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The Straight Dope About Moleskine Notebooks

By , on Tuesday, March 13th, 2007

Moleskine

When first starting out with GTD – reading the blogs and articles, investigating possible tools, etc. – one is bound to come across the Moleskine brand name. To this day, I don’t really understand why it’s such a big hit with the GTD community, but that’s clearly the case. You can read just about any GTD-themed blog and you’ll no doubt read about how the author uses his Moleskine for any number of purposes. After awhile, the pervasiveness of this particular line of products begs the question – What’s the deal with Moleskine?

Well, having gone through the GTD indoctrination only a short time ago, I think I may have some insight as to why these things are so damn popular. So if you’re just starting out and wondering “do I really need to buy a $20 notebook just to write things in?” – look no further…

Before we begin, I must make one confession – I use a Moleskine notebook and calendar as part of my GTD system, so I’m somewhat biased. This fact also puts me in the terribly vanilla position of being able to speak intelligently as an owner and user of these products. But please know that I’m not in a financial situation to make such purchases off the cuff. Truthfully, I considered it more a matter of research than anything else :)

So, since we’re neat, organized people – here’s a list of what Moleskine’s really are:

  1. Paper Notebooks – This is first and foremost. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, these things are just pads of paper. You write things in them just like you would a $.59 spiral-bound notebook from the drugstore or on the back of a cocktail napkin.
  2. Expensive – A single large (5.5″ x 8.5″) Moleskine notebook will set you back anywhere from $15-$20, depending on where you buy it. If you were to tell me 5 years ago that one day I would drop that kind of cheddar on a book of blank pages, I would’ve laughed in your face. But, i did it (and I’ll tell you why a bit later on).

I hate to burst everybody’s bubble, but that’s the plain fact of the matter – they’re just books of empty pages in which you write things. If you’re not a snob about the type of glorified bark you choose to write on, then don’t bother with these products.

Now, I know what you’re thinking – “But sir, these are the notebooks of Hemingway! Picasso! Possibly St. Peter himself! How could you reduce them to the level of College-Ruled Mead Notebooks from Rite-Aid!?”. Frankly, I’m just trying to lay it out plainly for those who are wondering what’s so special about these books.

To be completely clear, Moleskine’s are not sources of super-human productivity powers – Again, they’re just books.

Having said all of that, you might be surprised to hear my next statement. Ready?

I love my Moleskines. Here’s why:

  1. They’re dead sexy – Seriously. There’s something about a black, shiny notebook that commands respect and a certain modicum of admiration on the part of the owner.
  2. They make you appreciate the contents – I’ve pitched a great deal of notebooks in my life. Dayplanners, too. If a paper product wasn’t cutting the mustard, it got a one-way ticket to the round file, no questions asked. These are different – you look at it and almost long to write in it. You want the contents to matter and you feel foolish adding anything but your best work.
  3. They get you in the “productive mood” – You know how when you get a new piece of equipment (a pen, briefcase or the like), you’re fully of fanciful thoughts of how you’re going to use this new tool to really get your crap in order? It’s the same type of idea – when you have an inexplicable affinity for something, it’s only natural that you want to do it justice by utilizing it to it’s full potential

Before you start in about how this is all a bunch of horse pucky – I know it is. I can give abstract reasons for why I love my notebooks, but when it comes down to it, the fabled “back of the envelope” will do just as well.

I think everybody should try out a Moleskine at least once – they’re truly a pleasure to use and to own. They won’t make you more productive, but they might just get you more excited about productivity than the 4-subject hunk of crap you’re using now.

(And for clarity’s sake – I don’t work for anybody who sells these products, I swear)

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  • http://www.frugallawstudent.com Brett

    I totally agree. I used to be a Moleskin hater. I didn’t understand why people would spend so much money for paper. But I recently bought one, and have fallen in love with it. I feel more productive when I use it. Why? I don’t know. Probably the power of branding. I don’t care. If it helps me get stuff done, then I’m all for it.

  • Gary Furash

    Still don’t get how to use this for GTD. I’d love to, but…

    1. how do you move projects from active to someday/maybe/deferred to back again?
    2. where do you put your hard landscape stuff?
    3. How do you “add” stuff (e.g, you’re working on the supporting stuff for a project, and you need a page 2, but page 2 is another project.

    Is there a “canned” implementation somewhere that handles this kind of stuff with reference numbers.

  • Brick

    Where do you find $20 pocket Moleskines? The standard price seems to be $10. I bought mine for $5 at a calendar store in January that was getting rid of everything.

  • Bret

    Yeah, OK. I bought some pocket sized moleskine notebooks after seeing so many people go gaga over them. I spend something like $11 on a pack of three of them.

    I just have to say that I don’t get it. They’re cheap looking and a little hard to use. I’ve gone back to my itty bitty spiral topped Mead notebooks. I just picked up a pack of 10 of them at Sams for $11.

    I don’t think that everyone that uses Moleskines is an idiot, mind you. I just don’t see the point. To each his own.

