I walked into Target the other day to find that I could not find a simple steno notebook. All of the options were hard back or paperback, Moleskin style notebooks. On one hand, this is exciting because people are beginning to notice that it matters what kind of stationary to use. However, there is a place for both Moleskin notebooks and cheap Topps notebooks—or even the in between Mead notebooks. It depends on what task the user is trying to accomplish. If you are journaling, then you need a journaling notebook. However, if you are taking notes, you may just need a cheap notebook. So, depending on what you want to do with it, there are three things to consider when looking for a notebook; paper quality, binding, and cover.
The first consideration I have when looking for a notebook is paper quality. For me, this is the most important. The paper needs to be thick and solid with a good line width where you can write legibly and enough on a page. I also think about how big of a page I want to have. I am becoming more and more fond of around 6X9 inch sized notebooks for everything.
The next consideration that I have is its binding. For journaling, I prefer a book style. These make great journals and store my thoughts for years after I have written in them. For notetaking, I am becoming more and more interested in using a spiral bound steno book with the spiral on top of the page. This helps me focus on writing rather than keeping the book open. I saw another person using a three-ringer binder for a notebook. This is not my preference, but could be yours, particularly if to have a lot of additional pages to add to your notes.
The final consideration is the choice of cover for the notebook. This seems like a minor calculation, however, there needs to be some thought into what image to do you want to portray, to yourself or the world around you. You can choose a very professional, and expensive, leather cover or go with a trendy canvas cover. You can go with a paper cover or no cover at all. If you would like, you can choose a cover with unicorns and rainbows. Keep in mind that others will take notice of what kind of notebook you have and they will make judgements. Think about what image that you want to portray. But, more importantly, the notebook you choose will send yourself a message as well. What kind of message do you want to send to yourself when it is time to go to a meeting?
It is important when choosing notebook to choose a designs that motivates you. You will be the one using it. If you do not like it—you won’t use it. Always pick out something that you want to use and that motivates you to use it.
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