Using Stationery for my Day Job

When I started this 9 to 5 job I felt inclined to use the boring office yellow note pads and BIC pens that come in packs of a hundred which they had available to everyone. After using a yellow pad, a notebook, and having a load of pens die on me I took it upon myself to have good quality stationery at work. Another reason why I took it upon myself is that some days I am not in the office to get some supplies.

To be clear no one reads my work notes since they are personal. My performance is based on how well I do my tasks and comply with standards each year. Me using a planner to keep myself organized is fair game.

Many people use digital planners but I like having a physical system to track daily tasks and keep a digital calendar to time block important items during the day. After researching many planners and systems I decided to use a personal-sized FiloFax with cream Tomoe River paper from PaperPenguinCo on Etsy. I laminated some bookmarks and cute cardstock of my favorite characters to add some color. With the Tomoe River paper, I can use my Pilot Cavalier fountain pen to write all my notes. The pen is less than $40 so I don't mind it getting damaged from work. 

Now I do write my tasks and notes every day but I only take up as much space as I need to so this is not a one-day per page. It is more like a day-free system where if I have short days I only use up space for tasks and if I had some really long detailed meetings I use as much space I need to write down everything. I decided not to use a notebook because I want to be able to put months and years together easily when I take them out and buying already punched pages that are fountain pen friendly are less money than some notebooks.

Overall my productivity and task tracking have improved significantly while my ink sample pile is slowly becoming smaller. I do recommend the FiloFax but you want to use a ring system and be able to pull out paper when you need to, but please do check out all your options as some planner books might have the setup you need and the right paper for your favorite pens.

Hope this helps someone realize they have more options than the stationery they give out in the office. Until next time, stay hype!