Daily Carry Notebook: What I’m Using Now, and Next

The end of the year is always a fun time to think about daily carry notebook choices– your current year diary or planner is looking nicely worn in, and you’re itching to start a new one! This year, I’m also getting close to needing to swap out my daily notebook/journal and daily carry sketchbook. Here’s a look at all the notebooks I’m using more or less on a daily basis (top row), and what I will or might use next (below).

daily carry notebooks

My 2019 Nolty Gold diary/planner will be replaced with the exact same model for 2020. I use this for jotting appointments, food and exercise, habit tracking, to-do and shopping lists, and other lists.

My daily carry sketchbook is almost always a Moleskine sketchbook, from my stash of older stock. I have other brands that I also like and every once in a while will swap one in for a different experience. I might try using a HandBook Journal again for a change. Or not. We’ll see.

I usually use a squared Moleskine for daily journaling and note-taking. For the past couple of months, I’ve been using one of my Moleskine Zoom notebooks with squared pages. I’m thinking of using one of my dotted Bindewerk Linen Journals next. The fountain pen friendly paper and cloth cover are really enjoyable.

For 2019, I’ve been using another Nolty diary, in a smaller passport notebook size, as a sort of image diary or scrapbook, pasting in some image that caught my eye each week. For 2020, I may use a larger Nolty, or maybe another small one that has a different page layout.

I’ve been using a WritersBlok stitched pocket notebook for taking notes in my French class. I have a ton of Field Notes, Moleskine Cahier, and other similar single signature notebooks that I can draw on for this purpose, but might use the Doane Paper Utility Notebook next.

I’m using a Pen & Ink landscape format watercolor sketchbook. I’m thinking about maybe trying the portrait format Moleskine Watercolor Notebook next.

What are you using now for your daily carry notebook? What are you using next?

4 thoughts on “Daily Carry Notebook: What I’m Using Now, and Next”

  1. I have 3 daily-carries: a pocket-size Field Notes for small, casual sketches, a second pocket-size Field Notes for general notetaking, and an A5-size Stillman & Birn sketchbook for larger sketches. These have been working out well for me for a while, so I’ll probably stick with these 3. I have others that stay home for various other purposes. My planner in 2020 will be an A5 weekly Leuchtturm. I sure would love a peek at your “image diary or scrapbook, pasting in some image that caught my eye each week.” :-) Most of the eye candy I see is on a screen, not paper… do you print out images you spot online? By what method? Printing seems tedious, but I love the idea of an image diary!

  2. I have an image notebook. Ive done some little doodles but I’ve started using my Sprocket mini printer and written entries based on an Image. Sometimes it’s my photo, sometimes an image that inspires me. It’s fun. I love the Sprocket. Very fast printing.

  3. Great Article!
    You can also use Scribble notebooks, that we manufacture in Dubai, UAE! Our unique notebooks are produced in various sizes and formats (plain, ruled, dotted, square, or undated) to appeal to both writers and sketchers.

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