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Very nice approach, love the symbols with
deeper meaning. It's also nice to see others
appreciating Miquelrius notebooks. :-)
Posted 24 months ago.
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Can you explain a little more about Bill's
little diagram on the right? I'm guesing this
is his plan for managing what's left of his
day with time blocks... but that's just a
guess.
Posted 24 months ago.
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I love the idea of starting on different
sections of the page for different types of
items. That's a keeper.
Posted 24 months ago.
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Mike - that's right. If I have a wide-open
day, I usually get by without scheduling so
tightly. But on days with sporadic meetings,
or specific deadlines - or when I'm just not
completely 'together' - I draw up one of
these little charts to plan out the rest of
the day. See how the bottom part is
scribbled out? That's because my day went to
crap right around 1:30, and I ended up
drawing a new timeline on the facing page.
I was an absolute Palm fanatic for about
five years (even wrote the original
"Palm Mirror" application ... see
utilware.com/mirror.html for details), but
got tired of scratching away with the stylus
all the time. Pen + paper is so much more
gratifying.
Posted 24 months ago.
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Thanks for the notes Bill!
Posted 24 months ago.
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Does the little squiggle that's just to the
left of a few of the checkboxes have any
significance?
I wonder if there's a place one can go to
improve their penmanship - one reason I
stopped using paper is my handwriting started
to annoy the heck out of me. :)
Posted 24 months ago.
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Thanks for sharing your organization method.
It looks easy enough to use, and maybe I
could be inspired to use such a detailed
system. :) I like the pen and paper method
too, rather than the thought of having to use
a hand-held machiney thingy like a palm
system... not for me.
I'm afraid a lot of my days would end up
"going to crap". LOL It would be
interesting to see how many of those I
experience. ;)
Posted 24 months ago.
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Love the "down/work - up/personal"
approach. Thanks for sharing!
Posted 24 months ago.
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Neilio, the squiggles to the left of some of
the checkboxes were a throwback to an earlier
prioritization approach, where I'd put a
little dot to the left of high-priority
items. Then, when they were all checked off,
I'd scratch out all of the dots so I wouldn't
think they were priority any more. I forgot
and did it on this page, because just
recently switched to the "dot in a
box" method, which I prefer because it's
self-cleaning once you check off a priority
item.
gallery318, I've found that the actual act
of slowing down long enough to write out
things long-hand on the page causes me to
think a little bit more clearly about them,
and actually helps cement them in my head
more. I find that I refer back to my to-do
list much less when it's on paper than I did
when it was on a digital device of some sort.
Posted 24 months ago.
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Bill, I can see how you manage your task
list, but how do you manage your schedule and
agenda? Is there another section in your
Miquelrius with 52 weeks, or do you make use
of a computer app to manage that part of your
work/personal life?
It's quite nteresting to me that you've
moved from Palm back to paper. I came quite
close to moving to a Moleskine a few weeks
ago, and instead went back to an old Clie. I
like the Clie for the most part, though now
and again I wonder if I really need the
features, or if a simple Moleskine weekly
calendar and task system might be enough.
We'll see. With the Moleskine 18 month
weekly pocket calendars out soon, I might
just give analog a try again. :-)
Posted 24 months ago.
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Thanks for sharing.
I love the moleskine, went to it Jan 1st of
this year. Best move I have made in a long
time, no batteries, no recharging and it
keeps my notes, my sketchs and my time.
Posted 24 months ago.
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Postman, thanks for the encouragement. I'm
kicking around 2 approaches: making my own
weekly planner with a Moleskine lined (or
squared) or buying one of the new,
flexible-covered weekly 18 month planners:
www.moleskine.it/eng/_interni/catalogo/Cat_in
t/catalogo_d...
However, I don't know if I'd have enough
room for either my daily appointments or my
tasks in the 18 monther, compared to a week
on 2 pages and a separate section of the M
for tasks.
I'm on the fence now, as sync from iCal to
the Clie is quite nice, but with a recent
Clie low-battery crash and restore, I'm
continuing to question the "care and
feeding" that a Palm constantly requires
(charging, tuning, restoring, etc.).
Bill's system is pulling me toward paper!
:-)
Posted 24 months ago.
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Brilliant method. I like pen & paper
too...cos when your day starts going down the
pan, you can always doodle.
Posted 24 months ago.
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Mike - I manage my schedule using iCal on the
Mac. I'd actually prefer to use (cough)
Outlook on the PC because I really like the
calendaring capabilities, but since
everything else I do is on the Mac, I'm
learning to love iCal. I might end up
creating monthly calendars myself on the
quadrule paper.
- Bill
Posted 24 months ago.