  • http://lptf.blogspot.com matt m

    Moleskines are quite nice for writing, they aren’t bad if you need a day to day journal. I used it a bit when I got going with GTD and filled one up. It was basically full of meeting notes, ideas, etc. However, all of that stuff is still in the pretty little notebook, which is why it was essentially useless for me from a full on GTD perspective. I would go to four or five meetings in the day, plus maybe have one independent creative scribbling session. Now to find that stuff I either have to come up with a little post-it note bookmark system or magically remember what day I had the idea or meeting on. Not efficient.

    I now use a standard tear-off at the top pad of paper, in a fancy corporate logo leather case, and drop off notes in the appropriate reference folders at the end of the day, processing the untorn but written on pages as another IN. Now all of my useful notes are in folders for the company I met, or the project folder, etc. Some other things are transformed into action list items and then the paper is recycled.

    Love the feel of the moleskin, but it’s just not practical for me.

  • http://www.dreamingnz.com Jonathan

    There are plenty of ways to hack a Moleskine into a working GTD system..

    Check out: http://wiki.43folders.com/index.php/Moleskine/Hacks

    I love Moleskines, if only I could get my frugal ass to my another..

    Jonathan Cisco
    http://www.dreamingnz.com

  • Gary Furash

    Thanks John, but I don’t exactly get how to handle the collection/projects/somedaymaybe/na link. I might be missing something.

  • brett

    @Brick –

    I got my large ruled journal here. After tax and shipping, it worked out to right around $20.

    Cheers!

  • http://hdbizblog.blogspot.com Stephen

    @Gary – Go to Staples and get this.
    It’s $5.99 and can be hacked like crazy. I have added 5″x8″ card dividers with self-adhesive tabs to create sections for writing ideas for posts, capturing thoughts, books to read, and a full section for @Project context notes. Or, if you want something really sexy, try the Circa Planner at Levenger.com.

  • Gary Furash

    yea stephen thanks

  • http://focusfighter.wordpress.com focusfighter

    Wow, a special notebook!?!?!

    Pardon me, but I’d be perfectly will to trade you some MAGIC BEANS for your trusty milk cow there… No, they’re MAGIC beans…

    :D

  • http://blog.scottjelias.net Scott Elias

    I’m a dedicated Circa fanatic for note-taking and general organization, but I just picked up a couple packs of Moleskine Cahiers (3 ruled, 3 gridded) to try out for ubiquitous capture and to-do lists. Index cards just aren’t doing it for me. Can’t seem to get into it.

  • http://www.behance.com/Outfitter/Products/Action-Pad-Mini/10 Scott

    Behance’s Action Method would argue that using a moleskin for daily organization and action management is a mistake… At Behance, we designed the “Action Pad Mini” as the perfect companion product for Moleskine. The concept: keep action steps SEPARATE from any notes, sketches, and reference items!

  • http://blog.crankingwidgets.com/2007/04/16/cheap-gtd/ How to Make a GTD System for About $20 at The Cranking Widgets Blog

    [...] GTD on the super cheap. After all, not everybody can afford a super-fancy PDA or even a spiffy Moleskine notebook – especially college students. So, after doing a little research, I’ve figured out a way to [...]

  • http://blog.crankingwidgets.com/2007/04/23/behance-action-products/ Productivity Infused with Style: Behance Action Products at The Cranking Widgets Blog

    [...] looks awesome. It’s the kind of thing that makes you excited to be more productive (much like Moleskine products, especially for me). You can tell that a good deal of hard work and thought went into the [...]

  • http://www.incredithelp.com/ Business and Personal Finance

    Business and Personal Finance…

    I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting…

  • http://www.sojournerleather.com Luke Thompson

    I research the whole molekine phenomena quite heavily (since I design covers for them), and I think your three point summary of why people buy them hits the nail on the head. 1) sexy, 2) appreciation, and 3) productivity. In fact, I run my whole internet business (www.sojournerleather.com) out of a couple moleskines and have no problem GTDing it all with them. And, actually, your third point, productivity, I think hits of the nail on the head why its popular for GTDers at large; it inspires organization.
    But, back to my main point, the three point summary is possibly the best explanation of the phenomenon I’ve seen so far (besides brand-identification ;) ).

  • http://astrologyname.com/2007/11/05/widgets-world-of-astrology-2/ Widgets world of astrology

    [...] matured widgets world of astrologys are tipd by the defused thalamic susceptible nonetheless the owns that check in unemployment [...]

  • John W.K.

    If you have a Borders Outlet near you, pocket Moleskines are $3.99 there.

  • http://brandonpittman.wordpress.com/2008/01/15/the-straight-dope-about-moleskine-notebooks/ The Straight Dope About Moleskine Notebooks « The Legend of Bentoman

    [...] in Daily Posts  The Straight Dope About Moleskine Notebooks · The Cranking Widgets Blog And I thought I was the only idiot buying $20 notebooks.  « My [...]

  • http://gtd.zigzo.com/2007/11/20/8-things-you-should%e2%80%99ve-memorized-a-long-time-ago-the-cranking-widgets-blog/ My Get Things Done List » Blog Archive » 8 Things You Should’ve Memorized a Long Time Ago [The Cranking Widgets Blog]

    [...] too busy (and, frankly, ill-equipped) to recall exactly when we needed to do so. So, we got our notebooks, planners and hipster PDAs to solve that problem. But that’s not why I called you here [...]

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