Using a pocket notebook - 7.Hybrid

by Stuart Lennon

There are no rules. It is important to note this. (Pun unintended) I have heard from people who have become frustrated with note-taking, because “I can’t do it properly.”

When it comes down to it, we each use our notebooks differently. At times, I use several notebooks every day. At other times, I make no notes at all. Life is busy, complicated, and hopefully fun. Don’t stress about how to keep a notebook.

Right now, I am having to adjust how I use my pocket notebook. I use a hybrid style, part lister, part commonplace and part bullet journal extension. My book goes everywhere with me.
Hybrid
Well. It did.

My trouser pockets can be pretty moist places to hang out when the temperatures hit 30c+. I’m not sure Yosemite could take much more. So - if I am golfing, I leave my notebook in my locker. Should I be struck by something, I make a note in my phone, which I may transcribe later.

Gasp! A note on the phone? Electronics? Surely not?

Of course. I love tech and the digital. Embracing analogue tools does not mean wholesale rejection of the digital. I use the right tool for the job. Often this is hybrid. Task management, is for me, best done in a notebook. Nothing can beat digital for syncing calendars though. Use what you enjoy.

I have just started a new notebook. Allow me to share the contents of the first few pages, to illustrate my hybrid approach.

Changeover
The first four pages are notes of points that my wife has asked me to work into a text for her. Then there is a packing list for my next trip, which is coming up. “2 work shirts”, if you are interested. I recorded my thoughts on an interview that I heard on the radio this morning. “Being a Muslim in the British Army.” Fascinating. Just now, I’ve written a soppy observation about Spice. She is so devastatingly cute. I will miss her, while I’m away.

See? There’s no rhyme or reason. For me, the act of making the note is far more important than the physical manifestation; the note that remains. I seldom refer back to notebooks, but I do keep them, or have done since I took over pocketnotebooks.co.uk. I researched the deal, recorded my due diligence and formulated my offer in “Loggedoff 1 to Loggedoff 5” and have kept everyone since. I now have a growing set of desk-sized books too.

Next week - “Building the Habit.”