How many of you use a notebook? I do. I jot down random thoughts and ideas, what I might have talked about on the phone, my meeting notes, rants, stuff I am thankful for, stuff I want or need to do, stuff to remember... Have a system of note taking? The Nanami Seven Seas Writer is my notebook of choice. It has 480 pages of thin premium Japanese paper. That many pages can last 6-12 months. Seven Seas "WRITER" A5 Journal NEW TRP 7th Edition Mine lives in a leather sleeve I pick up from Etsy. 0128442E-2883-47BA-9213-485AD2B4D964 by Hanzo posted Jun 30, 2022 at 18:47 Even though the paper is thin, it is robust and a joy to write on. I accidentally dripped some water on the notebook, and the thin page did not tear nor did the water bleed through the the back of the page. Good stuff. 17EF8BBD-3BC7-4C7E-A487-A3D521298036 by Hanzo posted Jun 30, 2022 at 18:40 F6677AB9-F74D-43D0-ABF4-B6AD4C03F85A by Hanzo posted Jun 30, 2022 at 18:40 So how do I use it? It's a notebook, duh. Use it however you want. But I have a few tips. I leave the first 8-10 sheets (16-20 pages) blank, then I start numbering the rest. I do the first 100 pages, then as I get close, number the next 100, and so on. Because I am too lazy to do it all at once. The first pages are used as an index or table of contents of sorts. I only include the most important notes and all meeting notes. I write the page number, who and what on a single line. If it was a client meeting, I circle the page number. In the notes themselves, whenever I need to do something, I put in a square check box. If someone else has to do something, a round check box. If it is done, I X is out. If I delegate or schedule it, a line in the box. Obviously, if it is something that can be done really quickly, just be done with it and check it off, otherwise schedule it along with follow up for when someone else needs to complete something. If the note is important or a meeting, I put a little check box on the bottle corner labelled scan. Once I scan it, I check it off. I use Evernote for that. I love a notebook, but I also love being able to find something. So the index in the front and searchable Evernote help with that. The last few pages are also blank. I add books I want to read to the back and check them off after I have read them. That's it for my notebook review and archive method. What notebook(s) do you use and what method do you subscribe to?
Hanzo's wisdom strikes yet again. I find it funny that we can read "notebooks" made of clay tablets and papyrus that are 5,000 years old, but my old hard drives and big floppies of 25 years ago are either dead or no means of reading them is still around. Some advantages of his "system". Reliable storage in case of EMP. Requires no electrical power to write or read data. Magnets do not "wipe" the data. Proper ink and paper have storage life in hundreds of years. Low tech versions can be made by hand with local materials, rag paper, bamboo paper, rice straw, wood pulp, various inks, etc. and widely distributed . Can be reproduced by a "scribe", a proven technology with 5,000 years of operational data as a working system. While technology does exist, can be mass reproduced, scanned, etc by any computer with scan capability and storage media can be "updated" without destroying or limiting master copy. Can be an art object and as the Book of Kells shows, well worth having for its artistic value alone. Data contained is often the most valuable data source in long run of a historical period., account books in New England allow us to see the interactions that went on, who was involved, what the timing was and how valuable the actions were. System was designed for multiple generational use, with master teaching student, often children, how to continue the records and the system used to organize the records for retrieval even hundreds of years later. System is very compact and books, Grey's book on human body, engineering handbooks, the Bible, etc, can store and pass down information on how to rebuild civilization for generations thru a "dark age" and be "rediscovered" to recreate the good times. Specialized handbooks can be created by individuals to both introduce and preserve technology, dozens of such out there on how to build an AR, raise goats, preserve meat, raise grain, etc. We could go on for many pages listing the valuable uses of the written word and we under estimate the value of it to both the individual and those he interacts with. Thank you Hanzo for "rediscovering" a very valuable resource for all of us. A method that transforms the short term storage of modern data into a system that has a track record in the centuries. Perhaps the most valuable information in the article is the description of the paper and ink. I have read under glass 1500 year old "books" on goat skin, but a 10 day old acid paper printed newspaper has already yellowed if in the sunlight. Long term storage on paper requires the use of a properly made paper, and while the one he suggests may not be widely available in the rest of the world, it may well be worth using archival quality paper for even a daily notebook. We are in the tail end of losing all the verbal history we have of WW2 and even now the letters home, diaries, day by day records, etc, are all we really have left from that period. Hanzo listed a source for the paper he uses. Danger, it is a rabbit hole, start reading and following leads on papers, inks, pens,etc, and a few hours may disappear. It is not a trip to Wally's world and buying a generic copy paper for your $79 inkjet printer. It is instead an introduction to the way we used to do it and how a few skilled craftsmen are still making quality available. Would be a resource well worth having in your TEOTWAWKI resources and for your children that follow you.
