I draw the line at spiral notebooks, but increasingly it seems my scribblings get scrawled on the "other side" of pages I've printed. How I have fallen! And yet it seems to work. The keepers among the pages either get scanned or plopped into folders. Among the notebookers, I bet this practice borders on blasphemy. Or worse ... crosses the line. I do, however keep my soft covered Moleskine in my back pocket! Such fresh prose here, Mark.
I use a cheap spiral bound notebook for work, though, so who am I to judge? For my personal writings, I’m sticking to my fancier notebooks. For work... I jot while on the phone a lot or in meetings or brainstorming search terms, most of it is senseless after a while so I don’t worry about paper quality.
There is nothing better than a cheap spiral notebook for my cheap spiraling thoughts.🌀
I also love Apple’s Notes app.
For big questions I use 4 x 6” index cards in my Idea Lab 🥼🧠
A new stationary store just opened up the road. Soon, I’ll treat myself to a something pristine and delicious. And then I’ll stare at its blank pages unable to write a single word.
I’ve been using a fountain pen full time, including for work, for a couple of years now. Cheap paper isn’t really compatible so I’ll stick with the fancier notebooks. But I don’t go through them as quickly as you so I’m ok with that.
As you know I love, love, love my hardback notebooks: they are robust, and have staying power. However, if I were needing to take plenty of notes for work or meetings or what-not, I would use something like an A4 staple-bound exercise book.
But the best notebook is one that's used, right, never mind what the type? I can't bear spirals or rings: gimme something stapled or book-bound that lies flat, with innards that don't get in the way of my hand when I'm writing.
I DO make throw-away notes on occasion, on paper torn from a glue-bound A4 refill pad.
I am awful in the sense that I will grab what's closest to me to jot, and that's always a Post-It. I now have a smattering of jots-on-Post-Its posted in my delightfully fuchsia, hardcovered Moleskine meant to collect those thoughts and plans. Now, there are pages of posted jots in there, along with more structured thoughts. I've stopped fighting this practice. (Staring a nearly a dozen jots plastered on my tiny C-stand of a "desk".) I do have a small soft (also fuchsia) Moleskine for jotting on-the-go, when there's not a Post-It in sight. And I just ordered larger soft Moleskines (guess the color) to take with me for bigger planning (which should go into a Google doc, since I just bought a foldable keyboard to use with my iPhone when these things happen and MacBook is absent). I will spend my retirement planting trees for all those I have used up in this haphazard practice of getting things from my brain onto a page more permanently. In the end, though, you've got to let your process happen rather than fight it, because the process always wins...or the idea floats away. xo
I've been using the leuchtturm notebooks as my journal for years and I always go for hardcover. Recently I've been thinking of softcovers. I bought a midori notebook to use as a travel journal and it's softcover! I ended up getting a clear cover for it to protect it so I think that'll be my best way of compromising when using softcover.
Leuchttuurm makes impeccable postage stamp stock-books by the way; I am an amateur philatelist so I do like this company very much. But I must be the most spartan note-taker of all time since Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company suits my needs just fine!
Writing in a lovely journal slows me down. I especially love my water buffalo hide journals with thick handmade paper. For me, it makes the time to ponder and write sacred.
Writing by hand is a different process, and helps you to remember in a different way. I would not move to exclusively using electronics if you love notebooks. Though I love electronic notes because you can search them. I am sure you will get used to soft covers - it's more important to write, then be frugal with your words because your notebook is expensive.
I draw the line at spiral notebooks, but increasingly it seems my scribblings get scrawled on the "other side" of pages I've printed. How I have fallen! And yet it seems to work. The keepers among the pages either get scanned or plopped into folders. Among the notebookers, I bet this practice borders on blasphemy. Or worse ... crosses the line. I do, however keep my soft covered Moleskine in my back pocket! Such fresh prose here, Mark.
The blasphemy in this piece!
I use a cheap spiral bound notebook for work, though, so who am I to judge? For my personal writings, I’m sticking to my fancier notebooks. For work... I jot while on the phone a lot or in meetings or brainstorming search terms, most of it is senseless after a while so I don’t worry about paper quality.
There is nothing better than a cheap spiral notebook for my cheap spiraling thoughts.🌀
I also love Apple’s Notes app.
For big questions I use 4 x 6” index cards in my Idea Lab 🥼🧠
A new stationary store just opened up the road. Soon, I’ll treat myself to a something pristine and delicious. And then I’ll stare at its blank pages unable to write a single word.
I’m a sucker for notebooks, whether I have a need for them or not. Haha
I’ve been using a fountain pen full time, including for work, for a couple of years now. Cheap paper isn’t really compatible so I’ll stick with the fancier notebooks. But I don’t go through them as quickly as you so I’m ok with that.
😲 Mark!!!!!!!!!!! Are you feeling okay?!!!! 😉
As you know I love, love, love my hardback notebooks: they are robust, and have staying power. However, if I were needing to take plenty of notes for work or meetings or what-not, I would use something like an A4 staple-bound exercise book.
But the best notebook is one that's used, right, never mind what the type? I can't bear spirals or rings: gimme something stapled or book-bound that lies flat, with innards that don't get in the way of my hand when I'm writing.
I DO make throw-away notes on occasion, on paper torn from a glue-bound A4 refill pad.
In my youth I definitely was a notebook stationary fan but nowadays I’m a more digital type of girl
I am awful in the sense that I will grab what's closest to me to jot, and that's always a Post-It. I now have a smattering of jots-on-Post-Its posted in my delightfully fuchsia, hardcovered Moleskine meant to collect those thoughts and plans. Now, there are pages of posted jots in there, along with more structured thoughts. I've stopped fighting this practice. (Staring a nearly a dozen jots plastered on my tiny C-stand of a "desk".) I do have a small soft (also fuchsia) Moleskine for jotting on-the-go, when there's not a Post-It in sight. And I just ordered larger soft Moleskines (guess the color) to take with me for bigger planning (which should go into a Google doc, since I just bought a foldable keyboard to use with my iPhone when these things happen and MacBook is absent). I will spend my retirement planting trees for all those I have used up in this haphazard practice of getting things from my brain onto a page more permanently. In the end, though, you've got to let your process happen rather than fight it, because the process always wins...or the idea floats away. xo
I've been using the leuchtturm notebooks as my journal for years and I always go for hardcover. Recently I've been thinking of softcovers. I bought a midori notebook to use as a travel journal and it's softcover! I ended up getting a clear cover for it to protect it so I think that'll be my best way of compromising when using softcover.
Leuchttuurm makes impeccable postage stamp stock-books by the way; I am an amateur philatelist so I do like this company very much. But I must be the most spartan note-taker of all time since Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company suits my needs just fine!
Writing in a lovely journal slows me down. I especially love my water buffalo hide journals with thick handmade paper. For me, it makes the time to ponder and write sacred.
Writing by hand is a different process, and helps you to remember in a different way. I would not move to exclusively using electronics if you love notebooks. Though I love electronic notes because you can search them. I am sure you will get used to soft covers - it's more important to write, then be frugal with your words because your notebook is expensive.
It probably doesn't truly work, Mark, I'm just lazy. But that may well be the truer secret to 3M's most famous invention: the ubiquitous post-it note.