For many years I’ve been (slightly ) OCD about notebooks , diaries and planners . Many years ago I invested in a Filofax Winchester binder …. And it’s still in use now ….29 years later ! Over the years it has been lost twice ( travelling salesman days ) and found its way back to me by honest people both times.

In recent years though it has fallen out of favour as my main notebook and been replaced by 3 separate Moleskine notebooks. Moleskines are a joy to use…… Even in this digital age paper is still king! I use a Moleskine weekly notebook diary, a seperate Moleskine for business notes, and a third for personal stuff.

There’s just something more connecting with a good quality notebook, a decent pen……. A bit like vinyl…. You have more ‘feel’ .and connection.

Anyone else using Moleskine or Filofax ?

There’s just something more connecting with a good quality notebook, a decent pen

That thing, that ephemeral feeling of connection and realness, it has a name. It’s called ‘bullshit’.

Why ?

Just teasing 🙂

I do think people get carried away with nostalgia mind.

Not nostalgia as such ….. Well yes ….. The Filofax is a little nostalgic in a way …… But to expand on my original point ….. Making notes in a quality book about all sorts of stuff just ‘feels’ good. Writing notes, to do lists , budgets , whatever you need to write is different written on old scrap paper or cheap crap shorthand pads .

I always write neater and more orderly for starters in a Moleskine !

Writing down stuff can be therapeutic too

I carry a little Moleskin. I don’t technically need it, but it’s sometimes more convenient than a phone / tablet.

I like the idea of moleskine…there’s a shop in Canary Wharf that I pop into every now and then.

Trouble is, I just can’t get over the idea that it’s an overpriced pretentious notebook.

There’s a stationers too…I could buy an identical notebook (in almost every way) for £3 rather than £15-20).

Or I could just pick up a free one from the stationary cupboard.

The reason i like the idea of it, is that I think it might be more enjoyable to use.

But I just can’t get over the price!!!

I use Moleskine for work. A place I was at a while ago had loads of them made up with a shiny logo on the front. A log which was then changed, so they were all considered useless. I got myself a couple of boxes. 🙂

Making notes in a quality book about all sorts of stuff just ‘feels’ good.

That’s cos of the value you’ve attached to it. It’s just paper, there’s no backup, you can’t email it to anyone else, you can’t copy and paste.. lots of disadvantages inreality. But you’ve imbued it with value, which is fair enough. The question is, why? 🙂

I really like the idea of using a nice pen in a nice notebook and sometimes I still do – but 99% of the time, tools like Evernote make so much more sense its really hard to justify not using the digital alternative.

True, I suppose. However, I always find that taking notes properly, with a pen/ink in a meeting has more impact. Not only for me, in that I find it easier to remember stuff when I’ve written it, but also, I think it makes a good impression that you’re actually interested in what people are saying! Could just be my interpretation, however.

I never take notes. I find I can’t listen properly if I’m writing it down, and if I’ve written it down I tend not to remember because my brain seems to think it’ll be okay.

If I properly engage the discussion and ask questions all the way through then I’ll remember everything. This is a bit of an all-or-nothing gamble though because if I drift off for a bit I’m then screwed 🙂

This is a bit of an all-or-nothing gamble though because if I drift off for a bit I’m then screwed

😀 Meetings with serious jet lag are always fun!

I’m joining the international jet set next week. Being posted to Bonn 🙂 I’ll be just like you Flasy.. airports at 6am, taxis, hotels…

I use a Moleskine weekly notebook diary, a seperate Moleskine for business notes, and a third for personal stuff.

I do all three with one book by buying an 18 month weekly planner but only using it for 12 months (jan to dec) and used the front portion of the book as notebook / sketch book. Whats handy is the reasonably faint print means you can happily write and draw on any of the pages so the calendars and year-planners at the front I just cover up with screeds of notes and sketches

If you buy the 18 month ones at the start of the calendar year they’re often cheaper than the 12 month ones too so the extra pages are effectively free.

I like them because they’re so resilient. I have mine rolled up in my back pocket while I’m working or its on the bench and and getting showered with molten metal (you get lovely symmetrical patterns when little spheres of molten metal jump in between two pages and skitters about inside there) or I’m taking site measurements in the rain and it just survives. They don’t feel as if they should be especially tough these and Alwych note books (when they bother to actually make them) just stay together

They’re also warm to sit on when you’re waiting for a train.

airports at 6am, taxis, hotels…

Oh, the glamour. Not! 🙂

Only had a couple of trips recently, Atlanta and Montana. Makes a change from HK or Singapore pretty much once a month.

