Are Notecards Better than Pocket Notebooks?

Notecards or Notebooks…Let’s do this!

Are you Team Notebook or Team Notecard?

I am Team Notebook all the way and the reason I have taken a month of time to see if notecards would work better for everyday use. The result…I like the notecards for one specific thing and I will never stop using them for this one thing.

When reading, I stash a pile of notecards in the back of the book and take notes along the way to keep as a bookmark, take notes, write down quotes, mark important parts of the book, and also move notes to my notebook for use later.

I never would have thought of this if I hadn’t gone down this road of figuring out why anyone would use a notecard over a pocket notebook.

I have always used Field Notes for my daily items to stay focused on what I think needs to get done.

Notecards aren’t just good for books though. There are whole systems designed around using them for organization, writing books, and getting things done. One guy even developed a whole bullet journal system using notecards.

Notecards

So let’s talk about notecards and why they are great:

1. Inexpensive - Compared to the popular pocket notebooks these are cheap, a 100 pack is $0.75.

2. Easy to rearrange - The obvious difference is the possibility to change cards around as needed.

3. Carry - They are easy to carry around and slip in a pocket.

4. Hand out tasks - If you are like me and like to give your kids chores, this is a great benefit.

5. Satisfaction - Getting to the end of the day and physically throwing out the tasks you wrote down on a card is a great feeling!

6. School - Still the go-to for flash cards and presentations

7. Simple idea capture - Similar to using them like post-it notes without the sticky side they help keep your thoughts accessible.

8. Designs and layouts - If you haven’t noticed, there are a lot of notecard choices out there. There are about 4 different sizes and all the standard notebook layouts like dot grid, square grid, lined and blank.

9. Limited space - With only inches to work with, it limits what you carry around with you and doesn’t mean you need to get weighted down with everything, just what is important.

10. Visual - Keeping the cards I am working through on my desk is a great reminder and keeps tasks front of mind.

Notebooks

If you are Team Notebook then you already know how great having a pocket notebook around is. Let’s list the benefits just to be complete:

1. Larger tasks - Not everything you need fits on a card. With roughly 48 pages to work with, you can expand on thoughts, and keep ongoing projects in one place.

2. Keeping track - Pocket notebooks are just large enough to keep track of them and remember where you put them.

3. Organized - Having pages instead of individual cards helps keep different thoughts organized but all in the same place.

4. To-Do Lists - This is great for multiple to-do lists so you don’t need several places to keep them.

5. Brainstorming and Brain-dumps - Having multiple pages to flow over onto helps creative thoughts going and not having to look for extra cards.

6. Size - The size of 24 cards, vs 24 pages is much larger due to the weight of the paper used for cards

7. Designs - These come in so many different sizes and layouts. My favorite is Field Notes and the latest edition is a good one.

8. Binding - With a cover to protect the pages and all the pages staple bound I don’t need to worry about a rubberband to keep them all together or or separate case to hold the pages.

9. Extra items - I like to add things to my notebook with a paperclip and with the cover it helps to keep these safe.

10. Storage - Once my notebook is full I add the final date and save it chronologically or by project which I feel like would be more difficult to do with cards.

I recently have been adding the Analog system notecards into my rotation. To check these cards out click on the image for a full review on them.

Summary

I am really excited about using cards going forward for my reading and I am currently working through Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose about the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The audible version was so bad I couldn’t make it through so I reverted to the paperback for this one.

Let me know what team you are on and also if you have any ideas about using either notecards or notebooks!

Thanks for checking out my blog and if you have anything I should focus on please let me know!

Mike :)

Topo Folio II Kickstarter Launch!

After two years of work, I am happy to say that the Topo Folio is live on Kickstarter!

Back it on Kickstarter!

As we use our tablets more every day, and we need more accessories to carry with them, I designed a hybrid tablet folio/sleeve to help do this in the most eco-friendly way possible. I want to have my tablet with me all the time, but I also need a charger, pencil, stand, and keyboard handy as well. This case carries it all and more.

Each TopoFolio case comes with a magnetic spine that attaches to four different custom-made inserts. The magnet also works with almost any spiral notebook.

The choice of custom made organizers are:

1. Large Zippered Pouch for extra organization

2. 30 Pencil/Pen Loop Organizer with eraser and sharpener loops

3. 2 Pocket Insert - (Keyboards, cords, usb cards, drawing supplies)

4.  Multi-Pocket (Fountain pen slots, zippered pocket, small notebooks, paperwork)

DIMENSIONS

• 12in wide by 10in tall - Perfectly fits inside backpacks

WHAT FITS INSIDE:

• Any Tablets up to 12in by 10in (Apple iPads, iPad Pros, Microsoft Surface, Amazon Fire, Etc.)

• Fidlock Waterproof Sleeve holds tablets up to 8in x 10in

• Small Laptops up to 12.5 x 10in (13in size laptops)

• Chargers

• Stylus Pens (Apple Pencil, Surface Pen, Etc.)

