I’m a little more than half done with my current notebook and I’m already starting to wonder what I’ll use next. Partly this is because I have such a large stack of unused notebooks to choose from… but it’s also due to a bit of restlessness. Since I’ve started using Moleskines, I’ve been quite good about finishing notebooks, without leaving any unused pages. In the past, I’ve often found that I’d get bored with the notebook I was using. Before I could get too far into it, I’d always find a new notebook and want to start using that instead.
One of the notebooks I’m considering using next is a Moleskine Volant. These are quite slim compared to the regular Moleskines. For my typical daily use, it might not last me more than a month or two. These seem a little flimsy to me to be something I’d actually keep a journal in, as opposed to just daily jottings, so that might stretch out the Volant’s lifespan a bit, if I went back to using a separate notebook for my journal entries.
All this got me to thinking about whether a thick notebook is preferable to a thin one. Each have their pros and cons:
A thick notebook will last longer. But it may last so long you’ll get bored with it.
A thick notebook has a nice chunky shape. But it won’t fit comfortably in many pockets.
A thick notebook will hold lots of information. But it may be harder to go back and find what you’re looking for.
A thick notebook will develop that nice, broken-in feeling from a long period of use. But it may get so broken in that it falls apart before you’re done with it.
With a thin notebook, it’s easier to carry more than one if you choose to use separate ones for different purposes.
If you lose a thin notebook, you won’t lose as many notes.
If you get bored with a thin notebook and want to start a new one, you won’t have as many wasted pages to feel guilty about.
It’s quite a dilemma! Which do you prefer?
As someone who foolishly committed to a 1,000 page Miquelrius notebook back in 2006, I say thin. Thin thin thin. Easier on the back (if you carry it in a bag) and less boredom. I am in fact taking a break from my (lovely, worn-in) Miquelrius to use a custom planner for 2009. My purse is so much lighter!
In between. Too thick and I never come close to finishing, too thin and it feels insubstantial, not worthy of committing anything too important.
“Partly this is because I have such a large stack of unused notebooks to choose from…” this is the scene I usually live:)) I love the blog and I prefer neither thick nor thin. Just in the middle :)
My 30 years of journals and notebooks spans a wide range of form factors, capacities, paper quality, and line styles. I’m standardizing on the mole pocket for a few years.
i’ve ranged everywhere from 500 page journal to a composition notebook. I personally choose thick (sketchbook specifically) so since it’s completely blank, i find I get less bored with it.
But my latest journal had to be abandoned, because the coil binding was such that when I got to the end, the back cover and last few pages kept falling out.
My 2 cents.
Hilariously, the notebook I referred to in the previous comment is a 300 page notebook. I guess some days it just SEEMS like a thousand. HA! I am silly.
You don’t know how happy I am to found this post! I’m just the same! Right now, I’m stressing becausa I want to change notebooks but at the same time, I feel so guilty about it! Someone close to me told me to change and see the last pages as a chance to write a conclusion for that diary few years later when I might be older and wiser. It sound like a great idea and it gives me peace of mind. Love you blog and thank you so much for sharing something that I thought I was the only living soul with this sort of hilarious stress.
About halfway through reading this page i realized this was not talking about the laptop “notebook”. Now i feel stupid