I noticed the other day that I seemed to be rampaging through my latest notebook at a faster than usual pace. Have I just had more to write about? More to draw? More things to do and ideas to jot? I’m not sure, but part of the reason is definitely that I copied several pages of stuff over from my last notebook.
The stuff I copied was long-term to-do list notes, mainly a “books to read” list and ideas for blog posts. Some of the blog ideas might be kind of stale by now, but a lot of them are still things I’d like to keep active. This is where pen and paper can seem a little inefficient. In some ways, it’s nice to rewrite a list and freshen it up, but in other ways it seems like a waste of time. Should I just keep these long-term lists electronically and print them out occasionally when they’ve been updated? Or should I just keep a page in the new notebook referring back to lists in the old notebook, and keep it by my desk somewhere accessible? (I have to say that idea doesn’t appeal to me– I want my lists all in my current notebook.)
This dilemma makes me think about trying to go back to a Filofax for a while instead of using a Moleskine or similar notebook without removable pages. Another idea might be to use a Cahier or Volant-type notebook and keep these lists on the perforated pages, so they could then be torn out and moved over, but I’m not sure that would work very well.
How do you manage this issue? Any tips?
I have had the same problem, and after trying to resolve it many different ways for quite awhile, all of them proved to be ineffectual. I love my journals, but for me trying to use a bound notebook as a daily operating system just doesn’t work. While there are many loose leaf systems out there, I use Filofax mostly because that is the first one that I used, and I admit that the high quality “Made in England” binders are so appealing to my senses that I collect them.
The loose leaf allows me to insert or remove any item at any time, a degree of flexibility that bound notebooks don’t allow with out making a real mess. If you need to copy something from 5 years ago, it is so simple, and you get a much better copy than trying to hold a book flat enough on a machine to make a good copy.
Have you checked out the Myndology products? Great for moving things around. The Bare line is exceptionally wonderful with fountain pen ink.
I’ve kept a notebook journal simultaneously with my Franklin Dayplanner for more than ten years. Stuff often migrates between or duplicated. I would feel incomplete without either.
Having recently acquired 10 ruled Piccadilly pockets and 10 squared molie pockets (at fabulous savings), I’m no longer in paper conservation mode. Together with the joy of writing with new fountain pens and the exercises from a handwriting repair manual, I’m filling up 192 pages in 30-45 days instead of 90-120 days.
david boise ID
Hi I have been hearing a lot about Filofaxes and I was wondering what is so great about them? Don’t you worry about pages falling out and if your organizer undergoes a lot of abuse don’t you worry about the binder breaking and what do you do with the pages once you’ve filled them? Aren’t they expensive? I know there are a lot of options but are they worth it?
Hi Laura,
I don’t know that there is anyone thing that is greater about Filofax than any other system. I do think the material used in the early binders (pre 90 and handmade in England) are the best, I have had one that I have used and carried for 20+ years, and while showing a bit of wear, I have no doubt it will last me at least that much longer. As for the binding rings, I have not known of one to fail, mine seems as strong as ever. It is a spring mechanism, and I am sure than can fail, but no problem so far. The holes in the paper do wear, but are easily repaired by the little sticky rings, and it really hasn’t been a problem.
Expensive? Yes, but prorated over a period of 20+ years is a bargain.
Is it the best? I really can’t answer that because I have not used anything but Moleskine page/day and Day Planner years ago. I like Filofax, I make many of my own forms. I just know without it I haven’t much of a clue about what I have done or what I am suppose to do. A constant companion.