While on vacation at my Dad's, I bought a tiny note-pad and pen and started carrying it around with me everywhere. I use it to [[Read to Feed]] and [[How to hunt for ideas like an artist]]. This tiny notebook has since become a **gamechanger** for me to quicky capture notes and drawings that I would have otherwise "lost". I still find that my phone is one of the worst ways to capture ideas quickly and with focus. Because it's so small, I've taken my notebook on practically every walk I've gone on. While I'm walking, when an idea comes up or I read or see something cool, I whip it out, take the pen and write. The time from "oh, let me note this" to pen-on-paper is less than 3 seconds with this setup. To me, this speed and the flexibility that paper offers (write, draw, illustrate, etc.) is ideal. ## Note-taking results - [[Micro-Notebook S21 – Mallorca (Photos)]] - [[Micro-Notebook S21 – Berlin 1 (Photos)]] - [[Micro-Notebook S21 – Berlin 2 (Photos)]] - [[Micro-Notebook S21 – Berlin 3 (Photos)]] - [[Micro-Notebook S21 – Berlin 4 (Photos)]] - [[Micro-Notebook S21 – Berlin 5 (Photos)]] - [[Micro-Notebook S21 – Berlin 6 (Photos)]] - [[Micro-Notebook S21 – Berlin 7 (Photos)]] - [[Micro-Notebook F21 – Berlin 8 (Photos)]] - [[Micro-Notebook F21 – Berlin 9 (Photos)]] - [[Micro-Notebook F21 – Berlin 10 (Photos)]] ## Iteration 1 ### Description - Random mini notepad for 0.50€ - Random small ballpoint pen for 0.80€ ### Notebook Photos - Photos of all notes can be found here: [[Micro-Notebook S21 – Mallorca (Photos)]] ![[P1040594.jpg]] ![[P1040595.jpg]] ### What worked - Amazing to have an immediate way to jot something down - Game-changer for me while on walks and in conversations - This version was 80% perfect ### What didn't work - It stayed awkward to attach the pen to the pad - Also awkward to keep it attached to the pad - Felt too big in my back-pocket ### Wishes - I would prefer the notepad to be even smaller - I would like to have lines instead of squares - I would like to use better paper - The front and back-cover should be sturdier ### Experiment Result - Pivot to a different notepad and pen ## Iteration 2 ### Description - Mini note-pad (A7) from Muji[^1] for 2.50€ - Mini telescopic pen with keychain ring[^2] for 5.90€ ### Notebook Photos - Photos of all notes from the first test can be found here: [[Micro-Notebook S21 – Berlin 1 (Photos)]] - Photos of all notes from the second test can be found here: [[Micro-Notebook S21 – Berlin 2 (Photos)]] ![[P1040593.jpg]] ![[P1040592.jpg]] ### What's working - Still, having a notepad and pen readily available is a gamechanger for me! - The size of the pad and pen now work much better - Feels much better in my backpocket - The pen, when extended, actually works really well - Writing is easy - Worry-free: The pen is securely attached so I won't lose it - The lines in the book help me while writing ### What's not working - So far so good, no strong complaints - The attachment ring makes paging a bit weird ### Wishes - Ideally (but I couldn't find any pen that could do it) I would love to slide and fasten the pen between the top wires or SOMEHOW have the whole thing "MORE INTEGRATED" - I wish the covers were even stronger so that the notepad keeps its shape while I carry it around (Maybe build one with thin metal sheets myself?) ### Experiment Result - Pivot to a different notepad but keep the pen ## Iteration 3 ### Materials - Muji Alumnium Card Case (Big)[^3] - Blank Cards by KAMI Berlin[^4] - 2.4 Inch Stainless Steel Portable Ballpoint Pen[^5] - Photos of cards TBD ### Notebook Photos - Photos of all notes from the first test can be found here: [[Micro-Notebook S21 – Berlin 3 (Photos)]] ### Demo ![[IMG20210731152200.jpg]] ![[IMG20210731152239.jpg]] ![[IMG20210731154654.jpg]] ![[IMG20210731152416.jpg]] ![[IMG20210731152639.jpg]] ![[IMG20210731152521.jpg]] ### What I like about it - This is GREAT! - Card case feels good in my pocket - Super tightly integrated - The pen fits perfectly (Did NOT see that one coming) - No need to unscrew the pen - No ring or chain - Easy to carry - Cards are nice stock - Cards can be shared with others easily - Cards can be written on using the case for support - Cards can also be written on a table - Cards can be arranged and shuffled as needed ### What's I don't like about it - Pen is clacking a little bit while walking ### Open questions - Will the sequence of cards matter? - Will I lose