A lot of people use Index card for taking ad hoc notes. They don’t want a huge notebook, they want something slim and sleek. I understand that. In the 80′s there was a piece of apparel that all yuppies had and that was a jotter. More about Jotters and index cards after the break
A Jotter was a leather or vinyl case that held an amount of index cards with one card for readiness to write upon. My jotter was purchased from Levenger along with a huge amount of their notecards. They certainly have quite a selection, but Office max has a jotter and index cards that would work. The thing with Levenger is that they will print on their index cards, so you could write on them and then hand them out.
A jotter is imperative if you want to carry around index cards and write on them. Another thing that is imperative is to transcribe the index card into your to do manager or note management system. Once transcribed then you might wish to store your index cards. I found an index card box that will store about a 1000 cards. It has a backing that moves up and down to keep the cards aligned.
How do I use notecards? these are my day to day jots. Ideas that pop up in my head goes on the card. Then it get’s put into my electronic systems. Things, my to do manager, finds that a lot of the to dos are from these index cards. Some notes I take are written to EagleFiler as an RTF note. If I do any drawings, then they are scanned into EagleFiler for use.
When I travel I carry in my TechWarrior bag a stack of cards to refill the Jotter. In the Jotter I carry 10 blank and one ready card. When I use up the cards I refil the jotter from my deck of blank cards. I never need more than 5 cards a day, and usually use just one card per day. Each Card is dated as used, and only notes for that day can be put on that card.
At the end of my day, regardless of where I am, I transcribe the to dos and notes into my software, Things and EagleFiler. Why use index cards when I have a computer with me? I rather not waste other people’s time by having them wait for me to turn on my computer. The Jotter is a TechWise solution to taking notes. They still eventually end up in my memory, which is what I am calling my EagleFiler database and Things right now.
If you want to use index cards for note taking it is recommended that you use a Jotter. Date your cards and never split a card between dates. Carry a stack of cards in your bag or case to replenish the Jotter. Get the kind you like. Transcribe these Cards into a note management system like EagleFiler or DevonThink. Put the To do in your to do management system like things.
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This looks very interesting. I used to use a Moleskine to take notes, but it’s a bit big and it has to fight for pants pocket space. I definitely agree that jotting down handwritten notes is the fastest way to take notes, and it’s way less intimidating for the interlocutor than using any electronic device. If I may, I have a few questions for you about this.
Do you carry your jotter in addition to a wallet and a mobile phone? (I saw that Levenger makes jotters that serve as wallets as well, but I don’t know how convenient they are.) Also, how big is it? Does it fit in a pocket? Finally, do you write on both sides of the cards?
Thanks again for this very interesting article (which I’m filing for future reference in EagleFiler), I’m on to read the referenced posts now.
The Jotter I have is not really a wallet more than an Index card holder. It fits comfortably in my shirt pocket along with my iphone. I have not used the wallets, but I think they are more for their business cards sized products than a full sized index card.
My wallet is in my front pants pocket. My Jotter is in my shirt pocket with my pens, along with my mobile phone, unless I am carrying the TechWarrior bag.
I write on both sides of the card. REmember one or more cards per day. I never put another day’s notes on a card. It messes with my organization scheme.
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