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Bill, I use iCal and like it for work. I
think my use of a paper-based system for
personal stuff -- agenda and tasks.
Tonight I've decided to turn my thoughts
into a weblog post, writing out my arguments
for ditching my PDA in favor of a custon
Moleskine:
www.rohdesign.com/weblog/archives/001832.html
You'll be glad to know that your elegant
task system had an impact on my thinking this
weekend, causing me to consider paper again.
Thanks!
Posted 24 months ago.
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Okay, what's the difference between a
"Miquelrius" notebook and a
"Moleskine"?
I tried to go to the Miquelrius web site
but it ranks up there with the most all-time
aweful Flash based websites - completely
useless.
I'm a Moleskine fan and I'm just curious if
there is something of similar quality out
there.
Posted 24 months ago.
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Webel, the Miquelrius is a slightly different
type of notebook -- soft pseudo-leather cover
and white paper that's gridded with light
blue grid lines. I'd say the paper is a tad
lesser quality than Moleskine, more like
ruled school paper.
They come in a larger 6 x 8.25 inch size
with several hundred pages, and a smaller, 4
x 6 inch size. The covers are available in
black, blue and red. The 4 x 6 version is
slightly larger and thicker than a standard
pocket Moleskine.
Yes, the Miquelrius website is pretty bad
for usability. I've created a Squidoo
reference page on Miquelrius notebooks, but
info about 'em is pretty scarce compared to
Moleskine:
www.squidoo.com/miquelrius/
If you want to check one out in person,
visit a local Barnes & Noble. They should
have some in the blank book section of the
store.
Posted 24 months ago.
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I'm in Hong Kong for the time being, I'll
take a look around and see if I can find them
here.
Thanks for the info!
Posted 24 months ago.
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Webel, check out City Super -- that's my
friend Patrick Ng's stationery shop in Times
Square in HK. I bet he might have a lead on
Miquelrius notebooks.
www.citysuper.com.hk/
Posted 24 months ago.
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Thanks Mike for the referral. Webel, I don't
know where I can get a Miquelrius A5 or
pocket notebook in Hong Kong, I never stocked
them in our stores, although I do have some
of their wire bounded student type of
notebooks. Maybe you can try Papyrus.
Message me if you really want to dig out
where to get Miquelrius, I'll ask Spain for
you.
Posted 24 months ago.
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Patrick - thanks so much for your kind offer.
I'm actually really liking my Moleskine
notebooks and I'll probably stick with that
until someone can convince me to change.
btw - citysuper grocery stores are the best
in HK!
Posted 24 months ago.
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Blimey!
Posted 24 months ago.
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Heh, comments took on a life of their own,
eh? Gotta love the web! :-)
Posted 24 months ago.
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cool - I need to start organising myself more
effectively, this is quite inspiring because
I much prefer the tactile nature of paper and
writing...
Posted 24 months ago.
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And it comes full circle: I've just posted a
photo of my custom-made Pocket Moleskine
planner system, inspired by Bill's
Miquelrius:
www.flickr.com/photos/rohdesign/152626650/
Thanks again Bill! :-)
Posted 24 months ago.
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Well, I finally decided to document my system
in a bit more detail. Check it out at utilware.com/gsd.html - and enjoy!
Bill
Posted 24 months ago.
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Woo hoo! Thanks Bill! :-)
Posted 24 months ago.
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Hey, just wanted to let you know it was great
to come across such an interesting system for
task management!
[BTW, a quick note about Miquelrius paper
quality- I personally find them of much
higher quality than Moleskines. I'm a
fountain-pen user, and tend to notice
paper-quality very quickly these days.
Miquelrius, Clairfontaine, Rhodia, and GLalo
are all excellent paper-makers. If you're an
FP user, I highly suggest Miquelrius over
Moleskine.]
Cheers, Bill! Oh, and thanks for that
Palm-mirror app. :) I have to admit I
really didn't understand at first... then I
thought- do you really think it's just the
reflection?- and then I smiled. ;) he he
he.
Posted 23 months ago.
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srogers2 [deleted] says:
I strongly recommend the Black & Red line
of notebooks. Paper quality is not quite as
good as Moleskine, but they are less
expensive, come with hard cardboard or
flexible plastic covers, and are spiral or
spine-bound. Really great notebooks -
available from staples.com.
Posted 23 months ago.
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yeah, i'm digging this. a lot less to keep
organized than GTD. i need something simple
and effective, or i won't do it. thanks!
Posted 23 months ago.
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huh, nice to see others use paper to organize
daily activities, i'm not the only one ;)
Posted 22 months ago.
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I like Miquelrius paper as well, though I
don't use a fountain pen on it very often
these days. The surface is nice and smooth,
great for ink or pencil.
