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I use cheap notebooks

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Re: I use cheap notebooks

#171

Post by netsharc »

wombatpm wrote: post #130
LaffertyDev wrote: post #78

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 projec…

I learned this lesson the hard way. I bought a new car after college graduation. Ordered it from the factory, got exactly what I wanted, picked it up with 5 miles on the odometer. I waged that car 4 times in three days. On the 4th day, my mother backed out of the garage and damaged three panels on the front and side of the car. After that I realized it was just a car.

> I waged that car 4 times in three days.

"waged"? Do you mean "waxed"?

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#172

Post by egypturnash »

bayindirh wrote: post #49
iLoveOncall wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

This doesn't work like that in fountain pen users' universe. The good notebooks change the behavior of the pen and the ink a lot, and you want to write things you want to save on these notebooks. When written, and finished, a notebook written with your favorite inks and fountain pens become an art piece for yourself, and you want to write something you want to return to. If it was about money, I'd be using a nice rol…

Maybe in your universe, not in mine. I use nice notebooks and nice fountain pens for the most banal shit. I can afford to go through a few $30 journals per year even if they're filled up with nothing but my daily to-do lists.

Whatever works though.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#173

Post by dehrmann »

vel0city wrote: post #89
LaffertyDev wrote: post #78

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 projec…

> 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. Its like the people with cabinets full of fine china that nobody eats off of for 50 years. My mother was one of those people. Growing up we had a large cabinet of fine place sets that we were always "saving" for some other time. I finally convinced her to start using it one hol…

Where the fine china situation gets awkward is when parents want to give it to their kids, but it means absolutely nothing to the kids because they never used it.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#174

Post by dehrmann »

jasonpeacock wrote: post #83
LaffertyDev wrote: post #78

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 projec…

A similar approach I've heard (but never brave enough to do) is when you get a new car, intentionally scratch the paint yourself. Then you won't be as concerned about the inevitable dings and scratches it will accumulate.

This is why I buy used guitars.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#175

Post by gowld »

utopcell wrote: post #155

Expensive notebooks have the opposite effect on me. When I pick one up, I appreciate the effort that went into making it and the fact that it was designed counter to a bottom-barrel cheap philosophy. This puts me in a mindset to do higher quality work. Its cost never crosses my mind. Sure, moleskine-like notebooks are more expensive than run-of-the-mill Staples ones, but in absolute values, they don't really cost muc…

That's a problem though, because discouraging low-quality work means discouraging creativity. A notebook is not a publication medium.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#176

Post by StrangeATractor »

theideaofcoffee wrote: post #145
StrangeATractor wrote: post #109

I love legal pads instead of bound notebooks because you can tear off and rearrange pages so they can be with other relevant notes, also the top spiral makes it easy to put in my backpack. Do yourself a favor though, and time stamp each page down to the minute when you start writing (eg: 20230310T1029). You can: - Link between notes. Also enables you to specify the previous or next page in your notes which is useful…

This is reminiscent of the zettelkasten system with the links between notes and topics, though ZK takes it a bit further and does away with the chronological sorting files by topic. Indexes have links to individual topics and topics can link among themselves. It tickles that part of my brain that is unsatisfied with top-down/chronological notebooks and the like and replaces it with www-like hyperlinks.

I have to confess I was partly inspired by ZK to start doing this, but by doing it for transitory notes and putting it into my day-to-day habits I feel like I've gained super powers. It's less effort to use a timestamp as a UUID for everything and I don't have to think about how to organize them until natural patterns emerge which I can sort by with lists, or refine into a more focused note. I can also remember roughly when I was thinking of something, even years later, and zero in on the note based off of that if I can't find it through links or lists.

ZK, to me, requires a lot more focus and energy. It's not very well suited for, say, taking notes while you're on the phone or in teleconference. They aren't mutually exclusive, they just have different uses (I also have a ZK).

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#177

Post by michaelvmata »

LaffertyDev wrote: post #78

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 projec…

This reminds me of getting new sneakers as a kid and trying to keep it clean, only to have a friend deliberately step on it. Was it annoying? Sure. But I gotta admit -- I didn't have to worry about keeping them pristine afterwards.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#178

Post by tshaddox »

I don't have any concept of the quality of paper, binding, etc., but I have always been baffled at the slightly more expensive notebooks (like Moleskins) with extremely stiff binding. Those things are difficult to even leaf through to read, let alone to actually write. I really don't get it. An extremely basic spiral bound notebook is vastly more usable. Some more expensive ones do have a very thin spin that can "fold" so that the notebook can lie open relatively flat (I don't know the terminology for any of this stuff), and those are okay too.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#179

Post by themadturk »

I started Bullet Journaling a month or so ago...not that fancy arty kind, just the basic layouts. It's working really well for me, because it always feels better having my todos on paper, with occasional electronic reminders. For me, there's no friction between me and writing something down, and the BuJo techniques of page numbering, indexing, etc. work well. Also, my work life and home life are sharply divided, so having a paper notebook to carry between the two is handy.

I just use a composition book and gel pens or Varsity Pilot disposable fountain pen. My only complaint is that the composition book is a little too big to fit comfortably in my work area along with my mouse and ergo keyboard.

Re: I use cheap notebooks

#180

Post by mdlman »

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.

It might not be worth it to you, but you might try a slightly better quality printer paper. I’m using a generic store brand premium laser/inkjet paper (24 lb/90 gsm), and I’m not getting any bleed through or feathering. It costs more than normal printer paper, but handles ink well and goes on sale often.
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