Moleskine are nicely designed and the spawn of a thousand and one copies, but if you’re a fountain pen user then it’s easy to hate them: the paper feathers badly and suffers from awful show through.

I’m currently using TWSBI notebooks for work (B5 is my preferred size). Tick pretty much every box*, although I’d prefer the paper to be whiter.

I’m also a letter writer, using either Smythson paper (in their best King’s size) or some the utterly amazing but oh-so-hard-to-find Tomoe River 52gsm paper.

Never got into Filofaxes – iphone for me.

*B5, softback, fountain pen friendly, lined (6 or 7mm ideal for my oversize scrawl)

I used to get a Smythson engraved notebook every year as a gift, which was a bit ott. I do always carry a notepad these days; ring bound, black cover and cheap!

Making notes in a quality book about all sorts of stuff just ‘feels’ good.
That’s cos of the value you’ve attached to it. It’s just paper, there’s no backup, you can’t email it to anyone else, you can’t copy and paste.. lots of disadvantages inreality. But you’ve imbued it with value, which is fair enough. The question is, why?

Depends which way you look at it ……. Correct, there’s no backup, but then again I have lost stuff on usb discs and hard drives from failure ! You can actually cut and paste though ! Copier machine and pritt stick! A notebook is always on…… No waiting for it to boot up or turn on….. And I defy anyone to take a note quicker by phone than opening a notebook and writing !

. Interesting for the digital generation there’s also a Moleskine Evernote version……. I’ve not personally used it but it looks interesting ….
It’s designed to link with Evernote via phone App…. So basically you photograph your page with the phone app , which can automatically sense certain things and subject tags and upload in searchable form to Evernote ……

So actually Molgrips it’s ends up in both ‘worlds ‘. and that software provides the link…….

I recently read an Article , Moleskines success in recent years was actually triggered from the digital world where the books were in demand from software geeky types ….. Which is interesting mixture of digital / analog world .

McHamish … It does actually help that I run an office supplies business , so I buy them in bulk at Trade price …. If you would like one I’d happily send you at cost from my stock. I tend to ‘forget ‘ to sell them to clients lol

I do use a phone for some short notes, but as poster said above some things sink in more writing them down .

ourmaninthenorth – Member
Moleskine are nicely designed and the spawn of a thousand and one copies, but if you’re a fountain pen user then it’s easy to hate them: the paper feathers badly and suffers from awful show through.

I’m currently using TWSBI notebooks for work (B5 is my preferred size). Tick pretty much every box*, although I’d prefer the paper to be whiter.

Yes…. Know just what you mean…… The Moleskine paper works brilliant with many gel rollers, and of course pencil…… But it’s not great with fountain pen ink. I’ve not used the TWSBI books …… But they look interesting . There’s. Company local to me who are bringing me some samples of their local made books next week….. Stamford Notebook Company . Their paper is sourced from one of the only two remaining UK paper mills ( sad fact ) but that’s supposedly fountain pen friendly

In my 2nd year of mole week to view , soft cover.
I pocket, take a note two successful dismissals which I would have missed without me mole

@paulmgreen – will check them out.

My daughter was recently eyeing up my lovely leather Filofax desk fax that I’ve had for years

b5 is a lovely size, perfect matched up with an ipad

@ourmaninthenorth

Check out these as well……. I’ve seen them but not used them….. Very good quality and some nice features like subtly numbered pages and some removable perforated too. Ink proof paper claimed……. Might just get myself one to try .

Heard of them. Don’t quite offer what I want. And some mixed reviews in the land of the uber geeks (fountainpenetwork).

Amazing.. the STWers-with-too-much-money will get worked up over the simplest of things 🙂

If I do use pen and paper I use a 10p bic and a cheap pad. It’s my favourite combination because it’s so utterly cheap and yet can do almost anything. It’s a symbol of how the cheapest things can still be so powerful.

Or could be if I were writing something profound in it 🙂

Moleskine diaries for many years now. Oscillating between week to view with notes page, combined with a cahier for additional notes and the rather chunkier day to page.

I’ve just bought myself the Moleskine bag organiser – 13″ laptop size with flap and pockets – so that I can switch my core work items from bag to bag in one (protected) chunk. Slightly concerned as I am rarely a total fangirl but Moleskine has gotted me! 😳

My dearest paulmgreen,

You’re correct, the art of handwriting is dying.