BTW, I've just came across a resource for
Miquelrius notebooks via a reader on my blog
this week:
www.shopmiquelrius.com
This might be be handy for those who can't
locate them locally.
Posted 22 months ago.
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Hey Bill--do you use the 4 X 6, or the bigger
one?
Posted 22 months ago.
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FalseFridays -- Bill uses the 6 x 8 version
Posted 22 months ago.
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right on! and, thanks for adding me. :-)
Posted 22 months ago.
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Has anyone tried the Ciak line? They are not
as thick as the Miquelrius but thicker than
the Moleskine. I happened to use a paper
clip on my Miquelrius and the pages started
ungluing. Should have use a flag like
suggested. I'm currently using the Moleskine
now but came across the Ciak and considered
it because it had more pages.
Posted 21 months ago.
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Never heard of it. Went to check their
website and found it the most frustrating,
useless, poorly designed website I've
encountered in a very long time. Never did
find the notebook. Hope it's designed better
than the web site. grrr
Posted 21 months ago.
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Hey Dave (et al) ... since my Miquelrius is a
bit large for the pocket, I've been thinking
of ways to take notes while away from the
desk. At the same time, been trying to come
up with a new business card concept for my
consulting. As it turns out, I solved both
with my new business (note) cards ... flickr.com/photos/billwesterman/231364723/
Posted 21 months ago.
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hi everybody,
im so glad to see fans of pen-to-paper
agendas... ive been making my own forever!! i
like a consistent and gridded visual of my
hourly day (makes my schedule easily
manageable) and i use an excel spreadsheet to
make the blank hourly
"worksheet"... it makes glancing at
my week (2 facing pages) simple, and when my
time is blocked out, i can recognize my free
time easily too.
i print them and bind them together myself,
i make a cover out of durable cardstock or
some sort of found material that i wont mind
looking at every day for several months!
these datebooks feel very personal in the
end... fingerprints everywhere, rounded
edges, post-its, doodles and notes.
id like to hear what you have to say about
these obstacles i find with using a typical
moleskine (i have one id like to start to
use!):
1. how do you deal with "to do"
lists... if you dont finish a task one day,
how do you know to look back to finish the
task? ive got my own little language as well
(boxes, lines, arrows!) but once ive finished
the day, its hard to look back for those
not-yet-accomplished little things... and
THEN there are long-term lists, short term,
etc... any keen ideas on how to keep a
running list?...which brings me to:
2. ideas for categorizing agendas
better?... always want to add things, tab
things, be able to reference things quickly.
anything better than a 3-ring binder but not
your typical filofax? "dayrunners",
etc are too conventional and are never the
right size. if i take lengthy enough notes in
a meeting or with a friend, i want to be able
to take them out and categorize them where
they belong.
3. i find its hard to cross-reference my
jotted notes (ALWAYS jotting notes! npr info,
new restaurant, good movie, phone numbers,
websites)... how do i cross-reference all of
this? for instance... have a
"section" tabbed off in the back
for books to read? and another for music to
look up?
i wonder if any of you have solved these
problems creatively! i suppose im looking for
a version of or type of (or creatively
invented) miquelrius or moleskine without all
of the "freedom" of big blank
pages?
thanks everyone!!
this is my first comment entry ever
anywhere on the internet!!
anna
Posted 20 months ago.
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What you say??? hehehe.
Posted 20 months ago.
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It was great to come accross this page! I
discovered about three years ago that
"to do" lists only work for me when
they are on paper lying on the desk beside me
so that I see the list everytime I start day
dreaming. Ever since then I've used paper
planning as well.
I use the FranklinCovey planers. Very
expensive, but it gives me a bit more room to
do the lists and take notes. Plus I really
like the idea behind the system.
Moleskin I use to capture ideas. I carry
around one booklet to capture ideas when I'm
out and about. I have another in my car for
the same reason.
Posted 17 months ago.
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Hi, wich MIQUELRIUS Notebook do you use? 200
Pages or with 300 Pages? Thank you
Posted 17 months ago.
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I'm not sure!
Posted 17 months ago.
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300 pages, because otherwise I would have to
transfer information to a new book too
frequently. However, it's kind of large, and
can be a bit difficult to carry around all
the time.
Posted 17 months ago.
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Sorry to make a long post but this subject is
near and dear to my heart and all finding
this page and the other links has tickled my
enthusiasm.
This is all interesting to me, because
although I've dabbled with a few I've
resisted using a PDA all these years, until
recently when I succumbed to the seduction of
the Newton MP2100 (and now I love it, but
that's another story). Even with the 2100's
excellent facilities and execution of
features, which could have been custom-made
for me, I still favour my fountain pen and
paper. It's great to realize I'm not one of
the last of the dinosaurs.
