Over the last couple of years I've been extremely rude to friends like Jeremy Wagstaff and Marc Orchant (to name only two) who have told me how they had partially abandoned technology in their search for productivity and had regressed back to using a pen and paper. Not just ANY paper mind you. The infamous Moleskine. In certain geek circles, using a Moleskine is almost as de rigeur as having a Mac notebook. Secretly I've always wanted to join their ranks (on both counts, but for now we'll discuss the moleskine) but I bravely fought the urge because I wanted to force myself to develop a strategy for using technology that worked.
Well, as listeners of The Productivity Show already know, I finally broke last week and have abandoned technology as my primary productivity tool/s in favour of a Moleskine. The one I'm using is a large lined notebook. And okay, there is something strangely primitive-yet-seductive about writing, with a real pen, on real paper. You got me. It's just like a Tablet PC but strangely different. It doesn't take ten minutes to boot. I don't need to calibrate the book each time I use it. The battery life is pretty good, the fan is quiet, and it doesn't get too hot on my lap. It doesn't make any loud booting up noise when I open it in a café. The screen resolution is pretty good in sunlight. And I don't need to synch it between multiple PCs and PDAs. I won't get separate out of date versions of my task list appearing in multiple folders scattered across my PC.
Of course if I lose it, I'm screwed. Which is why I moved away from my Franklin planner eight years ago. It got stolen out of my car and I lost ten years of important shit. After eight years of using PDAs, I've decided - ENOUGH!
Now I'm becoming addicted to reading blogs with Moleskine hacks. And all of those annoying pens which people have given me as gifts over the last ten years when I speak at conferences, I can now finally put to good use. I apologize to all of you for being rude as well.
Now, I need a Moleskine system. That's part of the seductiveness of the book I think. You can create your own mods without learning AJAX. I need a system that will allow me to capture and process. Is there a Moleskine hack which stops you from reading blogs about Moleskine hacks and makes you get back to work?
Cam, congratulations on your early wins. Look forward to hearing the story of how your experiment continues.
Posted by: Des Paroz | Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at 02:01 PM
All is forgiven mate. Welcome to the retro-paper club. Liberating, isn't it?
Posted by: Marc Orchant | Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at 02:12 PM
Good Luck with the Moleskine.
It doesn't have to be all or nothing with the technology.
Every time you write about synchronising or rebuilding, I pray for you!!
You can use the technology but without linking it so much.
I still use a small diary filofax which I can carry in my pocket, for my calendar and note taking.
Outlook at the mid-level for tasks and task lists.
And MindManager for the high level overview and listing Projects and Tickles, but none of it is synchronised so I don't face those problems.
I'm with you on the Tablet. It's never been quite comfortable and convenient enough to use for note taking in meetings, but in meetings where I know there's a danger of falling asleep, I take notes with the tablet pen on MindManager, just for the novelty to keep me awake!!
It will be interesting to see how you go with a paper based system. I wonder how you'll create and keep your lists updated. Personally, I like MindManager and Outlook tasks for lists, which I've started printing out and carrying with me.
What are you going to use for your calendar? A paper diary?
Posted by: Tony Goodson | Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at 02:13 PM
Tony, still using my pocket pc. Don't know why though. Do I need it? Could I rely on paper for my calendar as well? Seems like a huge leap. Too much too soon. Let's not get carried away by the new-fangled paper hype. I don't think it'll last.
Posted by: Cameron Reilly | Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at 02:39 PM
I like an electronic calendar combined with Moleskines. I use my Moleskine chiefly for capture, rather than process. Anything requiring a Next Action has a special notation. I then process my Moleskine in the Weekly Review.
It's not really a hack, but I find not many people do this. I like to keep the elastic enclosure across the next page I'm ready to use, it's quicker to open. I also hook my pens in the elastic.
I also date each entry and add an inspiration note, such as a Podcast, location, event or object. Whatever has jogged the thought.
Great for noting names of people you've met and where you met them. I also love it for email addresses.
Make sure you fill in the reward section at the front, with your mobile number. I offer $50 for the return of mine.
Posted by: scientaestubique | Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at 03:33 PM
Actually I've also been using my N90 to capture things as well, including newspaper articles.
