While tidying up yesterday I realised that my bag contents was getting pretty close to a stable ideal that I’m happy with. Here’s what and why:

• Red Cellblock M

  I realised that most of what I carry is roughly A5. I was on the lookout for a little A5 pouch. My friend Ross bought one of BO gear's Bullpup backpacks a while ago. He had it shipped to me and I was impressed. Adding the two things together...

  • Clairefontaine notebook

    I got this in France last year. It's thick, has paper that doesn't run [1. I can't stand the paper in a moleskine!] and most of all it's cheap, so I don't feel precious about using it.</li>

  • Kindle

    I now actively dislike reading paper books. The kindle frees the book to become an art form in its own right! Freed from its job of conveying information.
    Less penny dreadful, more Lindisfarne gospel! Being able to define words and highlight things in a way that makes them indexable is fantastic. I find myself doing it in paper books now.</li>

  • Printed papers

    The thing I like less than books is reading PDFs on screen. I think that publishing a PDF is a clear slap in the face for your readership. However, the printer at work prints these lovely little books so I can make the best of a bad situation.</li> </ul> </li>

  • Muji pen case

    We ran a conference at work called the Futures Forum, in the goodie bag we put in the things that people would need to sketchnote the sessions.

    • Muji highlighter

      More Futures Forum swag. I love the little window that shows you what you are highlighting. Regular highlighers cover up what you need to see.</li>

    • Pilot V point disposable fountain pen - blue and black

      I like writing with a fountain pen. Ideas just seem to come out more easily. I don't trust myself to have a 'nice' pen, but the tips on these are great.</li>

    • Memory stick

      Sometimes you just need to transfer an episode of GOT or something!</li> </ul> </li>

    • Leatherman Wingman

      I use this quite a lot on long journeys to do my nails. It keeps my occupied.</li>

    • Sunwayman Elfin Torch

      This seems like a good idea. It's new so I don't have any cool stories about using it yet.</li>

    • Chief bar

      This is for warding off the hangry.</li>

    • Toothbrush & toothpaste

      For cleaning archaeological finds, and my teeth.</li>

    • Resistance band

      This is for keeping my shoulders healthy. I do passthroughs while I'm standing at my desk.</li>

    • Backup battery

      I seem to be perpetually out of battery, this is an attempt to fix that.</li>

    • Uvex Skyper glasses

      These make me look like a serial killer, but they make me sleep well, so I'm not too bothered.</li>

    • Headphones

      Nice _and_ cheap, not just cheap. Irina lost one of the ear bits, so now I have one ear that gets some extra ambient noise. I also have a set of massive Sennheiser cans--their main job is to make people leave me alone!</li>

    • Key ring

      The actual ring is from a fancy keyring. It was massive and I coudn't get the whole thing into my pocket. I scrapped the decorative bit and just kept the ring! It lives clipped into my bag now and it's hardly ever not there.

      • Tile

        Because the keys are always in my bag I can tell where my bag is. I have one in my wallet too.</li>

      • Key

        Just a back door key. I had 4 keys on here until I was laying out this photo and I realised that 3 of them were for my old house!</li>

      • Nite Ize DoohicKey

        Er, I guess this is useful, potentially, in the future. It's got a nice clippy thing, and it's better than keys at opening boxes.</li> </ul> </li> </ul>

        Not pictured

        • A5 Memobottle

          Given that everything is flat and A5, it makes sense to keep the theme running. I got it from their Kickstarter.</li>

        • Nexus 7

          I took the photo with it. It's become my main information-consumption device. I almost always have it with me, which is more than I can say for my phone.</li>

        • Black Diamond Hollowpoint

          It's light, it's got barely any features, and what it does have is really well thought out. When I had a bag with lots of pockets I would lose things. This is like an acorn collecting sack: one big hole in the top, that's it!</li> </ul>

          I got this in France last year. It's thick, has paper that doesn't run [^1] and most of all it's cheap, so I don't feel precious about using it.</li>

        • Kindle

          I now actively dislike reading paper books. The kindle frees the book to become an art form in its own right! Freed from its job of conveying information.
          Less penny dreadful, more Lindisfarne gospel! Being able to define words and highlight things in a way that makes them indexable is fantastic. I find myself doing it in paper books now.</li>

        • Printed papers

          The thing I like less than books is reading PDFs on screen. I think that publishing a PDF is a clear slap in the face for your readership. However, the printer at work prints these lovely little books so I can make the best of a bad situation.</li> </ul> </li>

        • Muji pen case

          We ran a conference at work called the Futures Forum, in the goodie bag we put in the things that people would need to sketchnote the sessions.

          • Muji highlighter

            More Futures Forum swag. I love the little window that shows you what you are highlighting. Regular highlighers cover up what you need to see.</li>

          • Pilot V point disposable fountain pen - blue and black

            I like writing with a fountain pen. Ideas just seem to come out more easily. I don't trust myself to have a 'nice' pen, but the tips on these are great.</li>

          • Memory stick

            Sometimes you just need to transfer an episode of GOT or something!</li> </ul> </li>

          • Leatherman Wingman

            I use this quite a lot on long journeys to do my nails. It keeps my occupied.</li>

          • Sunwayman Elfin Torch

            This seems like a good idea. It's new so I don't have any cool stories about using it yet.</li>

          • Chief bar

            This is for warding off the hangry.</li>

          • Toothbrush & toothpaste

            For cleaning archaeological finds, and my teeth.</li>

          • Resistance band

            This is for keeping my shoulders healthy. I do passthroughs while I'm standing at my desk.</li>

          • Backup battery

            I seem to be perpetually out of battery, this is an attempt to fix that.</li>

          • Uvex Skyper glasses

            These make me look like a serial killer, but they make me sleep well, so I'm not too bothered.</li>

          • Headphones

            Nice _and_ cheap, not just cheap. Irina lost one of the ear bits, so now I have one ear that gets some extra ambient noise. I also have a set of massive Sennheiser cans--their main job is to make people leave me alone!</li>

          • Key ring

            The actual ring is from a fancy keyring. It was massive and I coudn't get the whole thing into my pocket. I scrapped the decorative bit and just kept the ring! It lives clipped into my bag now and it's hardly ever not there.

            • Tile

              Because the keys are always in my bag I can tell where my bag is. I have one in my wallet too.</li>

            • Key

              Just a back door key. I had 4 keys on here until I was laying out this photo and I realised that 3 of them were for my old house!</li>

            • Nite Ize DoohicKey

              Er, I guess this is useful, potentially, in the future. It's got a nice clippy thing, and it's better than keys at opening boxes.</li> </ul> </li> </ul>

              Not pictured

              • A5 Memobottle

                Given that everything is flat and A5, it makes sense to keep the theme running. I got it from their Kickstarter.</li>

              • Nexus 7

                I took the photo with i [^1]: I can't stand the paper in a moleskine!