When I’m writing or doing a lot of planning / list writing I take a Panobook and use it vertically. Sometimes I split it in two, because it is a bit wasteful for my style to use it full width.

Like a really long A5 notebook.

Most of the time this isn’t a good setup for either of those purposes for me, because I’ll write it and then transcribe it at a different point or spread over multiple sessions.

But if I’m writing a bunch on the couch and then write it into my Mac right after I prefer just having to go through one or two pages instead of a stack of them.

The typical setup is that I use it horizontally, putting a vertical line at each 45mm mark, leaving me with six sections.

Then I often will split the last two sections horizontally in the middle. Leaving me something similar to 4 standard index cards.

These sections I will typically use for a more “ordered” or focused collection of items. One of them is often capture, another might be work, or if I’m working on planning some project.

The others I use for my hit list. Starting with the first one and just kind of marking things as done or crossing them over as I move, and scribbling over sections as I complete them. Both as a mindful relaxation exercise and as a way to make it easy to see where I have active items.

For some reason I find it so much easier to have consecutive sections of current items instead of have one item, then 10 completed, another one, 8 more completed etc. So I often migrate things ahead.

One of the sings something is a good fit for me is that I get back to using it multiple times.

If I only use something over one period, try something else, and never get back to it, it wasn’t a great fit.

The Panobook is something I have used at multiple times over the last year or so, and I really like them a lot.

I use mine in two different ways, depending on what I do: one typical desk setup and one for more focused planning or writing. Decided to split it into separate blog posts.

When I first started to look for what Plotter to get I landed on the A5, just because that is what I always do.

Then this summer I started to think differently, and big ass process on sizes started.

How I usually go about things like this is to see what I am using, and how much I can decrease size before it is a problem or if increasing makes anything better.

Based on how I use the pages in my full sized Travelers Notebook, something with the width of the Mini 5 and height for Bible/Regular would most likely be the ideal. But the difference between them are not that large, there are however times, like with small slings etc where narrow notebooks make things easier.

So I was filling out this week goals today and I realized I’m about 50% into a refill, and thinking: already?!

Then I started to look into it and realized it probably will last me like a month or 4 weeks.

I think it is a good length. But it also highlights why I want to replace this with a binder soon ish. Now I’d have to re-write my yearly goals 12 times and each quarter goals three times.

I guess I have used part of it for a week now, and the whole thing for 5 ish days.

What I like about it is that it is much smaller and lighter. I also like that it is fewer things than before.

What I don’t like about it is that travelers notebook refills don’t open flat.

I just kind of got sick of dragging around a bunch of A5 notebooks, and ordered some refills for my Travelers Notebooks.

Currently I have two dotted refills in my small one, one for random notes / capture and one for my Bullet Journal. And in the big one I have three refills. One weekly planner, one dot grid for goals / daily plans and an accordion one I glue pictures in.

It is much less things that the previous, and have reduced weight and size a bunch, and I have realized some things that will be useful if I order a Plotter.

The thing I love about the ISO paper sizes, and in particular the A-size papers is that A0 is the biggest, if fold that page over you have two A1 pages, if you fold one of them over (after cutting it) you have two A2 pages etc.

So if you have an A4 printer it is really easy to print things on A4 and cut it down to work with something A5 or A6.

For other sizes you always either end up with waste or weirdness depending on if the printer lets you do weird things.

I’m back to having a permeant desk at work for the first time since last June. So I’m back to using the Pilot Hi Tech Coleto that I bought last year.

Nice having a non weird pen I can just leave at work. The refills are awesome. And it is too much fun switching between colors as I write to do lists.

Also useful to have a pen that has 4 “refills” in it.