Switching from a BlackBerry to my Moleskine

[mobile.leonard]

I just joined this group to obtain some ideas about how others use
their Moleskine Notebooks. I had no idea what a Moleskine was until I
saw one on Flickr. As someone who loves to write, it immediately
captured my attention. I was very surprised that I had not heard of
these before, especially since there were so many images of them on
Flickr.

After viewing many of the photos, I then did a search and found where
I could obtain them. I decided to buy direct and purchased six, as I
have some OCD issues around my notebooks being "just so". Anyway I
would enjoy hearing from others that may be in that same or similar
position as I am where I've decided to give up the BlackBerry (or some
other smart phone) , at least for now.

Interestingly, I loved the BlackBerry and it suited me perfectly. No
complaints, except for my personal tendency to be addicted to it and
in turn having a hard time putting it down. Another side effect, was
that my handwriting was going away as I spend the majority of my work
time on my ThinkPad laptop. I was only using a pen and paper for
signatures on contracts and other documents. And even that is on the
wane as more and more is being done electronically.

As a lover of fine mechanical devices like luxury perpetual hand made
swiss watches, and fine pens, the analog way began to become a renewed
attraction to me. And so it was only two days ago, that I put aside my
beloved BlackBerry and brought out my newly acquired Moleskine. In
turn I had also done quite a bit of research for "just the right pen".
After reading many blogs and various other articles online I decided
to try a pen called: Pilot G-TEC-C4. This comes in just one size: O.4.
I ordered these from an pen shop in New York, the only place in the US
where I could find them. I purchased a 12 pack of my two favorite
colors, Black & Red. These perform quite nicely and as I had read they
do indeed write very smoothly, without any bleeding through to the
following page.

I look forward to this adventure and recovering my penmanship through
daily writing once again.

[Paperfan]

Sorry for my bad english. I have here an Palm Treo 650, a Blackberry
Pearl and my
personal love the Moleskine. I hack the thing with Indexmarks for
better findings and i use a Schwan Stabilo point 88 pen for writing.
Ok why are the moleskine great or better then the Blackberry/Treo. Is
allways the same, you make it personal and its the old style. Many
things are now old style again. GSM Phones -> Motorola Motofone F3 is
old style and i think the Nintendo WII is in his art the old style. I
hope more things come... Its great to use paper again. Paper is a part
of your childhood, you agree ?

[cccccc]

That's interesting that a moleskine filled the void for a blackberry
for you. With me it couldn't. I love paper for to-do lists and
scheduling. But, my moleskine can't check my e-mail or make calls like
my smartphone can.

I see the two as having very distinct purposes-- one for to do lists
and distancing myself from the world (moleskine), and the other for
connectivity (smartphone).
It's handy to be connected via my smartphone, but it's nice to get
'away' with paper.The moleskine can never keep me connected, and
doesn't fufill that purpose. But, it can help keep me organized and
'scheduled.' Actually, I write more than I schedule. I hate schedules,
but maybe I'll reform.

I can relate to how addicting smartphones can be though. I bet
ditching the blackberry saves you tons of time. After all, your boss
can't e-mail you or call you on your molskine. ;)

[Leonard]

Thanks for responding to my post, as I I'm actually wavering on this issue of BlackBerry vs Moleskine (or both BB & Moleskine) and welcome any and all  feedback.

I agree with and share your views on what is for me, the fact that indeed they are two different devices. While they share a few commonalities they are indeed different enough to justify carrying one of each. I find that in my particular case 1) I love the work I do, therefore the  BB is not a "nag". 2) Because I love what I do and I am very tech oriented, I find that I'm addicted to the BB and spend more time using it that I would like.

It's only been 4 days since I stopped using the BB and already I'm finding the impact is greater than anticipated. While I used the BB for many different purposes, the two most important are 1) managing my very dynamic and frequently changing schedule. 2) Enjoying the ability to immediately respond to my email. The combo of a BB and Outlook (and my ThinkPad Laptop)  was / is perfect. Sync the two and immediately I have my schedule in hand. Then of course the convenience of email processing in real time goes without saying.

