I have tons of notebooks. Spiraled, composition, small, oversized, unlined, graph paper style, with rippable pages, with torn pages. But only one has followed me for more than 10 years (it’s dated 10/30/15) and been through 3 states of moves and still is my go-to notebook for “important things” and silly things alike. I don’t use it sparingly on purpose, but there are times when I gravitate towards it and others where a notebook dedicated to something else makes more sense. But it’s always been there.
My 10-year notebook is not a Moleskine or a Leuchtturm, but a Markings by C.R. Gibson, and I’ve been very happy with it. It’s an object that has defined critical moments in my life, but also key insights I have into note-keeping, record-making, and the way a journal can be kept. Through time it’s tracked my health, wealth, love, and life while also tallying silly goals and difficult challenges.
The Notebook
The notebook is a fairly standard Markings by C.R. Gibson in a variety that, based on my research, is no longer made today. It has a fairly standard, gender-nondescript green dot pattern, is hard bound, has an elastic clasp, and a ribbon as a bookmark. All important features for a notebook to have.
This notebook is not the type that self-aggrandizes. There’s no marking of the number of pages it has anywhere on it, nor claims to help productivity. It’s just straight up college ruled paper throughout without dots, boxes, planning pages, or even a table of contents at the beginning. Though, there are pocket flaps in the front and back. The pages did not come numbered. In fact, the only thing that the notebook has that looks different than any other page is a small rectangular placard in the front with four small lines to do as you please.
I almost certainly bought it at a Walmart or Staples, though its true origins and price (I suspect it was about $10) are lost to time. Would I buy it again today? It’s hard to say. But there’s no way that I am sad about my long ago purchase now.
Turtle-Shell Tough
There are two things that have transformed this from a regular notebook into a notebook that has lasted through the ages for me, still getting use from time to time to this day.
The first is that it is legitimately built tough. There’s no telling what I paid for it, but I got every penny’s worth. The exterior is turtle-shell hard (only slight exaggeration) and only has minimal fraying after all this time. Plus, it cleans easily, and I was able to, just now, clean off a tea or wine stain of some sort with the rub of a damp thumb.
As a result of its toughness, it’s been able to travel with me easily. I’ve thrown it into backpacks, in backseats, placed it on dirty carts, let it inside greenhouses, and surely put it on a lab bench at some point or another. Without fear, even though it has become a super important item for me and one that keeps really important info that I’ll never want to lose.
For Years, It Lived on My Desk
The other thing that’s made this a real deal notebook for me is that I started using it at an important crossroads in my life. I used it to plan moving to another state, a move I dearly loved, and kept using it once I got there to help me with a variety of problems along the way.
And through all of this, it earned a spot on my desk during important times and I made memories with it. Sometimes through now nearly-indecipherable scribblings, but memories nonetheless.
By having a hard spine (literally) and being there, handy, I have a single book that encapsulates some of the most important, silly, and heartbreaking moments of my life.
Tracking Things, Good and Bad
I plan to come back later and categorize everything that’s been put in the notebook, both for my own sake and for curious readers, but what I can tell you is that it’s never served as a tracker of just one thing.
And that’s how it’s survived.
Drink less challenges, health symptoms, people I’ve loved, logs of daily thoughts, ideas about how to deal with relationship issues, planning moves, calculating money, interview notes, and more are tracked inside.
Developing Systems Over Time
See, one thing I see a lot for people that are looking to start a journal, diary, or other logbook is that they’re looking for the perfect system to get started with.
It’s the exact kind of analysis paralysis that will ensure you never get started and that you run into a sort of “First Three Pages Syndrome” with your fancy new notebook.
My notebook had no set systems from the start and I had no real plans for it other than helping with my move and new job when I bought it. What systems it does have are haphazard, maybe a health tracker on one page and a game achievements tracker on another, sometimes that I would flip back to weeks later. The only persisting system has been the page numbering system I added some years into it; numbering every page in the upper-right corner.
The fewer systems your journal has, the more general it can be. It’s not for everything, it certainly has a certain vibe to it, but it’s the most general purpose notebook I’ve ever had, and I think that lends a lot to its longevity.
What Comes Next?
This notebook doesn’t have that many pages left. And though I’m not using it as much as I once did, I know that it will eventually be used fully.
What happens when your favorite notebook is filled to the brim?
Well, you buy another one, of course! But do I go with another C.R. Gibson or do I look for something more luxe, more “premium” quality? I know I’d like to be able to put the notebooks side-by-side on my bookshelf, with similarly tall and stylized spines. But that’s all I know about it.
In any event, time will tell.