• Keyboard covers and Bluetooth keyboards

• Masks

• Notebooks

• Pens and Pencils

• USB Cards

• Cell Phones

• Field Notes Notebooks

• Airpods & Earbuds

• Apple AirTags and Tile Trackers

• Magnetic tablet covers

• Keys

• Powerpack

• Pocket Knives

• Flashlights

• Keys

• Wireless Mouse

• Lighter

• Reusable Silverware

PRACTICAL USES:

• Bullet Journal Supplies - Bring your notebook and supplies anywhere

• Realtors - Carry your house docs, and charge your phone/tablet while you walk

• Coffee Shop - Perfect size for smaller tables

• Airplane Travel - Case opens flat quickly for x-ray machine

• Backpack Carry - Slide into a bag to keep all your tablet supplies packed neatly

Multi-Pocket

2 Pocket Insert

30 Pencil/Pen Loop Organizer 

Large Zippered Pouch

If you like this blog and want to support me, please consider backing my new project! I don’t run ads, pop-ups, or affiliate links and want to continue working on making this a great place to find interesting and new stationery.

Thanks!

Mike :)

Analog - The desktop notecard productivity system.

The latest project from UGMonk is a beautiful walnut card-holder, with a simple, yet well-designed to-do system.

“We always seem to think we can get more done in a day than what’s actually possible. The physical constraints of the Analog card force you hone in the few important things to tackle each day. No more endless lists or productivity guilt.”

— Jeff Sheldon (Kickstarter Project)

Put simply, this is a to-do list desk companion with pre-printed index cards. However, behind the minimal design, is a thoroughly researched approach to getting more important things done, with fewer distractions.

As an avid bullet journaler, I see a lot of similarities to the Bullet Journal System. Using the bullet points to reflect on the days work, and ‘migrate’ the information to the next card is one tenet of the bujo system that works very well.

PICTURES

Reference card

Checklist guide and insight into the three dots on the top right.

Dot-Grid layout is on the back of each card for notes and sketches.

One issue with the heavy paper is that it soaks up fountain pen ink and feathers. I would stick to gel/ballpoint pens and pencils.

DETAILS

• Price $79 (Cardholder and 3 months worth of cards)

• Pack of 50 Cards - 35 Today, 10 Next, 5 Someday

• Card Holder Dimensions - 6.25" x 3.55" x 1.15"

• Card Dimensions - 3″x5″

• Paper - 100# smooth uncoated paper

• Metal card cover with magnetic closure

Ugmonk also has a travel case available for $32

UGMONK

I have been backing Jeff Sheldon’s projects for years and he continues to make better and better products. He moves forward from each Kickstarter project and doesn’t look back so when his inventory is gone, it is really gone. He also curates some amazing products on his site that you can find here.

INTERVIEW

Jeff was very kind in getting back to me this past week when I was bothering him with a few questions that I had and thought I would share them with you:

1. What led you to use notecards with this productivity system?
I find the physical constraints of the 3x5 cards helpful to limit how many tasks I can have on my to-do list each day. I also like the portability of the cards and being able to easily write notes or quick sketches on the back.

2. What is your background and how did you decide to begin designing and producing products.
I grew up with a passion for art and making things. Even as a kid I would spend hours building things with cardboard and whatever I could find. Later I transitioned into graphic design and fell in love with designing t-shirts. That's what led me to launch Ugmonk back in 2008. I've slowly grown Ugmonk over the past 12 years and expanded into other workspace objects like Gather and Analog, all centered around the same idea of combining form and function.

3. Where do you draw inspiration from?
I draw inspiration from all over. I feel like it's a mashup of Scandinavian and Japanese design as well as industrial designers like Dieter Rams and Charles and Ray Eames. Really inspiration comes from everywhere, whether it's being out in nature, exploring a new city, or browsing through old design and architecture books.

4. How did you come up with the name Ugmonk?
It was kind of a happy accident. When I launched Ugmonk in 2008 it was just supposed to be a little side project, so I didn't think too hard about names. I wanted something unique and started googling URLs that were available. "Ugmonk" happened to be available (which was just something we made up and didn't have any real meanings) so we went with it. Now 12 years later, it has become one of the best branding decisions we ever made. If you google the word "Ugmonk" there are 120,000 results that all point back to us :)

5. Any new products in the pipeline we can start to get excited about?
I'm working on some additional Analog accessories that I can share much about yet. But I'm excited to continued building out the system and seeing how people adapt Analog to their workflow.

SUMMARY

With desk real estate always a premium for me, I find these cards fit nicely into my layout. They quietly do their job reminding me to stay on task throughout the day. As I mentioned before, Jeff doesn’t restock many of his Kickstarter items and this is one that I recommend getting in on the pre-order price before it goes up!

I paid for the Analog system and did not receive anything in return for this review. My thoughts are my own.

Cheers,

MIke