Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Making a Move

First, I have to admit, the image to the left is not mine - but it's not far off. Google Images is a spectacular resource. Anyway, I've never been one for PDA's - my dad bought me one for Christmas a few years back. I broke it traveling. I purchased a new one, and promptly lost it - or at least I've misplaced it. Those free day timers I got in High School? Found nice homes in the bottom of my locker. I always preferred large calendars - a month in advance. That's how I roll.

Then I got to Liberty and realized I needed to take notes in meetings and follow-up and I began using a notepad. It was too big. I moved to a smaller notepad - and began using 3. 1 for regular notes. 1 to keep track of visitation (mileage). 1 to track phone calls. The latter became tedious and I've dropped it. And then I was away - in Texas. A friend was using a very nice, very sleek, black notepad. I believe it was a Moleskine but I can't be sure. Whatever it was, I was impressed.

I remember first reading about the idea of one @ Adam Walker-Cleaveland's Blog - but it was just a novelty. Then, the other day I encountered it on my friend & former colleague, Rhett Smith's blog and I clicked on the referenced link... and I realized this could be my answer.

I've carried around a soft covered canvas "briefcase" for 9 months. It's cumbersome and usually ineffectual. With 1 moleskine, a calendar included (I bought a calendar "insert" and photocopied & taped it inside) - I can drop my ugly notepads and keep my large calendar in the office. I've got my current book list - 10 books long, and the beginning of my to-do list. I can take notes and follow-up easily. And it looks much nicer than my flip-up spiral notepad. The calendar won't get shredded like my PC(USA) Missions Calendar - and I'll have to get used to the SAT/SUN combined block, but I think it'll work. Here I am, trying to be a little more organized - and a bit more trendy. I'll let you know how successful this venture is...

4 comments:

Adam said...

Good luck - I couldn't keep up with it. I do so much stuff on my computer, that it seemed tedious to have another thing to write in...

But it is the coolest-looking option if you're going to hand-write things....

Unknown said...

Thanks - I'll be sure to update. At this point, I'm thinking it's an upgrade over my notepads. As much as I love my laptop, there's still nothing like the feel of writing...

jennifer said...

Hey Don! It's Jennifer Rigoulot... I check out your blog every once in awhile to see how you and the family are doing. I am looking for things to get Kenny for graduation and this seems like a great idea! I'd love to know how it works for you and what size you got...pocket or large?? Thanks!!

Unknown said...

Jennifer - it's 3"x5" (can't quite fit into my pocket - but it's certainly not "large"). So far, so good. I'm loving not having to lug around a huge calendar or bag. Since I don't travel with my laptop, I can carry 2-3 books and this and they fit neatly in my hand or under my arm.