Since 1973 (that's not a mistype) my
solution has been something called a
"Seven Star Diary", which was the
first loose-leaf system I found (similar to
the FiloFax I guess). To me the best
features are: [1] a practically
indestructible ring-binder (even my 1973
binder still works perfectly); [2] a wide
choice of sizes, (I use two of the smaller
page sizes (67mm x 104mm and 80mm x 125mm);
[3] a choice of week-per-2 pages packs,
day-a-page packs, month-per-two-pages packs
for each year, or simply to use blank pages,
lined pages or graph-lined pages or other
stock including several colours; [4] the
liberty to change my mind about how things
are laid out at any time, and to have as much
or as little in it as I like; [5] the ability
to have a "rolling" schedule by
removing old stuff and inserting new pages as
I go; and [6] paper that's fountain pen
friendly and doesn't blot or tear easily.
The slight downside of course is cost. The
binders aren't that cheap, but considering
that the small one is still good after 34
years and the larger one is still good after
26 years, so I only buy certain fillers and I
can live with that.
The coming of the Newton into my life does
complicate my choices somewhat because it
reads my handwriting almost flawlessly, but
after 2 almost years i still love my Seven
Star and I'm not likely to abandon it any
time soon.
It's satisfying to see that other folks are
rediscovering paper and pen. Maybe it'll
encourage PDA makers to think more about
designing them to suit our use instead of to
shape our use. In the meantime, we all get
to track our work and personal activities the
way we want, and as so many people have
mentioned we get to enjoy the superior
tactility of pen and paper.
And now, I can see me incorporating several
of the ideas I've seen here from Bill
Westerman (and Mike Rohde for that matter)
into my own system. Thanks guys!
Posted 13 months ago.
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cool
Posted 10 months ago.
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Hey, by the way Dave, I just did a fresh new
writeup on GSD. It's at my GSD page - and I've added a clear four-step process
at utilware.com/gsd3-p3.html.
Posted 8 months ago.
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Is the master list like a project list? Or
it's just some todo tasks? if so, don't are
you repeating by writing todo items in the
master list and in the daily list?
Posted 7 months ago.
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Hi, I'm an admin for a group called SML Viz, and we'd love to have your photo added to
the group.
--
Found in a search. (?)
Posted 7 months ago.
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Very nice approach
------------------------------------------
visit my site for more Fountain Pen information.
Posted 5 months ago.
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Is this Miquelrius notebook comparable in style and
flexibility (of the spine and material) to
that of Bill's notebook? Just curious.
Posted 4 months ago.
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Yes Cinema, I think that is the one.
Dave
Posted 4 months ago.
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So great. It's the best todolist based on
Notebook I've seen :)
Posted 4 months ago.
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I'm also wondering about your master list?
What kind of stuff do you write in your
master list? If it's at the start of the
book, wouldn't you run out of space? I'm a
little bit confused on that one. I've
recently finished school and am desperate to
organise my life, and am looking at different
methods of organising myself, I quite like
your system and I'll probably try it soon...
Posted 4 months ago.
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Ciao, sono amministratore di un gruppo
chiamato Write me!. Ci farebbe piacere aggiungere le tuo foto
al gruppo.
Posted 2 months ago.
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I am pretty sure that Time Management
software will be the next big business on the
internet. Or maybe it already is?
Regards from the Danish søgemaskineoptimering
Posted 5 weeks ago.
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Thomas > It is allready a big thing. ;)
maybe it is something for an advertising
company such as Reklamebureau
Posted 3 weeks ago.
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@yabune - it's just a long list of
longer-term to-dos. and yes, i copy from the
master list into the daily list.
@cinema - yes, that's the one!
@Nxqd3051990 - thanks, man!
@themysteryman - master list is anything
that doesn't fit into a daily activity, so it
might be upcoming activities, or something
that's on the 'back burner'. it's at the
start of the book, but then when it's near
completed, i create a new master list
wherever i am in the book.
... and @davegray, man, I've got to check
this thread more often :-)
Posted 2 weeks ago.
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Bill: I've been using the system as you have
it outlined here for the last few weeks, and
i can already see improvement at work.
However, am having trouble with the
day-to-day stuff. things like, "Sweep
the kitchen" gets added to the bottom,
but i've been so busy, i have been defering
it for the last 3 weeks! Could you lay-out
any info on both your "back page"
master lists, and/or any suggestions on an
alternate way to tag/mark a task that CAN NOT
be put off anymore? :D
Thanks! PS: Really, honestly, thanks.
Posted 4 days ago.
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