Panobook

The panobook was something I never knew I was missing. I've used tablets with styluses to great effect. But then the friction of digital mixed with finnicky software lost out to carrying around notebooks everywhere.

My portable notebooks are Rite in the Rain and they fit perfectly in my pocket, in addition to being impervious to spills and weather and even washing machine cycles. But my ability to draw at my desk wasn't perfectly sorted with a wonderful Mnemosyne B5 Notebook. And the 8 foot whiteboard which I do adore isn't practical for in-meeting ideas and general day-to-day productiveness.

I do believe... attention challenges and... obsessive and compulsive tendencies have something to do with the value I place on this tool and how much benefit it's been able to give me.

Moving at the speed of thought is generally impossible but the closest you can come is via analog tools. Physically inscribing the world around you (and side note: I particularly enjoyed that aspect in The Three Body Problem).

Digital tools, no matter how capable, take a few extra milliseconds or seconds to get into writing when an idea strikes. A physical notebook (or set of notebooks, like how I roll) is irreplaceable and the advancements in image tech means I can then easily take a photo and get it digitized almost effortlessly after capturing it.

Having something on your desk to catch stray thoughts from calls, in the middle of tasks, or when you just want to float out and see what pours fourth without a screen in front of, it's magical.

Now, I'm not an analogue journal believer. I prefer digital for that because that's often stitching thoughts together while reflecting (also see: Obsidian). A good notebook is useful for abstract ideation -- sketching something out to see the general contours, jotting down key ideas and themes and glancing back at them at a high level (e.g. I do a page for each week's tasks and then scribble in the blank spots as the week unfolds and meetings take place).

All this notebook philosophy aside and coming back to the panobook -- it's the perfect size (i.e. it's large but not too large, c.f. Mnenosyne 186), it's got the perfect paper (feel + dot grid), and it's got a nifty archival system which is a nice ambitious thought.

I'd buy another brand in a heartbeat because $25 per pad is a bit rich. But other than wanting the world to be cheaper, the price is right because it is more than worth that cost given how productive it makes me. And with only ~3 panobooks needed per year alongside my Rite in the Rain + Mnemosyne B5 Notebook for the couch, it's not a big part of my budget but plays an outsized role in my ability to be productive.

I cannot recommend this enough, especially if you are often sitting at a desk working on your computer. The way it will fit under your keyboard and into your life. And the value of your thoughts are worth a notebook that can best help you capture them. An easy purchase every time.

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