Wednesday 15 January 2020

Every Day Essentials for the Successful Blogger

because we wrote down one night everything in it
~ Adrian Henri

In a follow up to sharing my blogging workflow I thought I’d give you a behind-the-scenes peek at my EDC (every day carry). These are the items I take with me when I’m out and about for my blogging and journaling. This has been on my to-do list for ages. I was finally inspired to write it by a conversation with my friend and fellow mental health blogger Aimee Wilson.

Aimee: What’re you doing?

Martin: Right now, sorting what to bring out with me tomorrow. I carry so much in that green bag of mine, but it’s all essential blogging and writing stuff! I keep meaning to do a blog post about all I carry.

Aimee: That’s so funny because the new post I’m writing is about all the essentials for blogging!

Martin: No way! Really?

Aimee: This is why we’re best friends — we have so much in common!

You can read Aimee’s Essential Items for Bloggers on her blog I’m NOT Disordered. We approach things differently (compare Aimee’s post inspired by a Hidden Histories event with my more prosaic account) but with her permission I’ll use Aimee’s organisation of items into stationery, notebooks, technology, and tech accessories. To these I’ll add personal items and the bags I carry everything around in. I’ve listed everything I normally have with me, with buying links where possible.


Stationery


Notebooks


Technology


Tech Accessories


Personal Items

  • Bisodol indigestion relief tablets
  • Paracetamol 500mg tablets
  • Ibuprofen 342mg tablets
  • Comb
  • Mints

Bags

Apart from the printers (I would take one or the other, not both) all of the above fits — just — into my trusty Lorenz Multi functional canvas bag/holdall. Clipped to the outside I have two brass binder clips and a small compass which is more decorative than functional — but you never know when you might need to know which way is north!

I also carry a cotton “Always Take the Scenic Route” shopping bag bought from Mountain Warehouse in support of the Sreepur Village in Bangladesh.

If I need more space the Lorenz fits perfectly into my Jack Wolfskin Berkeley 30L Daypack.


What Do I Do with It All?

That might seem an awful lot to carry around with me all day, so what do I do with it?

I keep a personal dairy in a series of Moleskine notebooks. My current diary is always with me so I can capture my thoughts and ideas whenever I am moved to.

I use my Standard Traveler’s Notebook for work notes and for drafting blog posts. The lightweight insert is ideal for blogging; the thinner paper means I have more pages to write in than with a regular insert.

My Passport Traveler’s Notebook is for memory keeping. I keepsake days out, holidays, and other special occasions. I decorate the pages with washi tape, stickers and stamps, also photos printed on my HP Sprocket or Paperang printers.

The gratitude journal was a recent gift from a friend and I keep it with me as a prompt to acknowledge and record moments of gratitude and appreciation through my day.

I love letter writing and keep a few sheets of writing paper, envelopes, and postcards in my bag.

The adjustable stand and Bluetooth keyboard turn my phone into a mini laptop when I want to type up my rough drafts. The stand is also great for selfies, time lapse videos, and video calls. I use my Bluetooth headset to listen to music, for voice and video calls, and recording audio blogs.


One Final Note

The Adrian Henri quotation at the top of this article has meant a lot to me since I first encountered it years ago. A fuller quotation from what is quite a long poem reads:

room gone now
room preserved forever
because of you
because of me
because we wrote down one night everything in it
because it looked like you
even when you weren’t there
room rented now like my dreams
to someone else

The idea of writing down the contents of a room in exhaustive detail remains extraordinary to me. It’s something I’ve thought about but never attempted. This article is my modest tribute to Henri’s genius.

 

2 comments:

  1. I always seeing/reading about what others carry with them. During Covid, I have minimalised but normally, I would like to think I can reach into my bag and pull out something for any eventuality...

    Your quote has struck a chord. I am endeavouring to write a book and the concept of documenting everything inside a room to hold on to that memory is EXACTLY what I am writing about!!!! My book brings objects and memory together (along with some other bits and pieces too) so thank you for posting this quote... another little signpost to remind me that I’m on the right path ☺️☺️☺️

    Cheers
    Samm (Ess Em Bee on FBook)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Samm - lovely to have you visit our blog here! Thank you for commenting, I am glad my article interested you. I *love* the idea you have for your book, it sounds fascinating!

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