Comments on: The Pocket Notebooks of 20 Famous Men

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:51:51 +0000

As others here, I have notebooks going back 20 years and more. I like Moleskins, though of late their quality has declined. I wonder if the comparatively voluminous daily menswear of older notebook users facilitated carrying them around at all times? Lots of pockets, big ones. I’ve used European men’s handbags to carry notebook, glasses, wallet, etc. when wearing warm weather togs, but would rather not. Perhaps the Humble Farmer, whose musings I used to listen to in Maine, has the right idea.

By: Robert Karl Skoglund

Robert Karl Skoglund — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:13:45 +0000

Anyone who writes keeps a notebook. I have dozens of them going back over 50 years. All of my pants have a tailor-made pocket just above the right knee on the outboard side. It holds my notebook and two pens.

The humble Farmer

By: adam

adam — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:48:23 +0000

I used to keep a pocket notebook in my labcoat at work to jot down ideas and to-do lists. Now I just put them in my lab notebook. To keep track of ideas for projects in my free time (sometimes I get an idea while driving and don’t want to forget it!), I use my smartphone.

By: George F Matheis Jr

George F Matheis Jr — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:42:02 +0000

I am an index card guy too and just got this
http://www.riteintherain.com/inventoryD.asp?item_no=C991T&CatId={4712AAEA-F549-4225-8442-3ECF66A5CA34}

By: Albert Jonkjer

Albert Jonkjer — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 05:55:01 +0000

UIsed to carry a Symbian PDA for some days, but now with the presence of notebooks capable of all the muti media functions and not to mention acccess to cloud WEBAPPS, I think of carrying the notebook next to a regular mobile phone.for some more years..I know I am late.

BTW intertesting thread.

By: Eric W.

Eric W. — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:55:24 +0000

I am in the Recreation field. I’ve worked for State Parks, National Parks, and even the Bureau of Land Management, taking care of campgrounds, park visitors, and maintaining the facilities and nature they encompass. And I have found a pocket notebook invaluable for years.
I really started carrying one with my first job in retail, 16 years ago.
With most park jobs, there’s a lot of freedom and autonomy to the profession. So you’re constantly looking for work to do, while working. It’s a self-motivators job. As I’m walking regular rounds or working on one task, I’m jotting down ideas or things I see to work on tomorrow or even next week.
On an average day, I work 70 miles or more from any help or resupply, and I most likely will not see the office for a week or more. Jobs to complete are up to me to figure out, or handed down from above with me to finish at my leisure. Hundreds or thousands of people are visiting in a day, and law enforcement is spotty. I record suspicious vehicle numbers and descriptions, those sites or cars that I’ve had to talk to about violations and those I need to talk to, attendance figures, Names of regular visitors I just met, and any other information I think I might need to use later.
I’m also listening to talk radio most days at work, and my notebook has lists of books I think I might like from author interviews I heard, statistics I hear and want to remember to improve my political arguments later, interesting facts, and even lists of things I need to accomplish when I make it home at the end of the week.
Now my pocket notebook even makes its way into my coat pocket at home, and still records all the information I might come across in a day at work, but now it’s personal.

By: Francis

Francis — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:42:20 +0000

I have an iPad with several notes apps, but still find myself reaching for my Moleskine instead when I need to take down some notes. Not sure if it’s simply habit or a subliminal preference, but I’m rolling with it.

By: Ryan Tyler

Ryan Tyler — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:41:38 +0000

I came here by way of “The Craftman’s Humility,” which is so far excellent. Moleskin advertises that Hemingway used their journal, but I didn’t know some of the others. I was impressed to see that Patton drew in his journal. I always assumed that he and I would have little in common. Maybe I’ll read a little more about him.
Thanks,
Ryan

By: jon

jon — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 22:44:30 +0000

I used a pocket notebook for years but then switched to taking notes on iPhone when I got a 3GS last year. That lasted for about 8-9 months. Recently, however, I switched back to the pocket notebook because I still don’t think the technology has yet caught up to be as good as notebook/paper yet for this purpose (thought it is very close).

The key thing about having a pocket notebook is that there it is very easy with a fleeting moment to whip it out of your pocket and jot a note down. There is zero friction. With a phone, you still have to take it out, open up the app, and type in your note. Since I’m not as fast as tapping out something as with just scrawling, and it’s also easier to scribble with a pen if you’re walking, this extra little friction adds a small mental weight, and I think I ended up taking down less stuff than I would have otherwise. What really made me switch back was iOS4, which slowed down my phone a lot and made the phone randomly fail to save notes – this is very very bad since that’s the whole purpose.

The positive sides of iPhone note-taking are that it’s basically unlimited storage so you don’t have to worry about running out of pages on the road. In addition, if someone can create a good, reliable cloud synching service to store all notes, that will be a huge benefit. You wouldn’t ever have to worry about losing notes. Right now I don’t think the current solutions like Evernote or Simplenote do this very well.

By: Law Office of Bowman and Associates

Law Office of Bowman and Associates — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:30:18 +0000

Is anyone else having issues printing this? I love it!!!