(Last week I launched paid! In the future, this is the sort of letter I’ll be sending to those who are paying subs 💌)
Anyone else treat their birthday like a reset? I’m lucky mine’s close enough to the New Year so it doesn’t mess with things too profoundly.
I was thinking about what I want Long Live to evolve into as a twenty-eight-year-old writer with a fulltime job in tech and projects outside of Substack. The TLDR? I want this to feel more like a conversation.
Expect the same biweekly dispatches with guests and longer form musings, but in the meantime, welcome to Quick Thing! a segment where I write to you in the style of chaotic emails my close friends get from me a little too often.
Let’s talk about journals. I’m a writer, but the benefits of carrying and using a journal extend far beyond my occupation. Everyone needs a place to jot things down. And nothing breaks the flow of a meeting like pulling out your phone to remind yourself to do something later. That’s why I always carry a journal.
-This is the kind of journal I carry in purses for making notes and lists. A bright color makes it easy to spot in a bottomless bag.
-This is the cheap Moleskine knockoff I’ve purchased a few times. It’s finem hardly inspirational, but does the trick.
-When I’m feeling pulled together or need a gift for someone to get me, I always go for a monogrammed notebook from Shinola.
-I keep a version of this vintage Louis Vuitton notebook on my desk for lists. Refills can be purchased here. I just love the way it looks.
-Work, like capital W work, always belongs in a MNEMOSYNE notebook. I started using these in grad school and I’m telling you, nothing beats them for note taking.
-This year, I asked my siblings for this refillable leather notebook for my bday. Monogrammed, duh. Only time will tell if they delivered.
Don’t know where to start? Here are some prompts from 2022. Read The Artist’s Way. Make lists—of things you’re excited for, worried about, dreaming of, etc. Write a letter to yourself in the past and in the future. Copy down a poem. Sketch a still life. Delight in the art of keeping a notebook—what Joan Didion called “a powerful habit common amongst outliers.”