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I use cheap notebooks

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Re: I use cheap notebooks

#71

Post by corobo »

jjice wrote: post #64

I'd love to get into using notebooks more, but I just don't think it's for me. I buy a stack of cheap legal pads (although I get A4 sized) and a box of cheap Bic pens that I think I got about 10 years ago. I tear pages off of the legal pad and staple or join them with a paper clip to keep them organized, but they end up being recycled when they're done. For long term stuff that I want to search, I `notes` directory w…

Have you tried not buying the cheap stuff? Maybe that's the issue.

I switched to thicker paper and nicer pens and I write a lot more now. I find writing by hand gets information to bed in a lot better than typing it too.

I don't even mean break the bank, I use Amazon Basics notebooks (until they shrinkflate the paper quality) and the pilot g-2 07 pen. Nothing too fancy.

Each to their own of course but if someone said they hated running because their running shoes were cheap and uncomfortable I imagine most people would come up with the same solution.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#72

Post by ghshephard »

I start every day/week/quarter laying out what my objectives/goals are, both tactical and strategic in a notebook. I also have the full set of electronic assets (evernote, statushero/etc..) - but something about the physicality of a notebook and my trusty Pilot G2 07 just grounds my day. I usually go through 2-3 notebooks a year, and I've had five or six different brands until about 10 or so years ago I finally standardized on the Miquelrius A5 Wirebound, 6x8 Graph lined. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009E6WIWY/

Pricing is pretty variable (best deal I've ever done is $10.99) - it goes up to as much as $20 shipping in, so whenever I see a price lower than my lowest one, I just buy another 6. I think I've got about 24 of these stocked in my closet currently that should hopefully take me forward another 12 years.

People go on about pens - and my gateway drug to good pens was the Pilot G2 07 - I spent years and far too much money looking for the "Perfect" pen - until I realized that, ironically, my very first decent pen was my favorite and, wonder of wonders, is also one of the cheapest "good" pens out there. Essentially free. I marvel at how often in life you have to "pay for quality" - Not with the Pilot G2 07.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#73

Post by mdbauman »

AlfredBarnes wrote: post #26
m0llusk wrote: post #15

I thought this would be about laptops. The laptops I use for work and personal stuff cost around $100 and are effectively disposable. They are not great for intense use, but the vast majority of tasks go just fine. And when developing any serious slowdown shows up right away so my work ends up being usable on low end hardware with janky connections. When one of these laptops got stolen recently I just got another one…

What laptops are you using that are only $100?

Chromebooks that are a couple years old seem to run pretty cheap, especially refurbished. Installing Linux is simple enough, although some (all?) have non-standard key layouts which can require some additional setup to get working comfortably.

I've had a few of these over the years that I take to coffee shops/bars to work. It's nice not to feel nervous about a $1000+ investment just because the server is coming around to refresh my water.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#74

Post by DanielleMolloy »

Same problem here, also the A5 ones are actually quite heavy to carry around.

I find the A6 Leuchtturm ones to be in most practical use right now, they fit into pants pockets (or for me, dress pockets) and they also come in bright yet simple colors which is somewhat inspiring for me. I need relatively long time to fill them so while the price is high they are not a big regular cost factor.

I need something to scribble, macOS notes doesn’t always do it in terms of putting thoughts somewhere and any electronic UI tends to be too distracting.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#75

Post by qup »

iLoveOncall wrote: post #45
fwlr wrote: post #14

I used to have a similar hangup, I liked getting expensive notebooks and very rarely used them because I was worried I was “wasting” the page by writing banal stuff on it. I ended up fixing it by complete accident. I ran across yet another nice notebook* and to save on shipping I bought three of them. Later on I happened to be in an office supplies shop with a friend and she saw some pens on the shelf that she rememb…

The scarce resource is the money you need to buy the nice ones, not the notebooks themselves. I don't think people are afraid of wasting good paper, they're afraid of wasting paper that they paid a lot for.

I am one of the people who can't use nice notebooks (or nice lumber) and always saves the best for last.

It has nothing to do with what I paid, everything to do with how I perceive the quality of the consumable material.

