Note to self: carry notepad

I can’t remember what I wanted to write about. I had an idea earlier today. It’s gone now.

My problem: I don’t have a smartphone or any other kind of electronic note-taking sort of technology. I often have my iPod on my person, and I’m seldom without my cellphone, but for a guy who writes for a technology blog I leave the house embarrassingly bereft of any technology for recording much of anything. I think my cellphone can take dictation notes, but then I’d have to actually dictate into it, possibly overheard and later mocked by people who, like me, would find a guy dictating into his cellphone impossibly silly. I’d also have to figure out how to use the feature, which my phone may or may not have. And I’d have to check my dictation notes when I got home and probably write them down on something.

I saw something called the PicoPad a while ago on Lifehacker and wondered if it would fit the bill. The size of a credit card, the PicoPad is a folder with paper cards and a pen that’s really a sawed-off pen refill with strategically-placed gaffer’s tape for ergonomics. And it’s brilliant. For transmitting ideas instantaneously you can’t beat Apple and Blackberry (idea for promoting the G-Phone: mall-based stores where you can buy a G-Phone & wireless plan and get tech support and service and have a free slice of apple or blackberry pie – your choice! – and coffee while you wait… sorry to clutter the blog but I had to jot this down somewhere) but for recording them for yourself, wirelessly and without impacting battery life, you can’t beat a pad and paper.

So why not just carry a pad and paper like other GTD-practitioners? Because I don’t want to. Because few notepads and pens fit comfortably in a hip pocket without making unsightly bulges and generally causing discomfort of one kind or another. Because I believe that if I’m trying to unclutter my mind by taking notes to capture information as it comes to me I should not be cluttering my appearance or the storage technology inherent in the clothing I choose to wear (i.e. pockets). My aim is elegance, so any inelegant solution is no solution at all. I already carry a wallet, keys, and one or two electronic devices. That’s already too much stuff. More is not the answer. My stuff should just do more.

So why not get something sleek and sexy like an iPhone or Blackberry, thereby replacing my cellphone and possibly my iPod while adding the functionality of note-taking? If the answer to that isn’t obvious, let me ask why don’t you buy me one and pay for the data plan?

And anyway, I think there’s something to be said for taking a note the old-fashioned way, especially when you’re recording a piece of information in the presence of someone else, like a phone number or note to yourself to do them some favour. Whip out your smartphone and start tapping away and you’ll need to reassure the data donor that you’re just making a note for yourself, not checking email or sending a tweet, and then while you’ve got your device out you why not just sneak a peek at an email or two and tap out a quick, pointless note to your friends. But with a slip of paper and pen your intention is clear and your attention is focused. Anyone can see what you’re doing. A notepad is not a multi-function device, and that’s a good thing. Let other schmoozers toss off non-commitments like “hey, remind me to get you the ARC of that new Don DeLillo novel.” With pen and paper at hand you make the note there and then, demonstrating preparedness and focus without a trace of ambivalence or inattention. Elegant, indeed.