I am not talking about laptops, but a good ol’ notebook made out of paper.

I know this is kind of strange to be posting for a minimalist blog, but I thought:

Heck, if I had a problem with it, maybe someone out there did too.

And thus I shall save you the 5 years I’ve spent looking for a good, solid notebook, testing different varieties, types and brands until I have found the Holy Grail.

If this post does not seal me into organization and notetaking geekdom forever, I don’t know what will.

But why a .. NOTEBOOK?

As an IT consultant, you might expect me to be a huge fan of putting everything online, typing all the time and never putting anything on paper.

(Which I am.)

The problem is that it is impractical for being on projects and for the day-to-day.

You need to be able to:

• Not distract the client by your incessant typing on a computer (some get angry)
• Quickly sketch diagrams that would take more than a few clicks on a computer
• Jot down information v. quickly without pulling out a device to turn on & log on to
• Carry around the info in a compact piece rather than lugging your laptop around

And ergo, I have found a notebook and a pen highly useful at all times.

So the search began….

I know everyone is enamoured with Moleskines, pronounced: mol-a-skeen’-a — because of all these creative people who have stuck to their dear Moleskines throughout the ages.

I looked at a couple of different Moleskines, as they have been gaining popularity, and I quickly dismissed them because:

• It doesn’t lay open flat to any page I want without struggling with it
• The covers are not hard enough to use as a hard surface

So yes, Moleskines are very sexy, creative and oozing of history from every page your pen touches, but they are impractical for my daily purposes.

See? Doesn’t lay completely and utterly flat.

So what did I want?

• Good thick, but not too thick paper
• Clear lines (not too faded like some others)
• Just the Date: No extra stuff like “Name, Subject, bla bla bla”
• Perforated edges to be able to tear off without leaving those nasty bits in the spine
• Being able to write on it without any hard surface underneath
• Being able to fold and open it to any page without struggling with it
• Comes with a clear pocket for little slips of paper
• Wired binding but enclosed so the pages don’t snag on them, with a book-like feel

And I have found the Holy Grail of notebooks after years of frustration.

Enter…

NOTE PRO by BlueLine Inc.

LOVE!!!

I am thinking of even writing these guys a huge, gushy fan letter.

It is seriously the Holy Grail of notebooks.

It has exactly what I needed and more.

They even thought about coloured stickers to use as dividers or labels on the notebooks.

Where to buy them?

I got mine at Staples / Bureau en Gros.

I paid $7.99 for the small one, $11.99 for the large one.

Well. Worth. It.

I feel like buying a couple more to stock up JUST IN CASE the company stops making them.

But after my huge fan letter and blog post, how can they!?!?

Thank goodness for Blue Line Inc’s Note Pro notebooks.

And no, I am not being paid for this at all. Unsponsored, blogging love fest with a notebook.