18 January, 2013

Friday Favourites: Black Books

I cannot live without these two black books. They travel with me (both fit in my purse), they take up precious counter space, they define the days of my life.

Coil Bound Sketchbook 
Over the years I've learned that I am much better if I have only one notebook. At one point I had one for quilt sketches, one for article notes and interviews, one for doodles, and one just for my purse. It became a giant pain in the butt to keep track of their locations at any given time and to search for an idea I had that one time. Now I keep one book only, this one. It holds all my ideas for quilts, articles, books, home renos... All in one place.

Moleskine Weekly Planner
Sure, I've had a smart phone for years. When I worked full-time I lived by my linked phone and Outlook calendar. But to manage the home life, the phone messages, the to-do lists, knowing Hubby's out-of-town schedule, birthdays and more I came to rely more and more on a paper calendar. For the past few years this trusty Moleskine has been the repository of the written details of our lives. I love the weekly planner that has a calendar dates on one side and a blank page for notes facing it. Perfect for capturing everything, including my blog schedule!

Put these two black books together and you have me. I don't keep a journal, but the collection of these two books will tell you more about me than any diary with a key.

5 comments:

Suzanne said...

I am a smart phone user too but for me there is nothing like my good old fashioned notebook to keep me organized.

elle squared said...

Nothing replaces the scratch of pen on paper. I keep a spiral bound black notebook too. A few years ago I branched out into segregated notebooks, but you're right---too cumbersome and only proved to be a major source of frustration. Back to one notebook! It's nice to know that someone else in this techno world still enjoys pen and paper. :)

Holli said...

Interesting . . . so do you not use your smart phone/device for tracking dates/activities at all? I recall that I felt much more on top of things when I used a paper planner vs this tech method . . . perhaps its time to re-embrace the paper?

Rachel said...

I have a smart phone too...but if I want to remember it, it has to be on paper. LOL, sounds old fashioned to say it, but it is SO true!

Carolyn said...

Genius.
Having too many notebooks is exactly my problem. And then all the random napkins and receipts that get jotted on. It's messy.
Thanks for the inspiration!