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Tell Us Your Most Secret, Specific, Neurotic Notebook Needs

We have a lot of thoughts. We want to know yours

Sarah Trick’s charming essay on how her quest for the perfect planner brought her both peace and turmoil made me reflect on my own stationery-specific preferences. So I invited the team to do the same: share their favourite notebooks and pens, along with photographic evidence.

Turns out a few of us have diverging stances on lined pages (pro and con), nib thicknesses, fancy versus utilitarian notebooks, and whether using your phone’s note-taking app counts. You can read everyone’s responses below.

Now we’re curious about yours. What’s your system? Email us at [email protected] or tag us on social media.

—Carmine Starnino, Editor-in-Chief

Carmine Starnino — Editor-in-Chief

My notebook habit has been one of escalating practicality. I started with classic Moleskines, which I loved, but found too pricey to use as freely as I wanted. I tested less expensive upmarket options, chasing the physical pleasure of writing in something that felt premium and durable. But the same problem resurfaced: I burned through them too quickly to justify the cost. A series of false starts brought me, several years ago now, to full-size (8.5 x 11 inch) wire-bound notepads by Mead Cambridge. They’re functional, unfancy, almost defiantly ordinary—the anti-Moleskine. This is precisely what makes them indispensable. Because they’re so cheap, there’s no pressure to ration my ideas. I use a TWSBI Mini fountain pen, a gift from former boss Jon Kay, and the roomy pages allow me to track several streams of thinking at once: to-do lists, errands, editorial tasks, possible stories, half-baked schemes (like this one).

Samia Madwar — Senior Editor

My workday staple is a Leuchtturm1917 with a dotted grid, because lined pages make me think of school and tyranny, and blank ones are for artists and free spirits, of which I am neither. I jot down notes during staff meetings and chats with writers, keep to-do lists, et cetera, typically using one of Faber Castell’s Free Ink Rollers (0.5–0.7 mm). In January, I also bought a Leuchtturm1917 weekly planner (because editing this essay persuaded me to try it) for my non-work life. Most evenings, I’ll note down what happened that day, what I’m reading or listening to, and what plans fell through. Is this blurb 100 words long, as assigned? I’m not sure; I wrote the first draft in my notebook so that I wouldn’t overthink it.

Corrie Maurik — Editorial Producer

As a voracious reader, people are often surprised when they ask for my Goodreads and I proudly say I don’t have one. My reading journal is all analog in a purple PaperIdeas A5 Hardcover bullet journal. Why bother having to remember a password to another account when I can log my ever-expanding library on the page—and decorate it with beautifully patterned washi tape and the bright colours of Zebra Mildliner highlighters. I bounce between a few pens for that smooth writing feel; I recommend Pilot Juice, Zebra Sarasa, or anything Muji (0.5 to 0.3 mm is the sweet spot).

Siddhesh Inamdar — Features Editor

Many moons ago, I used to carry around a slim pocket diary in my chest pocket, with a ballpoint pen clipped alongside for convenience, to jot down to-do lists, stray thoughts, and most importantly, lists of books I read through the year. At some point, I misplaced it and lost records going back maybe a decade. I never had the heart to resume the habit. I now have a bright green Leuchtturm1917 notebook of forgotten provenance that lives on my work desk, with an elastic band I trust to keep the world out. I mostly use it to take notes during or in preparation for work meetings. For sundry transient to-dos: a note-taker app on my phone. As for the books I read, or most other things, I carry them around in my head, in the belief that what’s forgotten was........

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