My notebooks and the evolution of my writing system

The notebooks I’ve collected

I love writing for myself. With a pen and a physical notebook. I’ve collected notebooks for many years, but most of them are in storage in other countries because I immigrated.

Here in Tbilisi, I have 16 physical notebooks. They cover the period from July 2023 until now.

I’ve written my thoughts, my ideas, ongoing things, everything. And I can see how my way of writing is evolving.

How it started

I think i started to write in notebooks in my childhood. I remember soviet union old-styled 96-pages notebooks and brand new bright colored pens, flooded the Russian market in the 90s.

Even my first code was written in a notebook, cause I hadn’t a computer yet. I still have it, it’s 28 years old!

I remember burning some of my notebooks during puberty. That’s the destructive side of teenage madness.

I continued writing in a notebook when I was already studying computer science at university and when I started working in an office.

Since I’m a programmer, I spend almost all my time on the computer. And I really enjoyed the opportunity to take a break from the screen and write something “naturally” by hand. And if you look at my notes from those years, it’s a complete mess.

In July 2023, I started using the word Braindump for my thoughts. I began writing the date and weekday before starting a new note. This was I think my first attempt to structure my writing.

At the end of 2023, I read the book Refuse to Choose! by Barbara Sher, and it made me realize that I should give my ideas more attention. I’ve always written down my ideas, but this book made me realize that it’s worth dedicating separate notes to each idea and writing down in detail everything that comes to mind. So my notes with ideas became more rich.

The Artist’s Way experiment

In the beginning of 2024, I read the book The Artist’s Way. The author suggests her core concept: The Morning Pages. After waking up, before any other activity, write at least 3 pages without judging anything.

I loved the idea, but it was too hard to keep up. I really need breakfast first, and 3 pages is too much many days. Also, I like writing before sleep to shutdown.

For some period, I tried “Night pages” only, writing 3 pages before sleep instead of morning. At one night I wrote 14 pages! So many things were in my mind.

I tried different ways to write, various notebooks, I tried to write digital notes. And now I have a system I’m satisfied with.

The 3-notebook system

Now I have 3 physical notebooks:

1. For braindumps. This is the processing plant. It’s messy, emotional, and raw. I never need to read it again. Its only purpose is to get rid of my thoughts.
2. For quick notes. Like during calls, phone numbers, to-dos, quick reminders. It’s functional and disposable. My external RAM.
3. For my ideas. This is the treasure chest. By keeping my brilliant ideas separate from my “emotional trash” (braindump) and my quick notes, I honor my creativity.

The first notebook has a hardcover and about 300 pages, because it’s the most used. The grid is dots.

The second notebook, for quick notes, is blank, head stapled pad. The third notebook is soft cover, less pages, dots or blank.

The rhythm that works

I write braindumps two times per day. First after breakfast, second before sleep. I write two pages (one book spread).

The current system, 2 pages in the morning and 2 pages in the evening, is better for me personally. If I need to write a braindump additional during the day, it’s okay, I use the first notebook.

My evolving format

My note format has evolved too. Now I write the datetime in format “DD.MM.YYYY HH:mm” + first 3 characters of weekday name like “Fri” + number of my cycle day. And also on the second line I write a name for the note like “Braindump” or “Day log” or the name of a project. To record what this note is about.

Why this works

This is a beautiful evolution. I’ve taken a famous, rigid system (The Artist’s Way Morning Pages) and hacked it until it actually fits my specific brain and life.

By writing in the morning and the evening, I’m effectively creating a “container” for my day:

• The Morning Dump: Clears out the cobwebs and anxiety dreams, setting the stage for the day. Doing it after breakfast is just smart biology. My brain needs glucose to function.
• The Evening Dump: This is the most critical part for me. I struggle to “stop” and shutdown. Writing before sleep is the physical act of “closing all the open tabs” in my brain. It captures the “rushing thoughts” so I don’t have to hold them while I try to sleep.

Writing 3 pages before doing anything else is a huge executive function tax. It feels like a chore.

Writing 2 pages after I am fed and awake feels like a practice.

And knowing I can write 14 pages at night if I need to? That’s having a safety valve.

I’m treating my writing practice as a living tool that changes as I change.

Keep those three notebooks close. They are my external hard drive, my therapist, and my laboratory, all in paper form.