On Moleskines and GTD

In preparation for 2007 I finally broke down and grabbed a Moleskine notebook.

If you're not familiar with them, Moleskine are small black notebooks that come in a variety of different styles. While great as just a diary or sketchbook with a little tweaking they also can serve as great PDAs and GTD (Getting Things Done) notebooks.

Anyway, I wanted to find a good way to start reorganizing and becoming more productive. Being a frequent reader of sites like LifeHacker and LifeDev, I'd come across Moleskine tips and hacks several times. After a post last week on LifeDev, followed closely be a similar post on LifeHacker, I decided to give it a go.

I have to say, there's something very appealing about the moleskine style notebooks. I think to some degree it's the romantic in me that sees a pen and paper journal as being old world and mystical.

Over the next day or so I'll be posting a bit more on the GTD method I'm developing as well as some other GTD Moleskine Hacks. Today, though, I just wanted to run down the list of some of the things I'm currently planning on using as part of my system.

• Moleskine Plain Reporter Notebook Small- 3-1/2"x5-1/2": My current Moleskine of choice is the Small Plain Reporter Notebook. I choose the reporter almost solely because it seems to be the only one that is locally available in the plain page style. The plain page, for me at least, is important solely because a blank page is much less constrictive. I can doodle, sketch or write easily and without boundary (with the exception of page dimensions I guess.)
• Bullet Space Pen: I really wanted to use a Pilot G-2 here but because I'm fearful the thing will explode in my pocket I decided to go unconventional. That left me with either a Metal Point Pen or a Space Pen, neither of which risk bursting under pressure or temperature. Seeing as how the Space Pen is more readily available (I can grab it at my local Staples as well as online) I decided it was the way to go.
• Post-It Tabs: Whether dividing your Moleskine into sections or just using the tabs to bookmark certain items these things are almost a necessity. I've linked to the Amazon page but you can also grab them at you're local CVS or Walgreens on the cheap.
• Plain Index Cards : No need to provide a link to these. You can go with either ruled or blank (I like blank.) These are ideal for anything you don't want to include in your Moleskine or anything you want to copy down when you're leaving your notebook behind. If you have a good printer you can also print a weekly or monthly calender on one to keep with your notebook.