Keeping a Paper Notebook

Keeping a paper notebook -- as low-tech as it may be -- is still important. Unless your desk is one of those tiny unergonomic laptop desks it's far easier to keep a notebook open than to fiddle with 'one more program'. It feels more intuitive. But what's the best way to keep notes? I've spent a lot of time working on this.

The first step is to find the right product. I prefer Blueline's Notepro series since they combine the best attributes of a coilback (lay-flat spine) and hardback (robust spine), with the added advantage of being able to fold all the way open to form a writing tablet. at 7 or 8 dollars for the smaller (A9C) ones, they're a bit pricey, but the construction and the paper quality are worth it.

At first, I was worried about the durability of the perforated pages, but after consistent use I've yet to have one crease on me when I didn't want it to.

The next approach is finding the right way to use the notebooks. I use the strategy: one thing to a page, and lots of whitespace. This doesn't mean that I try to fit everything on a single sheet, only that a page is used for only one project.

Lately, I've taken to only using one side of the page -- at least initially -- to let me remove pages without disturbing other things. The initially-blank back is useful for taking later notes, too.

The third strategy is dividing responsibility among notebooks. I keep one for my full-time job, and one for all the other stuff going on in my life. Depending upon your needs, this part may differ and it may require some amount of experimentation to find the right balance.

I use several additional tools: An A1650.03T 'Account Book' (also Blueline) in service as an extremely portable timekeeping device (one page per project, and only one side of the sheet) and a day planner.

Around March I broke down and bought a day planner. It may take several years for me to find which kind works best, but I started with one that lets me see a week at a time. So far, it has been worth the cost and time of using one.

The hard part of organizing is imprinting the habits into your brain. I've been working on this, and it gets easier with time. You can help yourself out by getting a small, compact bag that goes everywhere with you.