When you think about it, the only real thing you need on a pda is a calendar and a notebook/todo-list. These are things you absolutely need with you as you are out and about. When meeting someone, or when receiving an important call from work, it is essential that you successfully schedule things. The only way to do this is to have a planner with you at most times. But this does not need to be sync\’d with google calendar or anything. It just needs to be a calendar.
Similarly, for your soft landscape, you need a notebook to capture ideas and a to-do list so that you can get done what you need to get done when you are out and about.
Checking email, and twittering, and searching for donut shops nearby are all great things to be able to do, but for the most part they are not necessary. With better planning, you can do this kind of information gathering when sitting at your computer. But scheduling an appointment for work, and jotting down a great idea, or looking at your todolist can\’t be all taken care of simply through better planning, but instead require a ubiquitous kind of attention.
That being said, one can make the argument that neither the calendar nor the notebook are necessary either. With better planning, or simply by dealing with delayed gratification, wrongly made appointments can be changed, ideas can be written on napkins, or remembered later, or forgotten.
For systemsally, the basic level of functional I want to have out and about is the planner and the notebook. Interestingly, a paper notebook is way more functional than any smartphone\’s notebook feature. With a paper notebook you can write much more quickly, freely, and you can even draw and make mindmaps.
The system: Forgo the smartphone. Keep a cellular phone nearby (expect a system on this soon), for your telephone needs, but do not use anything digital when you are out and about. Instead, carry two moleskine large sized notebooks. One, the weekly planner, the other, a lined notebook. They are much more cumbersome physically than a smartphone, but infinitely less cumbersome mentally and psychically than a smartphone.
The advantages of this system are many:
- You don\’t lose a $200-400 investment if they get lost or stolen
- You drive much more safely because you don\’t have anything cool to play with
- You can be much more creative with your ideas, drawings, and lists
- It\’s classy
- You don\’t have the psychic burden of being connected all the time
- You are forced to be more organized when you do sit down at your portable gtd station at home or in the cafe
I\’m sure there\’s much more. Please leave your thoughts in the comments.
i think small notebook is the way to go– really, the smallest size available. you can put it in your pocket, and also, if you lose it, you’re not losing as much stuff. i mean, i still keep all my old notebooks, but for carrying around purposes, i don’t need to look at something i wrote 6 months ago. go small. also, because you carry a small notebook around less, the wear and tear is less- larger notebooks i destroy before i finish. and a smaller book is easier to just whip out and write something in without making a big production out of it. also, unlined trumps lined for me, but i draw more. but what about graph paper? that’s like lined in two dimensions, but also gives you more drawing options (by having a grid to work with but at the same time a surface sufficiently complicated to ignore).
nb: the small moleskine isn’t actually pocketable for me– i found a smaller size by another brand which i prefer, plus it has a soft cover, which is better in a smaller book (but not in a larger book). with a moleskine brand notebook, you’re paying for brand recognition– going offbrand has a stronger impact, and you save money.
first off let me say that I am super psyched that S.Sally’s back.
second off, I agree with jacob about the disadvantages of the branded moleskine… though I guess now some people use “moleskine” like “kleenex”, it just means a little notebook. I mostly make (small) notebooks myself…
but then, I have trouble using any organizational system for more than 2-5 weeks. initially, they are very effective… then something happens and they become less and less useful to me. I get totally disorganized for a while, then make a new planner/calendar/to-do list/system. any thoughts about system perseverance?
third: graph paper is the way to go. but you probably knew I would say that.
I have to admit, I’m a newbie when it comes to this analogue planner/notebook system. This was first iteration, and I know it has some problems. Thanks for your great perspectives on this very key issue.
system sally isn’t afraid to admit that her systems aren’t always the best. i have more questions, though, if you’ll humor me.
on size…i obviously see the advantages of carrying a small notebook, but i think this just brings one back to the same problem with the electronic pda…not enough room to really stretch out. i couldn’t imagine writing a journal entry on either a pda or a small notebook. it just doesn’t feel safe. as a lefty, i’m already spending little of my time with my hand on the large notebook. it would turn from a writing experience to a jotting experience, which is not good enough for certain ideas. i know that a larger notebook is more of a production, but isn’t it good to have this level of functionality wherever you are, given that you didn’t even have anything close to it with an electronic pda?
i was thinking about the fact that the larger the notebook, the more that is lost if the notebook is lost or stolen. this is a great point.
yes, i can’t pocket the pocket moleskine either, it doesn’t work with any of my pocket systems.
i would be happy to use another brand of notebook, but of course, moleskine i think is the best standard. yes, you pay for name, and that gimmicky “picasso, thoreau” thing, but they do make a solid notebook, which i’m into.
graph paper is good, but i have too many associations with it, and feel it would force me away from doing more free association stuff. in my notebook i mostly make lists, mindmaps, and journal entries…i think lined works well for these kind of things.
obviously, if i drew more, no lines. and if i planned out more projects, graph. and smakes and jean c, i think this is exactly what you’ve articulated given this is what you do more often.
so my questions are:
can i risk switching to the small size?
what brand is good?
and this still doesn’t solve the planner problem…