I have always been the kind of person that likes to see what people carry with them. Take for instance a man I saw using an oversized iPad Pro while flipping to a… um… flip phone for texting! Or the lightweight commuter with just a paperback book, sitting unread in his lap on the train. I often feel that these observations give me a little insight into their lives.
Therefore, let me do that with myself as an introduction of sorts. Here is what you might catch me carrying if you bumped into me on the streets.
(Note: As you will quickly see I am usually carrying a bag with me. I’ll cover those at a later point as I am a bit of a bag nerd.)
Wallet and Keys
These are pretty self explanatory, so I’ll skip them for the more interesting elements:
Phone
Presently I sport an iPhone 6S Plus. I feel this is the best iPhone Apple ever made, thanks to the always useful headphone jack. I want to do so much with it, it is a computer after all, but Apple slaps on limitations so you can’t use iPad like features on it. And a general purpose computer it is not. Because of this I’ve started to look at Android phones. Currently I’m toying with cheap Android devices and so far I’m very impressed. I anticipate switching sometime this year to a flagship Android phone. In addition I usually have a pair headphones in case I want to listen to one of my podcasts.
Pocketknife
What started as a hunt for a pocketable cutting instrument turned into a long term love with the Swiss Army SwissChamp. It is bulky and often gets a wry comment when people see it, but it has served me well for over seven years now. I always reach for it first, since it is always in my pocket, and is my most used tool because of that. I’ll regularly take it out at a friend or relative’s house and tighten down loose light switch covers and cabinet knobs. The pliers make all the difference for tightening bolts or gripping very small objects. Not to mention the blades that see tons of action when gifts need unwrapping (and often when I am wrapping them too). If you are looking for a great tool to carry daily, I highly recommend trying one of these for a spin.
Bullet Journal (BuJo)
I started carrying a small Moleskine notebook around with me in 2007 when I realized I had more going on in my life than my head could handle reasonably. At the time I had read David Allen’s Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity and was inspired to create my first notebooks. Getting Things Done (or GTD) worked well with me for a time, but seemed to burn up notebooks rather quickly. Two years ago I discovered Bullet Journaling and took to it immediately. I’ll go more into my bullet journal and the system I use here in a later post, but this means that I am typically carrying a notebook and pen everywhere I go.
Book or Kindle
I’m always reading. Which is why I carry my current read with me. Previously I used a Kindle E-Reader when I wasn’t reading in dead tree format, but I received a Fire 7 for Christmas and (with a little hacking, details later) have turned it into my one stop for reading anything electronic. I still like to get lost in a good old book though, I’ll just carry that too. (Curious what I’m reading? Check out my links in the sidebar!)
Beyond these items I might also carry the following, depending on the situation. These are my supplements to my Every Day Carry (EDC).
Surface Pro 4
The Surface Pro 4 is amazing! It is the exact opposite feeling to using my iPhone. Every time I feel like, “There is no way it can do ____.” I try it and IT WORKS! I am a software developer so I need a reliable computer that is powerful and versatile. Since college I’ve also preferred that computer to be portable. I switched back to Windows about 3 years ago and picked up the Surface Pro 4 as my current carry (for the last year) and I do EVERYTHING on it! Software development, reading, drawing, pixel art, work, note taking, video editing, audio editing, gaming (frickin’ SKYRIM runs on this thing nicely). EVERYTHING! Truly amazing tech. I’ll show you exactly how I use it to create in future posts.
Art Supplies
I’m a visual thinker, it is one of the reasons I like Bullet Journaling. Which is why I carry colored pencils, various pens, and blank paper for art work. I always grab this if going out to eat with children. The quality and variety of my supplies lets the little minds create amazing artwork while they wait for the food. I’m also the person that breaks it out in meetings when we need to brainstorm a variety of ideas. I’ll go a little more into what is in this red pouch in a later post.
Nintendo Switch
The Switch is a recent acquisition of mine and has turned into my preferred Stardew Valley console. I usually bring it with me if I’m heading somewhere that might have a long wait or when commuting to work (I take a train. Don’t game and drive!). I love that I can break this out with my son and play a quick game while at various locations. I think Nintendo hit on a really interesting form factor here, one I wish was cloned or could run games from Valve’s Steam service. Expect me to talk about the Switch and gaming in the future.
So there you have it. I hope that gives you a little insight as to what I bring with me when I journey out into the world. Maybe you might want to introduce yourself by mentioning what you carry with you in the comments below?
Updates*
2/20/2018 – Added a link to my Bullet Journal article “How I Bullet Journal (Part 1).
JeremyCodes 