If you have been reading my blogs or have ever had a conversation with me, you know that stationary to me is like legos to a toddler. I discussed my collection of pens, however, that is not the only office supply I fascinate over. In this blog post I will discuss the different types of notebooks, but with a twist. Given my extensive knowledge of this topic, I will also speculate the characteristics of the person who uses each type of notebook.
1. Walmart Final Sale Enthusiast
Let’s set the scene – it’s August sixteenth, ten pm and you just realized that you had not gone back to school shopping. Your mom is livid and the two of you go on a silent, tension-filled car ride. The only store open is Walmart, so you buy the last three 95¢ notebooks and a pack of Ticonderoga pencils.
I typically associate this notebook with “one-folder students”. As you can infer, a “one-folder student” is someone who cannot categorize for the life of them and dumps all miscellaneous papers into a singular folder. Two weeks into the semester, their folder is practically begging for a break or it is torn down the spine.
The poor pen+Gear notebook is also in shambles. I picture the weak cardboard cover being bent and torn with the spiral wire jutting out both ends. Nonetheless, these students have a method to their madness. They know exactly where each sheet of paper is in their folder (roughly) and each question answered in their dilapidated notebook is correct. Personally, I have reverence for these individuals, if I cannot find one important worksheet I freak out.
2. Five Star Multi-Subject Snob
Any student who owns a Five Star multi-subject notebook used to carry around a trapper keeper in middle school, no one can change my mind. These students believe it is revolutionary that the orange dividers also act as folders!!!
I expect the inside of this notebook to emulate unicorn throw-up with unnecessary and obnoxious color coding. Each line is emphasized with a different blinding highlighter and atop each page is a failed attempt at making their heading aesthetically pleasing. To be honest, I physically cringe even thinking about it.
Additionally, these students swear by the Pomodoro Study Technique and incessantly make sure you know that they love it. As for their folder of choice – accordion style obviously. If all their notes are going to be in one place, you bet their worksheets are going to be too. As for me, my homeostasis is threatened when I see these students. For some reason, the sound of them sifting through each and every section in their portable filing cabinet triggers me.
In the end, they split their repulsive trapper keeper into two.
3. Adult iPad Kids
The latest and greatest trend is the Instagram study community – online notes. Apple Inc. released the Apple Pencil & iPad Pro combo and the world nearly stopped spinning. I will not lie, I see the appeal. Only carrying around a one-pound infinite notebook versus five pounds of five hundred sheets of paper? Seems like an obvious choice to me.
I admit these students have their lives together. The strategic folder organization in the GoodNotes app trumps any folder system in the physical world. It is also impossible for them to not make their notes aesthetic. I mainly see this type of “notebook” in STEM majors. From math to medicine, the charm of being able to airdrop your notes to a friend is simply too enticing. Even both my brothers participate in this new study technique. As soon as the impracticality of the paper notebook in university became apparent, they invested in an iPad. They also invested in a costly protective case and paper-like screen protector (not to mention the supplementary money spent on the Apple Pencil). That is the main downside for these students, their notes are now worth a thousand dollars instead of ninety-five cents. No longer can they stuff their homework at the bottom of their backpack or let their backpacks get trampled in the classroom walkways.
Although there are many more types of notebooks and students, these are the three most prevalent ones I have noticed. Hopefully, you now realize that I scrutinize every office supply I see you use 🙂 and if you were offended by this post, you have officially exposed yourself as a trapper keeper kid.
Celina,
I am not going to lie when I tell you that your blog was not one of the first three blogs I read. Usually, when going through the blog comment cycle, I will read different posts until I read one that I find interesting enough to comment on. But, after reading about 6, yours being #6, I have decided to comment on your post. Your first classification of the Walmart Final Sale Enthusiast was pretty similar to how I would classify myself. I am usually not one to go out and buy a whole new notebook for school. Upon being in the 203 school system since the first grade, I have received an abundance of unused school supplies. Especially in elementary school, when they would give us a whole school supplies kit complete with folders, paper, pencils, and, you guessed it, notebooks, I would walk away from each year with one or two extra of everything, counting on the fact that we never really did any damage to these folders learning the ABC’s and such. Because of this, I usually just use up the remaining school supplies my mom houses in my basement. Other than that, what you said about the one-folder type of person also fits me very well. It was not until this year that I stuck to the one-binder method. This method of keeping all papers and other tangible class materials handed out in one binder (organized of course) was very nice at first. My backpack was the lightest it had ever been. But, after the semester is coming to an end, this binder is bursting at the rings. I have never seen a binder so filled with papers. Nonetheless, I am proud to classify myself under this first category.
I am actually a hybrid user. For math, I have a large binder with loose leaf paper that I used to take notes and then organize it by date into the binder. For my other classes, I will generally take notes on my computer because they are easily accessible and I can type far faster than I can write with a pencil or pen. “Adult iPad Kids” seems like a deragoatory term (kidding of course) but I agree that the online notes are for the superior note takers. Somehow, even though I take notes online, once in a while, I will end up with some random paper at the bottom of my backpack.
