I didn’t NEED one of these. But when I was a child, I tried one at a real office back in ancient times, and oh… I wanted one, I wanted one baaaad.

I just love mechanical things that print on paper, like rubber stamps, typewriters, adding machines, and oh yes, numbering machines. (I do not yet own a mimeograph machine or a letterpress machine, but I would certainly like to.)

I have had this automatic numberer since becoming a grownup who could buy such things; and it is fun. I make many of my notebooks useful because I use this to number the pages.

A few things to know about automatic numberers if you want one bad, too:

• The plastic ones you get at big box office stores fall apart. A key component of a good office toy is that it is something that can be used with vigor, so I ponied up for this metal one and have never looked back.

• Get the self-inking kind. Most are, but some are not, so read the fine print.

• Numberers come with a plastic stick. The stick is there so you can push the wheels and reset the stamp to where you want your number series to start. If you lose it, a pencil or a chopstick can do the job.

• Each number wheel has a blank setting. This is nice, because otherwise you would be stamping: 000001, 000002 instead of something more manageable. Figure out if you’re going into single, double, triple or more digits, and then push the wheels on the end to the blank settings before you start numbering any pages. Here is my numberer set up for a three-digit series: check out the metal stamp zeros on the left, and the rectangles on the right. The rectangles won’t print on the paper.

• These things are less like simple rubber stamps and more like typewriters — lots of moving parts in there. Protect this office toy by setting the lock mechanism when you’re not using it, and packing it somewhere where it won’t collect dust, or Cheerios, or cat hair. (Hey, no judgment here. I’m just sayin’.)

My mother has a sign that reads: “Don’t Look Back, You’re Not Going That Way.”

And this is true of numbering machines as well. Once you start stamping, they start numbering forward, ever forward. Perhaps that is a deep metaphor. (Or perhaps not.)

Take a listen to this decisive sound:

https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/58173/2022/55683402d1.mp3

My master calendar and task tracking apps are digital, but I use a paper notebook for my daily plan and work log. What makes it MORE likely that I will a) record the date, and b) be able to read it later (my handwriting’s not the greatest) is using a date stamp.

This helps me stay focused. And obviously, for a work log, it’s important to record the date as you go.

Because paper helps me to keep my focus, I also use index cards and pocket notebooks to write down certain kinds of notes and ideas. It helps to put the date on these, too: it gives me context when Past Anna wrote a note that is a bit cryptic to Present Anna.

Also, thoughts and ideas can expire. If I come across a note and see that the date is from a year or two ago, odds increase that I can toss that note.

An early 20th century writer whose name has burrowed too deeply into the prairie dog village I laughingly call my brain, used to toss all his postal mail in a pile. Once a year or so, he would rummage through it, check the dates, and say, “Well, it’s too late to do anything about that now….”

Recording the date on a note — even a grocery list — helps me say the same.

Besides the practical reasons for using my date stamp, there is an aesthetic one: this stamp is heavy-duty and it makes a great “ker-CHUNK” sound when I use it.

So satisfying. It’s like I finished something even before I got started.