Every self employed or work at home type of person is a “freelancer” of sorts. Here’s how one freelancer gets things done using a Molekskine notebook system.
I’ve recently started using the Moleskine notebooks because they’re cool (I use the large, squared page one for summarizing important meetings or projects but less than I’d thought) and use the police style notebook daily with some 3′x5′ index cards to immediately identify my last working page. As with all these notebooks, the elastic band keeps things in place. I use the small notebook regularly to organize my “to do”, make random notes etc. The important stuff can then go to the big notebook.
I don’t have a “system” but it works for me to make somewhat better use of my time. And I like the notebooks.
Below is a picture of the Hyalineskies system.
Here’s how a freelancer used the system:
It doesn’t take a lot to build this system; it cost me under $20 for everything. Here’s what you’ll need:
* One (1) Moleskine Ruled Pocket Notebook
* Seven (7) Post-It® Tabs, at least three different colours (I used the tabs because they’re easier to grab onto in a rush as well as large.)
* One (1) Extra Fine point Sanford Sharpie or other permanent marker
* A pen of some sort to use with the Moleskine. This is a pen that you’ll need to keep around with the system all the time — I constantly carry a Lamy Vista fountain pen, so that’s what I’m using.1. Date the outside, right edge, in the bottom right upper corner.
You should date the Moleskine with the date at which you plan on beginning its use; when the Moleskine is full, you will write the finished date underneath it and prep a new one. This way, you’ll always have a running archive of your tasks.
2. Add your contact information to the inside cover.
The Moleskine has a section for contact information for a reason; on the Moleskine that I write hyalineskies entries in, there is even a fairly large cash reward. If the book is of considerable value, don’t hesitate to assign a dollar value to it — any promised incentive will increase the chances of you getting your book back. It may also be wise to include alternate contact information or emergency contact information to this page if you carry it with you daily.
3. Number the odd pages of the book.
Starting with the first ruled page, number the page in the lower right corner with the number 1. Your last numbered page will be number 191. Don’t worry about numbering the other pages; the time it takes to number them is fairly useless considering your search accuracy will be within two pages with the odd-numbered system. You’re also probably not prone to looking at the even page numbers, considering they’re on the back of the sheets.
Got that done? Now you’re read to move on to the TABs (see image) and the rest of the system….
Image courtesy HyalineSkies.com
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