A Note-Taking Habit I Didn’t Plan, but Now I Need
I Thought I Was Taking Notes. I Was Doing Something Else.
I wanted Scripture to stick. Not just skimmed and forgotten, but carved into my heart, lodged in my mind for when I needed it most.
I’ve taken digital notes for years. Evernote. Notion. Obsidian. Heptabase. Mem. I can search everything I’ve ever written in seconds. But remembering? That’s different. I started to wonder if the way I was capturing things was actually keeping them from sinking in.
So, I picked up a three-pack of Field Notes and a pocket organizer that fits in my front pocket. It’s my wallet now. My intellectual tool belt. The plan was simple: write down one thing each day.
At first, I didn’t have a rhythm for it. Then one day, I walked a different path and found a bendy tree—flat enough, high enough to write on. The first time, I stopped just because I could. Now, I stop because I have to. The tree has become a trigger. A signal to pause. A moment to write.
I don’t write new ideas. I write things I want buried deep. A verse that hit me in a new way. A lyric that won’t let go. A prayer. A quote worth carrying. Just one thing. It has to count. It has to last.
One day, my kids might find these notebooks. Maybe they’ll see what shaped me. Maybe they’ll catch a glimpse of the things I wanted to become.
What small habit is shaping you in ways you didn’t expect?
Handwriting letters! It had been years since I had handwritten things, when I took it up again as part of vote Forward, a get-out-the-vote effort. Now I have been writing thank-you's to the judges who have been standing up to the man who would be king. Just a few lines appreciating them for upholding the law, and always sent to their court address. I put my address on the envelope and the letter itself - taking some responsibility - and one of the 26 I have written to replied with a thank you on her own stationery.
Doing this gives me the feeling of being participant rather than a helpless watcher.
seldom kept digital notes. mainly scraps of paper strewn around or entries in one of those handheld notebooks. as Frank says "regrets i have a few" but this one is worth mentioning. routine and self-discipline are not my strengths...cez la vie. i am fortunate to have a rather good memory and perhaps those things we don't remember are just not that important.