Rhodia Goalbook as logbook, additional thoughts
It took me about 80 pages and four months to completely settle into my Rhodia GoalBook and feel that we were working together. Yes moving in went seamlessly, however it took me quite a while to feel comfortable with the book. There are a few things I do wish it did differently, and that’s ok. No issue is frustrating enough that will keep me from using the book, or ordering another one.
Let’s go through the book as I’m currently using it.
Cover
The leatherette softcover is putting up with my abuse well. My current cover is black and it doesn’t look beat up yet. I often put random sticky notes on the cover of things I absolutely must not forget about and they seem to stick well.
If you look closely, you’ll see an elastic cord. Inside my front cover I’m keeping a tomoe river paper notebook for when I want to spread out and plan. I’ve found that the outside is great to hold a sheet of my Rhodia A3 paper folded up. It is why I like the ISO standard! I’ve been using that to draft reviews and blog posts. It’s also helpful as I can spread out and check my notes.
contenu | contents
I sort of wish this section would be auto-numbered so I could just fill in as I need, but I do like that I can fill it out how in a way that works best for my methods. There are 22 lines per page of contents which only covers 132 pages. So I’ve chosen not to record my daily log.
What will I do differently? I think I’m going to dedicate each page of contents to the different things I record. A contents page each for PennyWise Consulting , Pen at Work, and little acorn creations. That will make it easier to quickly find what I’m looking for. It will be a cross between a table of contents, and an index.
Dated Monthly
I haven’t used this section yet at all and I like a method for utilizing it that I described earlier this week, I’ll divide each space into four and use it to track key habits I want to build. Exactly what habits, I’m not sure yet. ;)
Undated Monthly
I think I’m going to continue to use this as my content calendar/archive section. It’s working for me so I might as well continue. If I’m still using this volume when it comes time for the Q4 content calendar again, I supposed I’ll just tape a sticky note over 2017 and go again.
The rest of the book
There’s a lot here, 224 pages in fact.
Double Bookmark
I keep one on my current daily log and the other travels throughout the day to my various key project pages.
page numbers
Many years ago (I think before Bullet Journal was an official thing and I was just the weirdo who logged everything in a notebook), I was looking into an auto-numbering stamp but didn’t want to spend money on it. I love that these are becoming common. When I number by hand, I almost always miss a page or two!
paper
The Premium “R” 90 g ivory paper is wonderful. It holds up well to most every pen I toss at it and also enjoys watercoloring. Which is good as that’s what I’ve been doing in some of the unused spaces in older pages.
I know I love my grid, but the grey dots are delightful. Dot grid allows much more flexibility without needing to resort to thicker markers for drawing lines. I can use a light grey marker, such as the Tombow ABT Dual Brush Pen (it’s either N45 Cool Grey 10 or N65 Cool Grey 5, I need to get both pens together and compare). In any case, I don’t need a thick dark line to help it standout from the grid. The dots are great.
I love that I can use each page however I wish. Perhaps I’ll start using it in portrait mode, but then switch to landscape to squeeze in a few more notes.
I’ll devote a few words to the rounded courners. They help protect all the pages. It might seem like an unimportant detail, but they really do make a difference. To my eyes this notebook still looks close to new after over four months of use. That would not happen if the corners were square.
What do I wish it did differently?
I’m not really sure. I don’t think it’s a fault of the goalbook. I really do wish my Principal was A5 format so that I could easily pair them together. I also sometimes wish the paper was white because seeing the correction tape against the ivory paper is jarring, but that’s not a big deal. I also wish there were pages devoted to my preferred monthly layout but I can draw those if I really want them.
goalbook details
- A5 softcover leatherette notebook
- 90g ivory paper, super smooth, acid-free, pH neutral
- 240 pages: 224 numbered dot grid pages, 6-page table of contents, undated annual calendar, undated monthly calendar
- Available in 16 Vibrant Colors: Silver, Black, Chocolate, Taupe, Beige, Anise, Turquoise, Sapphire, Iris, Purple, Lilac, Raspberry, Poppy, Tangerine, Orange & Yellow
- list of US retailers
Exaclair USA sent me a goalbook many months ago in exchange for a review. The FTC wants you to know. I’m planning to purchase a volume of my own as soon as I can decide on a cover colour.