What to use a pocket notebook for?

Nero's Notes used to be called Pocket Notebooks. The diminutive #edc book is at the core of our offering.

What are pocket notebooks for? Why carry a pocket notebook? What to write in a pocket notebook?

All questions that we get asked at Nero's Notes, and repeating Pocket Notebooks so frequently is great for SEO too. 😉

There are no rules. You can use your notebook however you please. However, let's explore some of the more typical uses.

The aide-memoire. "I'm not writing it down to remember it later, I'm writing it down to remember it now." A tag-line elevated and celebrated by Field Notes. Perhaps you hear a witty turn of phrase, or overhear something that astonishes you. Write it down. You're struck by the beauty of a sunset. How does it make you feel? Record it. New ideas rarely come to me as I sit at my computer with my notes app open. In the moments before sleep, or walking with the dogs. That's where inspiration strikes.

The lister. Need something done? Put it on a list. There are people who run their lives through lists. Shopping. Shows to watch. Books to read. Things to clean (no, really.) My wife loves a good list.

The sketcher. Bored on the bus? Sketch that guy opposite. Heck, sketch the bus. I don't sketch, but from time to time, I spot someone sitting, pencil in hand, creating a masterpiece on their lap. Keep your eyes open - and you will see one too. That look of peace and contentment? Where do I sign up for some of that?

The poet. Get those words on the page. Maybe your greatest work will come from that first scribble. You're not a poet? How do you know? Muse. Meander. Let your mind go wherever it pleases. You might surprise yourself.

The planner. "My whole life is in these notebooks." There are people that map all of their appointments and tasks in one book, and log their day in another. They bundle up several books in a cover and have a different one available for every possible purpose.

The commonplace notebook. A beautiful name if nothing else. Record anything and everything that prompts you. In many ways, the commonplace notebook is a combination of all of the above. Scottish poet Robbie Burns was a big believer in the commonplace book, and he wrote:

> "Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie,
> O, what a panic's in thy breastie!"

The undisputed king of mouse descriptions.

It's how I keep a notebook. Though, as yet, such an evocative turn of phrase escapes me.