Mobile analogue or hybrid organisational and time-management system

Posted by nathanb
Feb 11, 2018 at 02:29 PM

I have similar goals of an analog/digital combo. After trying several things, the analog part that has been working well is a Rhodia A6 Wirebound Notebook https://rhodiapads.com/collections_spiral_A6.php .

For me, it is ‘just’ big enough to handle any sort of detailed notes/sketch, two columns of tasks, or to divide into halves/quadrants to play with plan/actual layouts. Basically it’s the biggest one I could find and still consider pocket-able. I always felt way too limited by the size of most ‘pocket’ notebooks like Moleskines. I like the grid or dot patterned ones and it has 5 squares per inch where most grid notebooks are 4 squares per inch. Seems silly but that makes a big difference in how ‘big’ it feels when filling out a page. I write kind of small and coupled with my favorite .38MM Pilot G2 (cheap) pen, I can fit A LOT of info on a single page if I really want to. It’s high quality paper and therefore a joy to write on but still ‘cheap enough’ so I don’t feel wasteful for just scribbling a note/sketch to tear out and hand to people. Because I can sometimes cram an entire day of planned/actual tasks on one or two pages, I just take a pic and drop into a digital journal for posterity. I also prefer the top spiral bound format (called a reporter’s notebook I think) because it lays flat on the table as opposed to the stapled pocket notebooks that you have to hold open. The format also enables better front/back flip options. Like I can write down a detailed list and plan for the day on one page and use the ‘flip-side’ as the stream-of-consciousness sloppiness of real-life.

I did try a Filofax for a while, they allow re-arranging of pages, which helps mitigate the worst analog limitation of not being able to re-arrange on the fly. But I found that was more conducive to being mostly digital with task/project management. Like you, I really just want a ‘day-control’ analog and any task/calendar/project/reference beyond today belongs to my digital world. For that purpose, the Rhodia notebook has been great as it feels nicer and more functional than cheap scratchpads but not as serious as a Moleskine. It’s both my planner and scratchpad, depending on the whim of the minute.