the pen quickly? - Can I dampen the pen's clacking? ### Review after 1 week #### What's working - The clacking was easily managed with a bit of washi-tape around the pen - I still really like the form-factor with everything tightly packed - Taking notes wasn't worse than with the ones before - The pen still worked very well and fit so snuggly - Easy and worry-free to put in my pocket - Easy and worry-free to carry in my [[⭐️ Reframing Off-the-Shelf Objects (S21 Mini-Project)#Reframe a shoulder-bag as a hip-bag | "Reframed Hip-Bag"]] - I like the cards, it's thick paper and feels more valuable #### What's not working - Not sure why but the pen sometimes didn't write at all on the cards. After I inserted a new pencil tip, it could be grease from my fingers or the stock itself - Holding the card while standing with one hand isn't ideal but not super bad either - The cards are definitely smaller than the notepad so I had to get used to that and still am #### What I'm not sure of - I just took the photos but the order of the cards somehow got changed, so the photos are not in sequence. I'm not sure if this will matter? - Just how weird does it look to the outside? (Not that that really matters but I wonder) - Didn't really miss the lines for writing but could print out a few to test ### Experiment Result - Keep cards, case and pen as-is - Continue exploration ## Iteration 4 ![[IMG20210920113108.jpg]] ### Demo ![[IMG20210920113118.jpg]] ![[IMG20210920113135.jpg]] ![[IMG20210920113142.jpg]] ![[IMG20210920113212.jpg]] ### All Notebook Photos - [[Micro-Notebook S21 – Berlin 5 (Photos)]] ### About this iteration Funnily enough, this one started out as a "backup" notepad because I had forgotten my then-current one at home. Because I was going to be out and about the whole day, I went to Muji and bought this notebook on purpose (and the [[Muji Fountain Pen]] by "accident"). I liked the format but – obviously – the fountainpen wasn't going to be my "out-and-about" combination (still very nice to write with though). So, when I got home, I looked around and picked up the slim "Birdie" ballpoint pen I had bought at Luiban a few weeks earlier. It's a very nice-writing and nice-looking pen and as I held both in my hand, I saw that the pen _might_, _maybe_, _could_ (could it?!) fit in the spine of the notebook. And fit it did. As you can see above, it didn't only fit. The pen also has the right fit length-wise! (I don't mind the top cap sticking out a bit.) So, yeah, that wound up being a great combo that I hadn't even thought of. ### Materials - Pilot Kugelschreiber "Birdie"[^8] bought at Luiban – 10€ - "Notizbuch mit Doppelringbindung A7, Beige"[^6] from Muji – 1.50€[^7] ### What I like about it - The pen fits nicely on the side, exactly how I had hoped it could - The side-binding is easy to flip through pages - The pen writes smoothly and I can easily buy replacement tips ### What I don't like about it - I feel like the pen was too expensive at 10€ ### Review after 3 weeks #### What's working - Overall, great experience - Nicely integrated - [[Without thinking much about it...]], I'm already with my second notepad with this setup - Note: Interesting, I made the decision sub-consciously. This may be the "no-brainer" I've been looking for - Without thinking much about it... I've bought 3 additional notebooks (one in black which I'm currently using) - [[Without thinking much about it...]] I've also bought 5 replacement tips at 2€/each #### What's not working - Nothing comes to mind #### Open questions - No open questions at this time ### Experiment Result - Keep setup as-is - Have [[#Iteration 4]] as alternative for more interactive note-taking sessions (by myself and with others) ## Related - [[⭐️ "Hello my name is" Buttons (S21 Mini-Project)]] - [[⭐️ Reframing Off-the-Shelf Objects (S21 Mini-Project)]] ## Links [^1]: https://www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?PID=1035&qclr=4548076155225 [^2]: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07K2X113F/ [^3]: https://www.muji.com/au/products/cmdty/detail/4934761183695 [^4]: https://www.luiban.com/en/paper-cards/note-cards/1182/kami-blank-business-cards-with-blue-cut-20-pcs [^5]: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07K2X113F [^6]: https://www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?PID=7734 [^8]: https://www.amazon.de/Pilot-Pen-2018001-Kugelschreiber-Minenstärke/dp/B000SO5NTQ/