海角大神

As I鈥檝e mentioned several times over the years, I carry a pocket notebook and a pen with me wherever I go. Whenever I have any sort of an idea or discover any piece of information I might want to use or reflect on later, I don鈥檛 hesitate to pull out that notebook and jot it down.

I can鈥檛 even tell you the number of times this notebook has really come in handy in my life. It鈥檚 been a life saver for keeping ideas for The Simple Dollar, recording gift ideas, jotting down books I might want to read later, noting some contact information, writing down some sale prices鈥� the list goes on and on. In fact, I once made .

Although I鈥檝e discussed the notebook in several different contexts before, I鈥檝e never really explained how I do it in detail. So here goes.

I simply keep a small pocket notebook in my pocket at all times. Most of the time, I use one of those small Mead notebooks with the spiral at the top. Sometimes, family members or friends will get me a small Moleskine notebook (or something similar) and I鈥檒l use that 鈥� I certainly like it better, but when you鈥檙e comparing a notebook I can get for a quarter versus one that will cost several dollars (and considering I鈥檒l blow through it in a month), there is no real comparison.

I also keep a reliable pen in my pocket. I prefer my long-used , which has never failed on me or leaked in my pocket. I received it for a gift, so I wouldn鈥檛 encourage someone to run out and spend $30-40 on a pen, but I will say it鈥檚 the best pen I鈥檝e ever used.

It鈥檚 a bad idea to try to keep bits of information in your head. Whenever I discover a new idea or a new piece of information, I attempt to get it written down in that notebook as quickly as possible. If I try to keep it in my head, two things happen. First, I spend some of my brain power trying to keep that piece of information in my memory, meaning my focus on other things is less. Second, I sometimes still forget that piece of information.

I write ideas and information down as soon as possible. As soon as I discover something worth recalling later, I jot it down. I鈥檒l even pull out the notebook during conversations if need be, telling the other person that they鈥檝e just given me a great idea (they usually view that as a compliment).

I don鈥檛 organize these jottings at all. I don鈥檛 worry about organization of the stuff I jot down. I just get it down on paper as quickly as possible.

I separate jottings with a slash or a page break. When I finish an idea, I put a big slash underneath it. Then, the next time I open my notebook, I start the next idea under that slash 鈥� if there鈥檚 room. If not, I just flip to the next page.

Once a day 鈥� or more often 鈥� I review all of the jottings and deal with them. I usually do this at my computer. I鈥檒l transfer dates to my calendar. I鈥檒l transfer contact information to my address book. I鈥檒l look up information if need be. I鈥檒l add things to my to-do list.

If a jotting is dealt with, I cross it out. As soon as I鈥檝e dealt with a piece of information, putting it in its appropriate place, I cross out that jotting in my notebook. It has now served its purpose, and crossing it out makes it easier to find the jottings that I haven鈥檛 yet processed.

If all jottings on a page are dealt with, I tear out the page. Again, this gives me fewer pages to deal with later on. Most of the time, I only need to open my notebook and leaf through a page or two to find the next blank page. If I鈥檓 using a nice notebook, like a Moleskine, I鈥檒l use the bookmark string to hold my place instead of tearing out pages.

The end result of all of this? I get ideas out of my head as fast as possible. The system I use is very reliable, too 鈥� I tried using electronic solutions for this, but if a battery went too low, I was simply out of luck. Not a problem with pen and paper.

This notebook saves me money and helps me earn more on a daily basis. What more can you ask for?

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