Posted by: scientaestubique | Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at 03:34 PM
hey cait, good tips! you just clip your pens in the elastic? I was thinking of getting some fat rubber bands to hold a pen onto it or something.
Posted by: Cameron Reilly | Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at 03:46 PM
I find the cheaper the pen, the better it clips. I currently have a hotel one in use.
With a chunkier pen, you can put the entire pen inside the elastic, but if it's not tight enough, it'll fall out. That's why I like the clip, even a heavy pen dangles on the elastic.
Also, I like the Reporter Moleskines for capture, as you can hold them one handed. I have a big one and a small one.
Posted by: scientaestubique | Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at 09:51 PM
Heh... Moleskines... based on the way one guy remembers his real Moleskines used to be, yet marketed like every important person in world history has used one exactly like the modern ones being marketed. A clever company; I'll give 'em that.
Posted by: Rob Irwin | Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at 12:17 AM
Dunno about Moleskines but my personal hack with the hardback Collins A4(Short) 168 page Feint ruled notebooks I've been using for a decade or so is to put a big star next to anything that needs action.
It makes the action easy to spot and makes all those hours spent doodling stars in boring lectures and talks worth something ... at last.
They're light, never run out of batteries and don't get inspected by airport security.
They also look good on a bookshelf, which is important for a journo like me who may from time to time need to find old interview notes. Those good looks make it possible to keep them hanging around, while the hardback binding means you can stack them too. That's much better than a document box full of spiral bound notebooks, pads from conventions and press kits and all the rest.
Gee ... had no idea it was possible to write so much about this stuff!
Posted by: Simon Sharwood | Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at 12:46 PM
Welcome to the club. What you really need now is a Montblanc pen to go with it. But you need to watch out cos both the roller ball ink and fountain pen ink are water soluable, so spilling coffee on the moleskine will work a bit like running a strong magnet over your hard drive. And you can clip the pen in your shirt front, even a tee-shirt, so the snow capped peak is always on show. The more expensive the pen, the less likely you are to lose it, put it down, of lend it to other peeps and not get it back.
Posted by: Bob M | Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at 02:50 PM
As I noted over on the TPN Productivity Show forum (http://forum.thepodcastnetwork.com/viewtopic.php?p=578#578), I use paper for most of my capture process. But I organise into digital (Treo / Palm Desktop).
Like Simon said above, when I capture I have a mark to make stuff requiring further action stand out. Makes it easier to process later.
I used to use a star, but I found this limiting. Now I use
- square for next actions for me
- circle for waiting for items (someone else's NA that I am waiting on)
- triange for something that is going to be a project
- upside down triangle for something that I want to file as a future project (someday/maybe).
Posted by: Des Paroz | Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at 02:55 PM
Here's my number one concern about paper - how do you make sure if it gets lost/stolen, you don't lose everything?
Des when you say you "organize into digital", what does that mean exactly? What do you do in the Treo/Palm?
Posted by: Cameron Reilly | Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at 05:45 PM
Well if you really don't want to lose it, record everything digitally after it's been captured on paper.
I use my Outlook calendar at work for my main calendar, putting any after hours or weekend appointments in my N90.
Anything else ends up in a mind map, project folder (I keep digital folders for my projects) or action item.
I don't really archive anything only on paper, but it is handy if I've lost something digital, I can check the hardcopy. I still have the digital file, but knowing where it is, is another thing altogether.
Also, use small Moleskines, that way they fill up and you're not carrying too much around. A small one lasts me a couple of months. I recently bought a large one, but it won't last much longer as I've been doing paper mind maps in it.
Posted by: scientaestubique | Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at 08:33 PM
Hey Cam. I capture on paper. But at the end of each day (well, most days) I run through and process the stuff I've captured. At this point, its a bunch of NAs, WFs and other notes. Not processed at all. Not organised into contexts (@Anywhere, @Home, @Office, @Out and About, etc). Then I process those items that haven't been ticked off in the course of the day. Those still to be done items go onto my lists - in my Palm.
You see, I think I've worked it out. During the day we're working on the fly. We capture stuff as it appears. We're doing one thing, and wham, a NA appears. It may or may not be connected to whatever it is we're doing. I could put that NA straight onto a list - I used to do exactly that. But that means I have to interupt what I am doing and think about it.
