How to choose a notebook and use it effectively
I have been absent from the blogosphere for a while, being busy with work as well as… packing up for a move!
Moving house is truly a daunting task. However, I think it can be - psychologically - made less dreadful and easier to perform if we split the single GIANT task into smaller and easy-to-accomplish parts, and spread them out to be completed in several days. Writing down a to-do list is very helpful here.
Anyway, as I was sorting through the books and magazines, trying to decide which to keep and which to discard, I flipped through one of my husband’s magazine and found something interesting about keeping a notebook. (I’m referring to the notebook that has papers in it, where you jot down important appointments or ideas; not the computer-type notebook.) 
In essence, it’s about how to choose a notebook and use it effectively.
1. Have ONE and only ONE notebook. While some people tend to have different notebooks allocate for different purposes, it’s best to just have one single notebook to jot down all the information you need. Be it a reminder of your appointment, a plan of your daily tasks, or some bright ideas that struck you while waiting for the bus, have them all in one notebook. This makes information available at the tips of your fingers when you need it (instead of shuffling through different notebooks to search for the information.)
2. Choose one that is convenient to carry around. Notebooks that are larger than an A4-sized paper is rather heavy, and you will tend to leave it behind (who wants to carry a big notebook around?). As a result, the notebook never gets to serve its purpose; the content of your notebook is not updated frequently, and you may miss the opportunity to scribble down the greatest idea that came across your mind! A better choice will be a notebook around the size of an A5 paper. Also, go for a thinner notebook.
3. Choose one that comes with your favorite color or motifs printed on the cover or inside the pages. Even though it is just making some simple notes in the book, you will feel good doing it, and makes you want to use it more often.
4. Any important or interesting idea that you wrote down on pieces of paper of stick-it notes, remember to transfer the information into your notebook as soon as possible, preferably within the day itself. If you delay this for more than 3 days, it is most likely that the idea will be gone forever.
5. Make a check box at the beginning of all the items in your to-do list in your notebook. Mark the check box of the items that you have completed. This makes it neater and easier for you to read and monitor your progress.
6. Create a special idea column on every page of the notebook. This is where you can repeatedly come back (even after 1 year!) to look for creative ideas that came from yourself but have forgotten about it.
