I’ve been using my six ring binders for making notes, and they’re not very aesthetic. My main problem is the rings do get in the way for writing.

Why have I chosen to write? Pen and paper force me to slow down, I can think about the topic in ways that lets me connect things I wouldn’t have if I had typed it out. It also engages my senses, there is real science behind writing by hand. Since I like to keep digital records, I can just speak the ideas into an ai and convert it to text. Best of both worlds.

Travelers Notebooks have become popular with the analogue community – and I was unfamiliar with them. They’re just leather covers that hold Kraft notebooks in place with a string. They let you carry four or more notebooks around – making it easy to swap notebooks based on the need.

A leather notebook is much more aesthetic, but feels a little granola for me. I’m a romantic but I don’t like to look like it, in my actual life I’m a practical person that likes basic and practical things. I’m a function over form person.

Practical Advantages

Craft notebooks are cheap, there are lots of variety on paper quality and manufacturers, the note book cover can hold 1-8 different notebooks. It looks more professional and there are no rings to get in the way. Leather is durable and will patina over time.

Tradeoffs

The downside is that you can’t remove a page and it’s a little bit more complicated to customize because you have to commit to an entire notebook – so if you want a calendar, you need a notebook that was printed that way.

I’m undecided. I’m going to stick with the binder for now, and see if I really even use it.