By simply capturing unprocessed stuff, I give that NA no more thought than that required to write it down. That takes it off my mind. Later, I process stuff, and I can put more thought into it.
So I capture paper, and process into digital organisation.
Cheers
Des
Posted by: Des Paroz | Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at 10:09 PM
I've got a lovely Waterman, actually.
Dunno about the water solubility of that.
And agree re the expensiveness of pens. The Waterman was a 30th birthday present and I seem to spend half my life patting down various pockets to make sure I have not lost it.
Figure I'll retire it and get a new one for my 40th!
Posted by: Simon Sharwood | Thursday, September 14, 2006 at 11:18 PM
Cam: I use a Lance Armstrong LiveStrong band to keep a pen (Pilot Precise v7 fine point) and my journal together. It has just the right grip to hold the pen securely and I pu the band on my wrist when I'm writing.
As far as processing goes, I tend to put actionable stuff into notes in my NoteTaker wallet (which I carry always and everywhere so I can tear my processable stuff off and drop it in my Inbox for the next go-round of getting stuff into my digital system. I use the journal for notes, ideas, and other longer-term "stuff" which may ned up in a project mind map, OneNote page, or just scribblings on paper as seems appropriate. It's all been working nicely.
One other thing I do is paste every concert and movie ticket into my journal where I add the set list and/or my own review of the flick. It makes for a nice keepsake of the stuff I've seen. On occasion, I'll print a picture I snapped with my camera phone and paste that in too (terrible resolution for a photo album (1.3 mp) but just fine for a small image that fits in the journal.
Posted by: Marc Orchant | Friday, September 15, 2006 at 12:24 AM
This is a fairly simple thought but for archival purposes it's quick and effective. Why not just scan the pages of your moleskine and save them in a moleskine folder. Until you have a page that is filled up, just save over the last image. Once the page is filled, you can move on to the next file. Your stuff might be unprocessed but you'll have most everything there if your moleskine is lost or stolen.
Posted by: Vickie Ranz | Friday, September 15, 2006 at 12:54 AM
Cam, here's a hack I'd built on some inspiration from Bill Westerman that might be helpful for you:
http://www.rohdesign.com/weblog/archives/001850.html
It works pretty well actually. Yes, losing your notebook is a problem... important pages could be scanned or your Moleskine, as suggested above, might be better suited as an immediate capture device for your computer system at the office. I think each person needs to find the right balance of paper and tech to suit their own needs... that's the hard part. :-)
FYI, here is Bill's system at Flickr, which is not exactly GTD, but might inspire some ways for you to organize your Moleskine:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davegray/145761460/
If you have any questions feel free to drop me a line. :-)
Posted by: Mike Rohde | Friday, September 15, 2006 at 02:36 AM
Thanks Mike! I found your site via Jeremy Wagstaff's I think and I love the system! I've invited Bill onto my Productivity podcast, we're going to be chatting soon.
Posted by: Cameron Reilly | Friday, September 15, 2006 at 07:17 AM
Heh... productivity... why does it make me think of Arnold J. Rimmer colour coding his exam calendar, then revising it, then re-colour coding it, etc, etc, until he gets to the night before exams and he's done so much planning and colour coding of things, that he hasn't actually studied? ;)
Posted by: Rob Irwin | Saturday, September 16, 2006 at 03:28 AM
How's the moleskine going (almost) one month later?
I'm kinda tempted to do the whole pen and paper thing - mostly because then I get to use highlighters to colour code stuff which I personally find rewarding for some bizzare reason.
I'm more than a little worried though that I won't end up doing any of the process bit and it will get hopelessly out of date.
Posted by: Miriam Parkinson | Wednesday, October 11, 2006 at 04:32 PM
I'm lovin' it! I've never felt so in control. Definitely give it a try.
Posted by: Cameron Reilly | Wednesday, October 11, 2006 at 05:49 PM
What did you end up doing about the keeping old tasks up to date problem? Just copying them across to the next page daily?
Posted by: Miriam Parkinson | Wednesday, October 11, 2006 at 06:18 PM
Actually that's my weekly review. Every monday morning at 9am I go back through the book and copy everything that isn't shown as completed into a new page for the week's tasks.
Posted by: Cameron Reilly | Wednesday, October 11, 2006 at 06:38 PM