I worked for Filofax about 15yrs ago, free Filofaxes all round.

When I decided I wanted to leave, my act of rebellion was using a Psion Revo around the office (I was an accountant, that was the limit of any rebellious streak).

My handwriting’s always been messy, so even though they had/have some beautiful leather models the advent of Psions, Palms, smartphones suited me fine.

Yours sincerely,

Irv

Written by hand on my Moleskine

@irv. I have in my stash a Filofax binder with a holder inside the front cover shaped to take a Palm Pilot …. Trying to think what year …. 1996/7 perhaps ? There’s a couple of Facebook groups for Vintage Filofax binders…… Geeky! I had a Psion 5 for a couple of years …… Think the Revo was a different version! Remember continually losing or breaking the pointers…..

@ Molgrips ….. Odd comment …. Those with too much money ……. Define ? Or just teasing again 😉 Bics are actually quite expensive as cheap ball pens go …… Next time you’re in Argos looking at the cheap stuff why not grab yourself some of their pens lol. 🙂

Dot grid notebooks, for geeky types

Good for wireframe designs, and being a bit posy 🙂

Or just teasing again

To an extent, yes, but I do find it rather silly when people spend much more than they need to for what I consider to be daft reasons.

I’ll happily spend money on things that actually do something of course, like bikes 🙂

As for Bics – yes, the WH Smiths near a previous office charged a quid 🙁

Interesting for the digital generation there’s also a Moleskine Evernote version……. I’ve not personally used it but it looks interesting ….
It’s designed to link with Evernote via phone App…. So basically you photograph your page with the phone app , which can automatically sense certain things and subject tags and upload in searchable form to Evernote ……

Quite like the look of that, though can’t really see what it gives you beyond the document capture stuff that’s already in Evernote. Just the colour tagging I guess.

I never take notes. I find I can’t listen properly if I’m writing it down, and if I’ve written it down I tend not to remember because my brain seems to think it’ll be okay.

Molgrips, that is me in technical meetings, but project meetings (dates, timelines, etc.) it really is in one ear and out the other!

I use One Note on my phone to jot down dates and things, or just use a notebook on my computer if I have it. I type far quicker than I write so it makes sense.

molgrips – Member
Or just teasing again
To an extent, yes, but I do find it rather silly when people spend much more than they need to for what I consider to be daft reasons.

Only silly in your opinion…… Not in pretty much every other post ! Irony is that you paid £1 for a Bic pen I can buy for around 10p …. So paying 10 times over the odds is … Erm ….. very silly in my book ;-).

When you work hard for your money you should spend how you like. 😉

In my book (!) notebooks are great and very useful……. Quick and easy ….. Efficient. ….. Cool…..

I needed a pen, and it was still the cheapest! I know they should only be 10p 🙂

Notebooks are great yes, but I think their simplicity and inexpense is their beauty.

I type far quicker than I write so it makes sense.

If you do then thats cool. Something that really gets my goat is meetings grinding at a snails pace as people fumble to type notes with fat fingers on a 7″ tablet while the room goes silent waiting for them to reply to a question.

What amazes me is how people in my line of work, who’ve spent 20 odd years working in front of a computer all day every day, still hunt and peck. FFS get a move on!

Moleskine are nicely designed and the spawn of a thousand and one copies, but if you’re a fountain pen user then it’s easy to hate them: the paper feathers badly and suffers from awful show through.

I use these instead:

http://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/whsmith-globetrotter-chunky-soft-cover-black-a5-notebook/34666579

Always on offer, loads of pages and no fountain pen leaking.

What amazes me is how people in my line of work, who’ve spent 20 odd years working in front of a computer all day every day, still hunt and peck. FFS get a move on!

Quality not quantity mol 😉

I carry a Filofax Flex, it has a little notebook inside, and another slim jotter with tearout pages, and I have a matt black Space Pen tucked into the pen holder. I don’t use it that much, but I find it handier to just scribble a quick note down than to try to type onto a phone screen.
I’ve got a rather nice Kickstarter pen on the way, mine uses standard Space pen refills, is polished titanium with a polished screw-on brass cap, looks very tasty.
Also just got another smaller pen from the same person, also Kickstarter, using the little Space pen refills, it’s turned brass, and it uses an air hose quick release cap, with keyring. Very neat, should patinate well with wear.
I find, for some reason, that my scrawl improves when I use Space pens, no idea why, I guess they just feel smoother.
I might look at getting a Moleskine as well, lots of people seem to like them.