I can, and do, use my best quality tools without any qualms. It's using up "precious" (quality) materials. (It's silly, does not serve me well, and I'm working on it)

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#76

Post by tiledjinn »

cyrialize wrote: post #62
m0llusk wrote: post #15

I thought this would be about laptops. The laptops I use for work and personal stuff cost around $100 and are effectively disposable. They are not great for intense use, but the vast majority of tasks go just fine. And when developing any serious slowdown shows up right away so my work ends up being usable on low end hardware with janky connections. When one of these laptops got stolen recently I just got another one…

My main laptop used to be a Thinkpad T530 from 2012 that I bought used off of eBay. I ran Linux. I never worried about it at all. There's holes in the keyboard and through the laptop to deal with liquid spills. The case was a nice hard plastic with enough flex to prevent breaking. Honestly, if I dropped it on the floor - I'd check the floor first for any damage. Taking it apart was straightforward, albeit a bit frust…

i've been using an x230 for _years_ for light work and side projects. you can mod an x220 keyboard in it if that's your thing. pretty sure it uses the same dock as the t530

haven't really found a need or desire to upgrade beyond maxing the ram and shoving an ssd in it.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#77

Post by aynyc »

Just wondering, do people write on both sides of the paper? I don't, not because I don't want to, but because of ink bleeds (I know, I should get better pen and paper).

I personally use a stack of printer paper, then punch 3 holes and put them in binders. That way, I can save the ones I want, recycle stuff that I don't want.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#78

Post by LaffertyDev »

It took me a while to get over the fear of destroying/using up nice things. Like enjoying a nice bottle of liquor, or using up a very nice notebook. Eventually I came across the idea that things are meant to be used, and now I'm much more relaxed about damaging/using up the things I own.

I read once a stellar idea to help get over the fear of starting to draw in a notebook (or an art project, or a new software project) is to just start scribbling and drawing. Intentionally starting with a mess makes it much easier to break the cycle of "This thing I'm doing isn't good enough yet for this".

One notebook brand my wife found, that I love very much, is minimalism art. I like the small, softcovers. They aren't too soft, and hold their shape really well. The paper quality is high.

I also just tried out the new "sidekick notepad" from Cortex. Very expensive (overpriced), but I was happy to support their work.

https://www.minimalismart.com/cn-soft-cover

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#79

Post by zxexz »

AlfredBarnes wrote: post #26
m0llusk wrote: post #15

I thought this would be about laptops. The laptops I use for work and personal stuff cost around $100 and are effectively disposable. They are not great for intense use, but the vast majority of tasks go just fine. And when developing any serious slowdown shows up right away so my work ends up being usable on low end hardware with janky connections. When one of these laptops got stolen recently I just got another one…

What laptops are you using that are only $100?

My mother often breaks computers, due to how and where she usually uses them (in the kitchen while cooking etc.)

I bought her a t420, which cost less than $100. All I did was swap in an SSD. But here’s the thing, I bought two t420s, and when one breaks I cannibalize the other for parts, or just swap the SSD into the old machine. I make sure to always have a spare machine, which is not hard because after you cannibalize one machine, and get a replacement, the parts on the cannibalized machine will often suffice for a while until you need to replace the same part again.

For her use cases, and to be honest 90% of people’s use cases, a t420 from 2011 has an excess of power. And the peace of mind knowing that spilling water on the keyboard will be a repair that takes 10 minutes (I could probably repair a t420 blindfolded at this point) and effectively only cost you $10-$20, is wonderful. I’ve been able to walk her through repairs over the phone.

I tend to use old various X220/X230 thinkpad as beaters. Used to be big on the X201, but somehow the X201 has been creeping up in price. Yeah, I use and like my big M1 MacBook for work. It’s nice for what I do at my job. But in my personal life I’m 100% happy with Arch Linux and i3wm on a stack of thinkpads. Having swappable batteries might be my favorite part, other than how well Linux runs.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#80

Post by klodolph »

aynyc wrote: post #77

Just wondering, do people write on both sides of the paper? I don't, not because I don't want to, but because of ink bleeds (I know, I should get better pen and paper). I personally use a stack of printer paper, then punch 3 holes and put them in binders. That way, I can save the ones I want, recycle stuff that I don't want.

I write on both sides, but I buy notebooks with better paper.
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