Pro tip: I gave up on my Leuchtturm1917 after 3 months for a cheap composition book.

Everyone says you need a fancy dotted notebook, but the pressure to make it perfect was killing my system. I switched to a basic 99 cent composition book from the store and my daily logging actually got consistent. Has anyone else found that simpler tools work better for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

norathomas1mo ago

Totally get that. I had a Moleskine that made me feel like every page needed to be a work of art. Switched to a stack of legal pads from the office supply closet and suddenly I'm scribbling grocery lists and meeting notes without a second thought. The fancy notebook felt like a museum exhibit I couldn't touch. The cheap paper feels like permission to just use it.

davis.noah1mo ago

Oh man, exactly! I bought this beautiful leather journal once and it sat empty for a year. Felt too nice to ruin. Now I just grab those cheap composition books when they're on sale for a dollar. The first page is always a mess of test scribbles, and then I just go for it.

rowanellis22d ago

It's funny how that works though, @davis.noah ...the nicer the thing, the harder it is to actually use. Same thing happens with that fancy bottle of wine someone saves for ten years or the expensive art supplies that sit untouched. Sometimes we just need the cheap stuff to remind us that making a mess is part of actually doing something.