My Journals

I'm filling one A4 journal and an A6 pocket notebook at the moment, but will soon have a couple more blank journals available for use, one A5 and one almost A4 sized.

My wife has just bought me a handmade A5 hardback bound journal holding 135gsm writing paper from a very talented maker over on Fountain Pen Network, and I have a "large" Midori MD journal on it's way from The Journal Shop which should be with me in the next day or so.

The Midori MD will become a personal "daily diary" when it arrives, and the handmade one will probably be saved until I pluck up courage to start writing in such a nice handmade book!

Read on to find out what I use each journal for...

Journal #1 - Work "Daily notes".
An A4 "Red & Black" brand 90gsm lined spiral bound notebook.

One or more pages per day, depending on notes taken.

I keep this updated daily with things I've worked on, important notes / things I need to remember, and notes taken in meetings. I number each page and have an index sheet clipped inside the cover which records any important system notes that I might need to refer back to in the future.

Pocket Notebook - Personal notes / jottings / scribbles
An A6 Rhodia Webnotebook with lined pages.

This replaced an A6 moleskine which wasn't at all fountain pen friendly (and which had frankly horrible paper to write on).

This goes everywhere with me and I mostly use this to jot down personal notes and thoughts, shopping lists and the occasional pen & ink doodle plus just "dumping whatever's on my mind onto paper" which I find exceedingly cathartic.

Any phone numbers, things to do, calendar entries or new contact details get transcribed out of here into the iPhone or computer as soon as possible (as I find it's quicker to write something down with pen and ink than it is to type it in on the phone "on the go")

Journal #2 - Personal "daily diary" 
When I start this larger journal (probably in the Large Midori MD notebook that's on it's way) I plan to keep it as a more formal diary to be completed daily, extracting information from the Rhodia as needed.

I have no doubt that it will eventually turn into a larger version of the Rhodia, full of random nonsense and doodles in the margins!