{"objectType":"Post","type":"Article","actorId":"@fieldnotes@kwln.social","actor":{"id":"@fieldnotes@kwln.social","type":"Person","name":"Field Notes","icon":"https://kwln.social/images/user.svg","url":"https://kwln.social/users/%40fieldnotes%40kwln.social","inbox":"https://kwln.social/users/%40fieldnotes%40kwln.social/inbox","outbox":"https://kwln.social/users/%40fieldnotes%40kwln.social/outbox","server":"@kwln.social"},"title":"On Keeping a Physical Notebook in 2026","body":"<p>I have kept a physical notebook continuously since I was seventeen. Through every kind of technological change, through the smartphone, the cloud, the voice note, the AI assistant.</p>\n<p>I will not stop.</p>\n<p>The notebook is not a productivity tool. It is a thinking tool, which is a different thing. Productivity is about output; thinking is about something harder to measure, more like understanding.</p>\n<p>There is something in the physical act of writing that slows thought down to a useful speed. The hand cannot keep up with the brain, which means the brain has to select, compress, choose. Every sentence in a notebook is more considered than it would be in a notes app.</p>\n<p>What I use the notebook for: thoughts I'm not ready to share. Problems I'm working through. Lists of things I've noticed. First drafts that aren't ready to be typed. The rough surfaces before they become smooth.</p>\n<p>Digital notes are for the smooth.</p>\n","wordCount":150,"charCount":907,"replyCount":0,"reactCount":0,"reactPreview":null,"reactSummary":null,"shareCount":0,"attachments":[],"tags":[],"createdAt":"2026-07-02T02:11:17.856Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-02T02:11:17.860Z","id":"post:6a45c8c57f6ed5545befa6d7@kwln.social","url":"https://kwln.social/posts/post:6a45c8c57f6ed5545befa6d7@kwln.social","server":"@kwln.social","summary":"<p>I have kept a physical notebook continuously since I was seventeen. Through every kind of technological change, through the smartphone, the cloud, the voice note, the AI assistant.</p>\n<p>I will not stop.</p>\n","textPreview":"I have kept a physical notebook continuously since I was seventeen. Through every kind of technological change, through the smartphone, the cloud, the voice note, the AI assistant…","signature":"jllwNBG6DAJfim8M+xJTKAv6USguv7AMTtEb/Dw2pxOpwMGrQo+iuHMl9LXWP1p052pMem7IlZR0huHMuOY87eq+L3pxYx2feoxWygvc6PczdDw3VDpL8NN4jy4c2CHbOFDad1e8HwbRYQn3O/0b4QUDCeCfgmIX2MivsFsiclkBs6IlnDx7bLebDRa2QTQwaAkP89GymBfNuaKvaXm6NqpNM7SjM5UfycuodlioMZqfCrNyU9C566nF/8ZhrO3xgqZtKFEusJY+sNmDnylg3WIOzq1y0OsFZWcQxrAZXQTcPsucnBH7ZpXsMOwV+ajQ2C+QVKx2U2miPCJ05QIpQQ==","canReply":false,"canReact":false,"publishedAt":"2026-07-02T02:11:17.856Z","myReact":null,"reactCounts":[]}