Pro Tips And Tools: Office – substack.com

A Proper Diary
While I use my Calendar app and appreciate its notifications, there’s nothing like putting pen to paper to record dates. There’s something about that mind/body connection that helps us to focus and remember. So, I double up.

I first got hooked on the Tiffany version of gilded pages bound in leather, embossed with the year and my initials, but they stopped making the size I liked (now, they don’t make them at all). So I went on a hunt to see who made them for Tiffany. While I cannot confirm or deny they did/do, Graphic Image has the near exact layout (minus the contact information for every Tiffany on the planet). It’s my Christmas gift to me each year. And, yes, I love taking the time to enter all the birthdays and notable occasions into my new diary so nothing’s forgotten…even if my Calendar app will remind me. It makes me smile to remember what’s important. And this calendar is guaranteed never to crash or run out of a charge.

By the way, no links I post are affiliate/sponcon. These are just things I dig. You’ll also notice that I don’t link to Amazon. On purpose. 😘

Travelling Notebooks for Actual Note-taking
I am quick to grab the nearest piece of paper to jot down an idea and, on my desk, that’s a Post-It. My wee home desk is literally littered with dozens of 3×3 squares of information I’ll put to use at some point. But, it got to the point that there were so many (so, so many), that I needed a new method.

Now I have a little Moleskine notebook next to my laptop and one in my bag for when a brainstorm strikes. I have larger Moleskines for bigger projects and ongoing education. Sometimes a Post-It will appear in them. Old habits and all. But this has been super helpful in keeping my thoughts straight (and my desk cleaner).

Headphones Stand
At the office, I was given a headset for Teams meetings with a long chord that I could find no good way to organize and still grab it quick for a surprise call. So I got myself (and everyone on the team) stands for those headsets. It’s a seemingly silly thing (like, “Do I really need that?”) that really makes a diff (yes, you do!). Ours are a little different than this, but *this* also has a stand for your phone. And it’s $5! A space saving and organizational delight!

Bonus Tools and Tips:

Good Pens
While I would love to move on to a refillable Montblanc (working on it), I currently love/use Pilot G-2 07 for note-writing and a Uniball 1.0 Jetstream (capped, not click) for my diary (it doesn’t bleed through). It’s all about the flow when the ink hits the page. If you have a favorite writing utensil, please share it in the comments. Especially if it’s refillable!

A Case (for everything and everything in its case!)
I have a sleeve for my laptop, a zippered pouch for my diary and its pen (from the Basquiat collection); a pouch for my AirPods, charger cables and a universal power cube (USB and USB-C); one for my project notebooks (cheers again, Jean-Michel); and, of course, one for makeup touch-ups and teeth-brushing, asthma inhaler and EpiPen. I love to have everything organized, easy to grab what I need and go. It’s like packing cubes for your purse (or backpack). When you’re working remotely or headed out for a collab (or just changing bags), this makes life easy! And doesn’t that make everyone happy?!

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Earworm of the Week