Here’s a question from a reader:

“I just took a job managing several employees. I’d like to keep a notebook that will have a section for each employee (roughly about 10). I have a travelers notebook and thought about several inserts for them but as much as I was addicted to travelers notebooks, I am no longer so. I even thought about a good old fashion mead college ruled notebook with dividers (ugh). Any suggestions?”

This is a great topic, and can expand to any situation where you need to track multiple subjects or ongoing projects in a notebook, not just employees.

I wouldn’t use a Travelers Notebook for this purpose. While having a separate insert for each employee might seem like a good idea, ultimately I don’t think it’s flexible enough. Each insert has a finite number of pages, so there might be too many pages for one employee and too few for another.

The good old fashioned Mead college ruled notebook has the same problem, but even worse– while it offers a way to keep each employee in one section, what happens when you run out of space in one of the sections? Then the rest of the notebook will go to waste, as you can’t add pages or replace a single section.

To me, the obvious solution here is a refillable loose-leaf notebook of some sort. In a loose-leaf binder, you can add and remove pages and dividers, and arrange them however you like. You could have a section for each employee, and then even have pages for different topics within each section, such as running notes from one-on-one meetings with that employee, a list of future projects and goals for that employee, a tracker of that employee’s vacation and sick days, and notes for the employee’s next performance review. You could keep a lot of other information in that loose-leaf notebook too, such as notes relating to your own work schedule, tasks, and goals.

My own work notebook is pretty much an example of what I’m suggesting. I’m now closing in on my first full year of using a loose-leaf system and it’s been working really well– I have a section for my own weekly calendar and to-do list, a section for general notes, and a section called “Projects” where I have sub-sections for my boss, the person who reports to me, and various committees I’m on. Whenever I have those meetings, I just flip to the relevant tabbed section and make sure I review any notes already there and add new ones as needed. I can move pages from the general notes to the calendar section or the projects section, and I never have to worry about running out of space. At the end of this year, I’ll file away the calendar and anything relating to projects that are now finished, and add a fresh calendar for next year. If a new committee or project arises, I’ll add a new section. I don’t know why I spent so many years using wire-bound notebooks for work!

I’m using a vintage personal size Filofax Gloucester, shown above, and covered in more detail in this post. A Filofax is a great option if you want to have a nice leather binder, but there are lots of other loose-leaf notebooks and organizers that would work just as well. It just depends what size you want and how much you want to spend. You could buy a brand new Filofax or Plotter organizer and all their branded inserts if you want to go high end. MeePlus is another option that is a somewhat less expensive, and there are many similar options on Etsy and Ebay. You could search your local stores like TJ Maxx or Marshalls or even thrift stores, where you can sometimes find Filofax and other organizer brands at reduced prices. And for even less, you could buy a very basic, generic, inexpensive ring binder and set it up with plain paper and some tabbed dividers. (My one caution about some of the cheap binders is that the rings can be kind of chintzy– loose or misaligned rings can be very annoying to use. Ideally, you should look for a brand with Krause rings, as these have a reputation for the best quality.)

Most loose-leaf notebooks and inserts fall into standard sizes and ring spacing, so don’t be afraid to mix and match different brands of inserts and binders– just confirm the measurements are what you want, as one brand’s “pocket” may be another brand’s “personal” or “mini.” My work Filofax has a mix of vintage and contemporary Filofax dividers, a Plotter calendar, and RayMay Davinci blank pages for notes. My pocket size MeePlus notebook is filled with a mix of Plotter and Filofax inserts, as well as some hand-made tabbed dividers that I cut out of heavy weight paper.

The beauty of any loose-leaf system is that you can change your mind so easily! If you set something up and don’t love it, you can swap out covers and rearrange inserts and let it evolve until you find what works for you.

For more ideas, see some of my other posts about loose-leaf notebooks.

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