You won’t be able to change my mind that typed notes are vastly superior to all other forms except in cases where you have to draw diagrams or work out. I have found this magic notebook out now that you can draw on, scan into your google drive, and then erase the notebook magically. College students specifically use these and I think online notes are simply the move. Thanks for the post, Celina.
Hi, Celina! I have never read more truth in my life. This is an extremely accurate description of different types of notebook styles and their owners. Personally, I find myself leaning towards the Walmart Final Sale Enthusiast. I used to be more of a Five Star Multi-Subject Snob that carried a bunch of cool stationary. I felt so cool carrying around a compass in my bag back in elementary because I could just whip it out and create a perfect circle. But now, I relish in the simpler spectrum of life. After a lot of trial and error, I found what works best for me: simple but dependable. Throughout all my 4 years of high school, I built the system to defy bulky binders or any non-sense. I would just have a notebook for each class I had (or an online Google Drive folder), a pencil pouch, and a folder for each class. I have a touch screen laptop that can bend 180 degrees and such so it basically becomes a 17 inch tablet. But it is just so painful. Just earlier today, I was writing notes for Mr. Scott’s videos on a handwriting software because they couldn’t turn into a Google Doc and I nearly lost it. I couldn’t rest my hand anywhere and it was annoying to not have a stablizer in any of the most accessible apps I could find. I feel like the Apple Kid College era is not for me. It’s interesting to see how our personalities can reflect a lot to the belongings we hold. Thanks for sharing such an insightful blog!
Hey Celina,
I loved your blog. And no I’m not just saying that because I’m writing it sitting across from you. It made me laugh out loud. In spite of its nerdiness and extremely niche topic choice, you were able to be expressive and detailed about a shockingly interesting topic. Well done.
The first category was such a strong start. I distinctly remember racing around town within a week of school starting desperately searching for my TI n-spire, so while I didn’t settle for a subpar notebook I was able to connect to your blog. While 99 cent notebooks scream desperation, using plain ticonderoga pencils is a massive step down and I personally do take offense.
I loved that Kathryn Hu feature, and I mirror your distaste for the lunacy that leads to this strategy. Color-coding folders gets me through the day, and I column’t imagine it any other way.
I have employed the pomodoro technique, and I found it somewhat effective even though I didn’t stick with it. I am offended by the trapper slights, as I was a dedicated trapper user and felt so proud as a middle schooler to fit all my notebooks into my trapper. And my swipe card. And my pencil case. #stoptrapperhate.
Finally, I appreciate the modern iPad inclusion, but I do want to be an iPad adult in college because they seem so cool so I hope you’ll forgive me.
Thanks for a great read!
Hi Celina! For starters, I LOVE your intro into your blog post – it totally hooked me in and it was such a good way to kick off your last blog post of the semester! As for my personal alignment on your notebook rating chart, I was a rare outlier – until highschool, my mom always got me (and my siblings) the school set of school supplies. It was always a weird amount of dry erase markers and tissues, pencils you lost within the first two days, and some cheaper – than – walmart notebooks that the covers fell off of. Personally, I had mine get ripped off by a sister once (on accident, but okay she was 3 she knew what she was doing), but I hated those notebooks. I was the kind of kid to get one of the school gifted notebooks until it broke in half, THEN we would go to Walmart and get a Walmart one. Or, if you were lucky, we would go to Staples. I wish now, in highschool, I would be able to use the iPad I own to take notes on, but I’m gonna be honest with you, I hate writing on it. Everything feels clunky and my handwriting feels huge. Super yummy, I know. Thank you so much for sharing your ranking Celina!
Celina, the first part of your blog felt a little too real. I’ve been in the exact Walmart position you described, and we would buy 10 notebooks at a time so we could avoid having that situation again. Although your description is accurate for many, I’ve been organized for most of my education, with separate notebooks and folders. However, last year I had become incredibly lazy and condensed it to two folders and zero notebooks. I carry loose-leaf paper and hope for the best, and my original sense of organization has met an all-time low.
To me, the multi-subject notebook has always seemed slightly impractical. Different classes will use different amounts of each section, so what do you do when two sections are filled, and the other three are virtually blank? Rip the two sections out? Dump it entirely for next year? I never liked the idea of it.
However, I used to be a fan of accordion-style folders. I’m sorry to repulse you, but I felt that when you have multiple classes and you don’t want to carry six folders, it is a very practical solution.
I’ve tried taking notes on my iPad with my apple pencil, but I’ve always felt that it was unproductive. It seemed more time-consuming, and as a former bullet journaler, I felt pressured to make the notes beautiful. However, I see my sister taking notes this way, and maybe my mind will change in the future. I lose notes often so maybe it will be a better option.
Anyway, I hope that you don’t view me differently after exposing myself and my preferred office supplies.