After trying unsuccessfully to find a balance, (too much time on the BB) I decided to try disconnecting from the BB and going back to a "regular cell phone"  in my constant quest to find the highest and best use my time, along with a reasonable work / life balance. I have always enjoy pen and paper for writing and the convenience of being able to jot down a note which helps to maintain my handwriting and keeps that intrinsic feel alive.

I would be very interested in hearing more about how you have integrated the two in a fashion that works for you.

Cheers

[scott.b...@gmail.com]

In my experience there is a place for both. I use a Tapwave Zodiac
for my To Do list, Scheduling and the like. Being able to assign a
date to a To Do or being able to make quick easy changes to a quickly
changing schedule is a life saver. But when it comes to time to be
"not at work" my moleskine helps with that. I can turn the Palm off,
turn the TV off, turn the Laptop off, etc . . . and use ink and paper
to connect my thoughts back to myself. Often just the process of
opening the notebook and writing allows me the freedom to solve the
issues of the day just by clearing the mind a bit. Good luck in your
endeavor to find balance! I might recommend www.diyplanner.com for
further ideas/suggestions.

S

[mobile.leonard]

Thanks for the link, that is an interesting site which I will enjoy.

On Aug 1, 5:38 pm, "scott.blake...@gmail.com"

[james2]

In my case, using my Blackberry and Moleskine agenda and notebook in
tandem was the best route. I limit the Blackberry to contacting people
- network updated address book, office email, mobile phone, and
personal email via the gmail client. The two Moleskine notebooks I
always have with me are the 2007 daily agenda and a large squared
hardback notebook (my 22nd). The daily agenda is used for what you
might imagine, with the exception that I use the front monthly
planning section to track bill payments, paydays, and other planned
cash outlays like holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. The squared
notebook is used for project planning, document structure, outlines,
points to make on conference calls, and general notetaking. Each right-
hand page has a thick black (sharpie) line running vertically about
seven squares in from the edge. In that section goes all random notes
- i.e. phone-numbers or anything else that needs to be jotted down. I
tend to start the top at the top of the page in this section with
business related info, and at the bottom of the column with personal
stuff - "pick up prescription" for example. Starting on the back-page
(and working forward) of the notebook are reference materials - a map
of the country I'm living in right now, a map of my neighborhood, a
monthly corporate financial close calendar, a marketing/catalog launch
timeline, etc.

I also have an ongoing list of Tasks written on a clean page at the
beginning of the week. I use a fat blue post-it plastic tab to mark
the page. (I mention this because I used to use that right-hand
vertical column for Tasks, but found that I wasted a lot of time
rewriting them every day or so).

I've refined this system over the last couple years. I was a big Palm
fan until my Tungsten C died; to my mind the newer models didn't stand
up. The other key part of my set-up is an Ipod Shuffle 2g - full of
podcasts and music.

I should mention that my employer uses Outlook for meeting planning
etc, so I copy meeting requests into the Moleskine agenda. I'm lucky
enough to have a secretary who scans my Moleskine daily diary into a
PDF once a month.

I keep track of ongoing lists like business expenses, gift ideas, etc
on single sheets in the back-pocket of the Moleskine agenda.

One of the great things about using a notebook is that you can end-up
having a series of them on your desk after a while. I enjoy that
feeling of a tangible history, as so much of what gets done in a
modern work environment is process driven, or a perhaps a project that
extends over a long period of time. It's refreshing to look back at a
stack of work accomplished.

Lastly, I use a mechanical pencil in the daily diary and either a
MonteBlanc Meiserstick Grande roller ball, a thin Waterman ballpoint,
or most often a Pilot Precise V5 roller ball. All pens are black ink,
though I use a red ball-point Bic pen (the hexagon ones) to cross-off
completed tasks.

[mobile.leonard]

Thank you very much for taking the time to provide a detailed
description of how you work. I know have some fresh ideas as a result
of reading your post. Just what I was looking for.

[jojitsu]

I use both a Blackberry and a Moleskine. Have been for some time
now. It works well for me.

> > > daily writing once again.- Hide quoted text -
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[mobile.leonard]

How do you use the Moleskine? What types of things to you enter in it?
Thanks