I tried using a notebook for things I needed to do , or take care of . After about 2 weeks,, I noticed I was adding more things to the list ,, than I was getting done . It was a little overbearing,, overwhelming . I finally just quit carrying the book , , and just took care of the immediate issues ,,, or the issues at the moment.
I use the cheap $0.99 ones and have a different one for each subject. I tried using the larger all in one inclusive note pads but it takes a lot of organization. With the cheaper ones I can write the subject on the front, find it easy, and not get things mixed up. Now for larger subjects, for example real estate or stocks, I use a larger book with each property on its own area and a description and numbers and stuff but also a computer spreadsheet. I have the paper and computer spread sheets work together in case I lose one or the other I can still function. Using just paper works and using just computer works but when I use both together it seems to work better. I guess its redundant but its a system that works for me after many years of developing. I also have a paper and computer ledger. If the computer goes down I can get all of the numbers and info from the book and put it back into a new computer. If I lose the book I can always get a new one and pull the info from the computer. Having a book is easier when I am moving around. Having the spreadsheet makes it real quick and easy to figure out if something is profitable or not. My grandfather trained me on doing a paper ledger just like he did in his business. I went to school for computers and learned the 'new way' of doing it as well. They used to tell us that everything would be on computers and paper would be gone. They were wrong as they usually are. I can find a formula and jot it down real quick so I always have it but then later put it in the computer as a tool to be used over and over again. If I want to know if a rental is profitable I throw in a few numbers and Zam! I have an answer in seconds. With the paper you used to have to figure out all the maths and stuff and it took some effort and experience. Its like magic if you really need it plus I can get formulas from other people and compare. ...and also you have some security with backups.
I did that at first but found a nice 'social media' like buzz from checking things off the list. I made rules. Only 5 items allowed on the list per day and as a maximum. I would not add more items until those were done. Once I got used to it I noticed that the amount of things I was getting done was a LOT more. It also helped me focus on those tasks.
These are free and have stacks of em, Just can't find the one I have written the things that need attention?
I'm actually one of the only ones at meetings that use a note book for ... well taking notes. Just about everyone is sitting there typing away on their laptop. Around the conference room, everyone has their lids raised up like a picket fence. I find it amusing when a graph comes up .. out come the phones to grab an image. I just doodle the chart and add a few key points. Yeah, I'm in high tech but it is way easier for me to find what i need in my notebook than searching for it on a laptop as i don't need to turn it on, log in, try and remember what the file name was. It's all in there. There is a date, subject, who attended right at the top, then all the meat is follows that header. Also use it for daily tasks or things that i agreed to do. If it's got a great big X through the block of text .. it's been done. If it hasn't been 'crossed out' it's still an open item. Yep, sometimes old school is better. I'm a tree killer from way back. One active note book for work and one active notebook for personal.
