My 9 Essential Stationery Tools for Creative Work
Analogue for the win when it comes to creativity
Hey Creative Souls,
To stay creative, I go backwards.
Paper.
Pencils.
Ink.
Tape.
Rulers.
In a world that hums and buzzes with screens and notifications, I reach for things that don’t glow.
A blank notebook still feels like potential.
The right pen still feels like unleashing that potential.
There’s something magical about dedicating a notebook to a single purpose. It gives the idea a home.
One of my many creative pursuits is co-hosting a podcast about stationery. It’s called Stationery Freaks.
But for me, stationery isn’t a collection hobby.
It’s an operating system.
It’s how I think.
How I draft.
How I slow down enough to notice what I’m actually trying to say.
Most of my films and writing begin longhand.
Yellow legal pads become first drafts of books and scripts.
Margins carved off for actions and insights, Cornell style.
Messy, physical thinking.
A small red notebook carries ideas I don’t want to lose.
A journal holds thoughts I don’t yet understand.
A ledger quietly logs the days — not goals, just what happened.
Each notebook has a job.
That matters.
Pencils dominate my desk. Mechanical when I want precision. Cheap Norris school pencils when I need speed.
Fountain pens appear when something feels ceremonial — thank-you letters, notes that deserve ink.
There’s a wind-up sharpener that is slightly ridiculous and completely unnecessary. I love it.
Tape. Ruler. Canvas bags. Colouring pencils.
None of it is essential in the survival sense.
All of it is essential in the creative sense.
Analogue tools do something digital tools don’t.
They create edges.
You can’t open twelve tabs in a notebook.
You can’t infinitely scroll a yellow legal pad.
You can’t optimise a pencil.
You can only use it.
And in that limitation, I find clarity.
This post (and film) isn’t really about my “top 9.”
It’s about building an environment that makes creativity easier to reach.
The tools matter less than the ritual.
What tools — analogue or otherwise — help you think clearly?
Until next time
Rob
🕋 Dig into the archive