The Fluid Stoic

I love modern technology. Whether it's smartphones or gaming devices, wearables or desk accessories, software or hardware, I just love the gadgetry of it all.

And though technology has its place in life, there are some areas in which the analog just reigns supreme. While I, personally, maintain a hybrid approach to my journaling habit, daily reflection is one of those areas where I think good old-fashioned paper journals just win out. This is particularly true when trying to develop and internalize Stoic principles.

Why Paper Journals?

I have been journaling on and off my entire life. Ever since I was a child and called it a diary, I've been drawn to the idea of private self-expression. That being said, it wasn't until about two years ago that journaling became a daily habit for me, and there's no looking back now.

Admittedly, a big part of that consistency has been building a habit of digital journaling every night. And though that practice helped me gain traction, the real “meat and potatoes” of the experience, for me, comes from physical journaling.

Taking the time to sit down, reflect, and deliberate over my past, present, or future has had such a positive effect on my mental and emotional health. I have developed a deeper grasp of my emotions, I have further discovered my queer identity, I can articulate my experiences and goals more clearly, and I truly love spending distraction-free quality time with myself every single day.

Sitting down with a pen and paper to either brain dump, plan, or just reflect is the key to that. And not only has it been a great experience for me, but I believe everyone should probably develop some form of a journaling habit for more profound insights and mental clarity. This is especially true if you are cultivating Stoicism as a lifestyle. With that in mind, here are three of my favorite paper journals I have used to get the most out of my journaling habit.

The Pocket Notebook

My first recommendation is a pocket notebook. This is my favorite and most used type of notebook. It sits in my back pocket or shoulder bag, and it comes with me everywhere I go. This is where I write fleeting thoughts, scribbles, doodles, and miscellaneous tasks. I don't do any heavy writing in here, but I often reference it later when I sit down to journal at night to look back on my thoughts that day.

Long before I developed a journaling habit, I carried one of these around with me. For many years, this was a Field Notes notebook. It's pocket-sized, the paper is nice, and you can write on it with pretty much any pen. But after a few years, I decided to give the Rite in the Rain No. 771FX-M a try. I used that for many months. I tried a few other pocket notebook brands and sizes, and then recently I settled on the LEUCHTTURM1917 Bullet Journal Pocket. Both the Rite in the Rain and Leuchtturm1917 notebooks are wonderful choices, and I will never go back to using Field Notes again.

First off, The Rite in the Rain notebooks are more durable, water-resistant, and pocketable than standard Field Notes. The only real downside to the Rite in the Rain notebooks is that their resilience comes at the cost of pen choice. You can't use gel pens, highlighters, or fountain pens with Rite in the Rain products. You'll have to stick with pencils or most ballpoint pens; otherwise, the ink will rub off.

The LEUCHTTURM1917 notebook is larger than both the Rite in the Rain and Field Notes options, but it offers a few other features that keep me coming back to it over the others. Despite lacking water resistance, the cover is significantly more durable than the Field Notes while maintaining similar pliability for decent comfort while chilling in your pocket. It's also designed to be used vertically instead of horizontally like most notebooks, which is how I prefer to use my pocket notebooks anyway. The paper feels more premium than the other options; when opened, it's the same size as a standard A5 LEUCHTTURM1917 notebook, and it even has several perforated pages in the back for easy tear-away notes.

I keep either a Zebra F-701, Rotring 600 3-in-1, or a Fisher Space Bullet Pen with me at all times, all of which work great with both notebooks. Writing is smooth, consistent, and legible with all three options.

Overall, if you want something extremely durable and as pocketable as possible, I can't recommend the Rite in the Rain offerings enough. But if you want a larger writing space, a more premium feel, and more flexibility, the LEUCHTTURM1917 Bullet Journal Pocket is a solid option as well.

The Premium Journal

Many people I talk to prefer hardcover journals for their durability and writing support. I am not one of those people. Nine times out of 10, when I journal, it is at my desk, so having the hardcover as support isn't typically a selling point for me. Plus, they are less flexible when packing in a bag or backpack, and I don't love how most hardcover journals feel compared to softcover.

Now, even though I do use the LEUCHTTURM1917 411 A5 hardcover journal for my The Daily Stoic Journal reflections, my favorite premium option has to be the LEUCHTTURM1917 A5 softcover journal. It's beautiful, comes in several colors, and you can get ruled, dotted, blank, or square pages. I prefer dotted, but ruled and square fit most use cases just fine as well.

The journal has a very premium feel; it comes with multiple ribbon bookmarks to remember different places, and it even has a pocket in the back for loose scrap paper or other memorabilia. If you want a premium-feeling journal to help encourage your daily writing habit, you can't go wrong with any of LEUCHTTURM1917's options.

The “Just Right” Journal (for most people)

While the pocket notebooks are my run-and-gun solution, and the LEUCHTTURM1917 is a more premium experience for long-form journaling, sometimes the Moleskine Classic softcover notebook hits the Goldilocks conditions for most people. It's cheaper than the LEUCHTTURM1917, it's even easier to get your hands on, and it's still quite premium.

All things considered, the dimensions between the LEUCHTTURM1917 and Moleskine Classic are quite similar, though the LEUCHTTURM1917 is a bit wider than the Moleskine, and the latter contains 192 pages compared to the former's 132. So, not only is it cheaper, but you potentially get more journal for what you're paying for with the Moleskin.

Moreover, the Moleskine still features a fairly premium-feeling cover, if not quite so as the LEUCHTTURM1917, and it retains the back pocket as well. One thing the Moleskine is missing, though, is the extra ribbon page marker. Though I typically only ever need one at a time anyway, the LEUCHTTURM1917's ribbons are so much better than the Moleskine's that this is almost reason enough for me to pay the extra money.

Honestly, you can't go wrong either way, but the Moleskine just feels like it retains everything most of us require from the LEUCHTTURM1917 without the non-essential bits. Plus, its more affordable price tag will offer compounded savings over time if you intend to keep the journaling practice for the foreseeable future.

Final Thoughts

Now, after all of that, the real answer to what paper journals I recommend the most is just the ones that help you build the habit most. As a Stoicism practitioner, I am simply an advocate for daily journaling in general. So, if a cheap composition notebook helps you achieve that, then use that. But if you're like me, and you find the ritual of journaling all but sacred, splurging a bit more for a nice experience is entirely worth it.

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