What's the big deal about the Moleskine notebooks?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jeff Kelley
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Jeff Kelley

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I hear a lot of GTD people talking about these notebooks. What is all the hoopla about?

(I mostly just started this thread because I like to use the word hoopla)

-Jeff
 
Do the words quality, snob appeal (there may be a better term but I cannot think of one right now), cult help explain the fascination with those black notebooks?

In other words it's likely to be an irrational process that drives the fascination.
 
I guess I am much more digital than paper oriented. I will often just grab a stack of A4 out of the printer and fold it in half to make a little booklet. Works great for taking notes!

:D
 
For general "throw-away" type notes, I do much the same, using scrap pieces of paper I have around the office before recycling them (great use in my tickler file). For meetings at work, I'll usually have either a notepad or a Blueline A9 notebook with me. However, for being out and around, I'm liking the pocket sized Moleskine with a Pilot G-2 mini for the quick thoughts. When I get back to the office or home, then I can just throw it in my intray, and process it like anything else.

And its sturdy, standing up well to shirt pockets, coat pockets, even the back pocket in a pair of jeans.
 
Never underestimate the power of "irrational process that drives the fascination" The first time I saw David Allen back around '92, he was using the Time Design (http://www.timesystem.us/) binder. Half of the process of "Managing Actions and Priorities" (the original name for GTD) was based on little habits and toys that would promote effective GTD behavior. He'd claim to be motivated to make a call just so he could cross out the action with the highlighter end of the pen. The presentation was pretty entertaining as well.

I don't know if it was the highlighter on the newbe enthusiasm, but I was a better GTDer in these days than I am now with all the electronics (see my other recent post for more on that http://www.davidco.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6795).
 
And Activewords! What's with that??

Jeff, I am SO glad you asked this question! I have wondered that too.

Now some of you may think I'm an out of touch dinosaur, but I was wondering if I could get some input into Activewords. I gather I can't live without it, but I'm not sure why .....

Jeff Kelley;46467 said:
I hear a lot of GTD people talking about these notebooks. What is all the hoopla about?

(I mostly just started this thread because I like to use the word hoopla)

-Jeff
Click to expand...
 
I use ActiveWords and I think it's a nice piece of software. It lets you assign "ActiveWords" to just about any task. For example, I type "GTD", press F8 twice, and it opens a browser window and navigates here to the forums. You can substitute text (I use this for canned paragraphs in letters, address blocks, etc) or run applications. There's also a scripting language for developing your own scripts for just about anything conceivable.

I’m sure there’s a lot of freeware apps that do the same thing, but for me, ActiveWords is a must own for one reason: the Inkpad. I use a tablet PC as my primary computer, so I spend a lot of time in slate mode using the stylus. The AW Inkpad allows me to access my ActiveWords without using the keyboard. For me, this application is worth every penny. However, YMMV.

You should give ActiveWords a try. There’s a free trial at http://www.activewords.com/download.html .
 
Thanks, Wes

Very helpful, Wes. I've downloaded the trial and I like it a lot, so far. Stay tuned!
 
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