hands busy, and helps you focus. Who hasn’t happily marked off a duty that was done? Words that have been struck through are taller than words that have been removed.
If you give someone a notebook, they might write a novel, a business strategy, or just doodle and dream for a week. Even the empty ones feel strangely close. Some people retain these books as mementos, never opening them up. Some people bring worn-out copies to the store that are full of ticket stubs, shopping lists, and drawings of kids who are bored.
There is a certain amount of wickedness in going back. Writing that isn’t straight, old to-do lists, and love notes penned when no one was looking. One ink mark at a time, following your life. Notebooks with print don’t judge. They don’t fix your spelling mistakes or provide you reminders. They just wait.
There will always be displays, apps, and clouds. But what about paper? It takes in secrets and keeps the laughter in every margin. Put one in your bag. Or let a stack of things lean dangerously close to your desk. It’s nice to know that you’re only a page away from your next great idea or a truly fulfilling doodle at any time.