Was raised on a farm with notebooks and the institutional memory they provide is priceless. What variety of which seed was planted and where was it planted? How well did it do, were there any problems, what was the effect of fertilizers, what diseases did it resist or was it effected by? Not nice to know, if you are saving your own seed to replant, and continue down the line, you will have to know what it did 3 years ago, or who you got it from and what his experience was. Failure to do so may well lead to crop failure and in turn ruin. When did animal come into heat, when was it bred, what is linage of both animals. etc. If you are going to be able to provide for the young, keep blood lines pure, weed out bad blood lines, arrange for outside blood lines, "tune" the line for better keeping, resistance to disease, etc, need daily data for years, in order to maintain the animals. How much feed did you use, how well did it store, how much grew from the seed you saved from that feed, how much manure did you use on the field, did you have to use lime or ashes to tune the ph of the soil, how much weight did the animals gain eating that feed, what was the milk production, did it change the taste of the milk or cheese, etc. Again it is a lot more than just knowing I threw them some hay and a little oats. We forget the real reason for "roast suckling pig" with an apple in its mouth for Christmas. The first litter was in spring and grew up to be hams and bacon, second "bonus" litter could not be kept thru the winter, not enough feed for them to grow and put on proper weight foraging in the woods and fields, and thus were eaten. Farmer knew from his records and life experiences how much feed it took, how much he had, and how to get the best use out of what he did have in order to survive. Not just farm, when did the fish come in to spawn, what is the best way to preserve them, how do you handle the bears that want to share the fish, how much do you need to store to last the winter, are any of the family members unable to eat the fish, do you need to get salt, different wood to smoke, rebuild smoke house, how do you smoke them and at what temp and how long, how do you prep them for storage. Grand mother pickled fish, loved to eat them, but Grand dad planted apple trees, harvested apples, made cider, used it to make vinegar, so the fish I ate had a 15 year lead time in the real world. What wild forage is available, when, and what parts are edible, can you enhance it by removing competition, spreading it to new areas, trimming or burning the fields, will cattle help it grow or eat all of it? While in the long run it may become common knowledge to those that survive, in the short run sources of data both based on experience and on the wisdom of others, would best be optimized by using a good record keeping system. Long term storage paper notebooks take no power sources, can be hand copied, can be indexed, can be passed down to next generation, etc, and are an investment for the future as well as a way of arranging your every day allocation of resources including the time you have to do things. Back to Hanzo and his beautiful pictures. Which trail floods when it rains, get muddy and dangerous to use, what plants grow where , which skills are his children learning and who is teaching them, how did the new dog work out, how is living in his area different than living in mine, what cultural "tricks" does he have that are worth learning and how would they be useful in my prepping. In my mind the most important value in this forum is the cross fertilization of our different skills, life experiences, and areas where we live.
I use field notes daily for work I generally write my daily work log and notes then I type them in to the PC and once complete I shred or burn my notes because no lawyer is getting their hands on it to jumble my words or thoughts That's just me
I carry around a little 3X5 Note book with metal spring clamp and a blue ball point pin, I'm always making notes of things, making lists, and such! I even color code them for projects so I know at a glance what's what! Started doing this my first few days in the Air Force training, and have found it invaluable! And yes, I have kept every single note book I ever had all these years you would be amazed at what you remember when you read it in your own hard writings! I even invented a new language using my note books, found it extremely handy for communicating with out anyone else knowing what it all said!
Years ago, I heard about a billionaire's method of to-do lists. He did the old index card method. He did not schedule things and had three "boxes." One was for the few important things he was going to do today, second was for stuff he was going to do not today. And the last was stuff that he finished today. End of the day, he looked at what he finished and chucked it. It was gratifying. And then he picked the few most important stuff he was going to do the next day and put it in his today box. I'm not a billionaire unfortunately, so I do need to keep a calendar. And I use Trello to do a digital facsimile of his method. Works pretty well.
I find it more polite to write than computer away in a meeting. Clients are impressed when I explain something and draw pictures and write upside down for them.
Didn't know that you were going to start a revolution when you posted on your new notebook did you Hanzo? This has become one of my favorite threads, thank you. I love being reminded of the old low tech skills that have worked for a few thousand years. Some of favorite subjects that I read about is the differences in various cultures. One grabs the wheel, agriculture, written language and record keeping, working metals, domesticating animals, a relationship with a higher plane of existence, etc, and never looks back. Yet another gets stuck in the new stone age and basically doesn't change in 50,000 years. That does seem to create tensions when the two interact and at the present time we seem to be choosing up sides and picking winners and losers. Often seems that keeping "notebooks" of the techniques that work, who owns what, what the previous generation thought about God, etc and the words of wisdom people had, Buddha, Christ, etc, a codified set of laws, etc, has transformed the entire society.
Mahalo @duane. I think the best is to use whatever works for you. And if you can integrate old school and new technology, all the better.
