My Favorite Notebook

My Favorite Notebook

There are generally two types of notebooks: those with fixed pages and those with movable pages. The ever-popular Moleskine has fixed pages and I’ve used them for years. Moleskines look nice and feel nice and, contrary to some reports, the paper works fine with the right fountain pen. I like the immutability of fixed pages. Fixed pages leave me with no decisions to make about how to organize them. I consider that a feature rather than a limitation.

On the other hand, sometimes I change my mind and really want to move things around. Switching to the Circa system by Levenger solved that problem nicely, but I never loved the way Circa notebooks looked or felt. Using a Circa notebook feels like using office supplies.

Moving to a Filofax was my attempt to improve the pleasure factor while maintaining flexibility. Unfortunately, my Filofax experiment ended in failure. A Filofax is a great planner but a terrible notebook.

What I wanted was a high-quality notebook that looked and felt great, offered some flexibility, but wasn’t a free-for-all, organization wise.I wanted a notebook that made me want to bring it everywhere and actually use.

Enter the Midori Traveler’s Notebook:

The Midori Traveler’s Notebook is nothing more than a leather cover for a system of inserts, but it’s a nice leather cover and a clever system of inserts. In mine I have a lined notebook, a weekly planner, and a plastic zippered pocket. It offers a combination of the things I love about Moleskines and Filofaxes, in an even cooler package.

What works for me is that the pages in each insert are fixed, but I can swap inserts any time. This offers enough, but not too much, flexibility and I find it to be a great solution.

I love how the Midori looks, feels, and functions and it’s my new favorite notebook.