What is your tool—the one that helps you
do the things you do?
Notebook
How has this tool helped you?
Most of my go-to tools are electronic—my iPhone, my laptop, my time-tracking apps (Harvest!) and QuickBooks. But the one thing that I absolutely cannot live without is totally analog. It’s a simple lined notebook where I track pending projects.
This humble journal serves a variety of immediate purposes—helping me see at a glance what awaits me each day, providing a constant reminder within eyesight of what I need to tackle next. But it also provides a chance to reflect on what I’ve done (“Thank goodness that’s over!”) and keep a tangible record of my efforts. Sometimes I’ll literally write something down that I recently completed just for the satisfaction of crossing it out. Flipping through it gives me a sense of where I’ve been and where I’m going.
It’s important to mention that just not any notebook will do. First, the journal absolutely has to be from Chronicle Books. I worked there for eight years, and they have the best journals. Secondly, the design must provide some sort of aesthetic or familiar inspiration. I’m currently using the Forest Animals Journal, because it’s darling and reminds me to look out the window every now and then.
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Images courtesy of Lisa Hazen.
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Explore these other Design Feast series: Designer’s Quest(ionnaire) / Blogger’s Quest(ionnaire) / Makers / Side Projects
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