The Art Of Not Asking Why

Today, I wanted to know if my notebook 📙 has been useful to me. I’ve been writing down notes in the morning on and off since February, so I have about six months of experience to consider.

Writing in a notebook is very restricting, especially when compared to a versatile tool such as Emacs and a wonder like a Mac and the internet at your fingertips. The notebooks I keep are all pocket-sized, so I have little room for my scribbles before I run out of space. Restriction, though, is not always a bad thing. The wonders of technology can be very distracting. Having access to all the information is useful most of the time, but not when you only have a vague idea or a “feeling” about something that you’re trying to define.

There’s also comfort in this restriction. I often get overwhelmed by information overload. One side of my mind is like a madman laughing into the brainstorm; the other is left in the dust, yelling at me to slow down. In a notebook, I have to slow down if I want my notes to be readable. This slowness makes the notebook inviting to use. It also feels nice to write on pen and paper in a way typing on a keyboard is not 🖊️. It’s not that I get no joy from the computer; it’s just different.

Because the notebook is not connected to the internet, there’s no Google to hold my hand and guide me on a journey of tangents. The only entity behind the pen is me; hence, the only person who can guide my thoughts is me. I feel this level of personal intimacy is lost on us in the digital age. Our thoughts are constantly in danger of being underdeveloped, distracted into oblivion - Death before depth.

There is time and place for thinking and processing large amounts of information, and it’s good we have the tools to do so. At the same time, we lost the ability to think deeply, even sulk. We’re afraid of boredom and perhaps depression. Sometimes, it’s a good idea to dive in and revisit these thoughts, even if they carry a weight. Having a pen and paper anchors me down, like entering my mind-maze with a yarn ball to leave a string behind.