Write Every Day: Morning Pages
Are you familiar with the concept of “Morning Pages” from Julia Cameron’s popular book The Artist’s Way?
From Julia’s website: “Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. *There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages*– they are not high art. They are not even “writing.” They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind Continue Readering »
Have you tried a Rhodia Pad Holder Yet?
Did you know that Rhodia makes pad holders for a variety of our top stapled notepads? Available in orange and black lightly grained imitation leather with an embossed Rhodia logo, the covers are flexible and smooth. They include an inner pocket for notes, business cards, or receipts. Each holder comes with a pad. Rhodia pad holders are available in the following sizes:
- N° 08 – 3 x 8 ¼” (Long Skinny)
- N° 11 – 3 x 4″
- N° 12 – 3 ⅜ x 4 ¾”
- N° 13 – 4 x 6″
- N° 14 – 4 ⅜ x 6 ⅜”
- N° 16 (w/ Pen holder) 6 x 8 ¼”
- N° 18 – 8 ¼ x 11 ¾”
- N° 21 (Le Carre) – 8 ¼ x 8 ¼”
Rhodia also offers a special “R” Premium Pad Gift Set which includes a No. 16 (6 x 8 ¼”) R pad and a Rhodia pencil.
Holding it all in the head
I have a not-so-helpful habit of keeping my to-do lists, appointments, etc., in my head. I try writing things down but always seem to leave the list at home or in the car OR I forget that I’ve made a note on my iPhone. Over the years I’ve tried using a variety of planners and while I often get off to a great start, things often quickly fizzle out. While I believe my life could greatly benefit from a healthy dose of quality organization and better time management skills, I often wonder why I can’t seem to make a real commitment towards making that happen.
This is the best I can come up with:
Maybe I don’t like to be told what to do, and so I resist accountability for my actions by not keeping them neat and organized.
Perhaps I have not learned the value in taking the time to plan & organize my life.
I might be afraid of writing everything down and becoming dependent upon a system that could get lost or deleted.
Or, I could just be lazy.
Those are speculative but these I know for certain:
I struggle to do certain things when I’m not motivated to do them. (But when I am motivated, the quality of my efforts is top notch)
I don’t want to be one of those people who lives out of their day planner. I need spontaneity. (Though does forgetting to pay the electric bill count as being spontaneous? More like forgetful…)
Am I the only one who struggles to keep organized? One who keeps everything they need to do in their head and often relies on visual clues to take action? I suppose that if what I forget starts to outweigh what I remember, I might be forced to adopt some kind of regular system.
Do you have a regular system for keeping your life organized?
Image of the Rhodia WebPlanner courtesy of bakanekosan on Instagram
Rhodia in a Hawaiian Hotel?
Remember when I said that I took a day off last week and was brainstorming new Rhodia posts? I must have had some serious Rhodia on the brain because the other day I woke up having had the most amazing dream of being in Hawaii (never been) and I distinctly remember there being 8×11″ Rhodia pads with orange covers in the hotel room. Someone somewhere was recently talking about the disappearance of hotel stationery, so I sent Karen a note asking if there were any hotels that offered Rhodia in the Room and as it turns out, the Delano Hotel in South Beach Florida stocks our Rhodia Webnotebook in their Mini Bar – something along the lines of an in-room shop box. I was thinking more of a dotPad in the desk drawer, but at least I’ve planted a seed!
In recent times, do you ever go looking for the hotel stationery pad?
Image courtesy of indigo_inferno on Instgram, who has a lot of amazing pen/stationery related pictures…
Rhodia Stack
Does this look like you? If so, I want you to know that you are not alone. From the mundane to the incredibly important, I know lots and lots of people that save their notebooks. Why do people hold on to them? I’m guessing each person would probably have a different reason but more often than not, I think it’s probably to look back down the mountain to see how far they’ve come.
Why do you keep your old notebooks?
Image courtesy of Alex Aciman – follow acimania on Instagram and @acimania on Twitter.
Mr Guilt’s Unlimited Zoo Notebook
When I asked Mr Guilt to tell me about his use of his Rhodia Unlimited Zoo Notebook, his response was as follows:
“I take a lot of photos at zoos (they are used, among other places, by the International Society for Endangered Cats). This notebook lives in my camera bag. I take notes of what I shoot. This is useful for species I’m not as familiar with–with the notebook and the zoo’s web page, I can figure out exactly what my picture is of. I also jot down things I find interesting, such as the name of an animal, or some other fact. The first zoo I really used it at, when we went to the San Antonio zoo, it was very effective, as I was able to capture the names of all the numerous species of birds they have there.”
Image courtesy of Mr Guilt – (Charles Barilleaux) Visit Mr Guilt’s Blog and also visit him on Flickr
Graph Continues to “Rule” Rhodia in 2012
8 out of the 10 Best Selling Rhodia products in 2012 were graph ruled, including the #1 Best Seller, the 6×8 1/4″ top staple bound (#16) notepad. So what else made the list? See below.
1. Rhodia Classic Notepad Top Staple bound Graph 6 x 8 ¼ – Orange (#16)
2. Rhodia Classic Notepads Top Staple bound Graph 3 3/8 x 4 ¾ – Orange (#12)
3. Rhodia Classic Notepads Top Staple bound Graph 3 x 4 – Orange (#11)
4. Rhodia Classic Meeting Book Lined 6 ½ x 8 ¼ – Black
5. Rhodia Classic Notepads Top Staple bound Dot Grid 6 x 8 ¼ – Black (#16)
6. Rhodia Classic Notepads Top Staple bound Graph 3 x 8 ¼ – Orange (#8)
7. Rhodia Classic Notebooks Side Staple bound Graph 3 x 4 ¾ – Black
8. Rhodia Boutique Mouse Pad 7 ½ x 9 Graph – Orange
9. Rhodia Classic Notepads Top Staple bound Graph 4 3/8 x 6 3/8 – Orange (#13)
10. Rhodia Classic Notebooks Side Staple bound 3 x 4 ¾ Graph – Orange
Are your favorites on this list? (I am very happy to see a dotPad at #5, though I think I’m in the minority of people who prefer the blank pads.)
Rhodia Best Seller: The Meeting Book
One of my personal favorites, I’ve always loved the 6×8″ meeting book for its size, double spiral, bright white paper, and sectioned layout. Invented by a CEO for his own use, this notebook is designed to be an all-in-one record of meeting discussions, decisions & action items. Easy to review at a glance, with space for action items and room to organize notes on the side, it’s the optimal tool for efficient meetings.
- Black or signature Rhodia orange cover options
- Pre-printed pages: Date + Notes + Action
- 2 Sizes: 6 ½ x 8 ¼” & 9 x 11 ¾”
- 80 sheets (160 pages) of Rhodia extra white lined 80g paper.
- Card covers are coated & waterproof
- Double wire binding – never snags
- Micro-perforated sheets for easy and clean removal
Do you use one of our Meeting Books? If not, might this be a good item to add to your holiday gift list?
Photo Review: Rhodia Unlimited Pocket-Sized Notebook
The pocket sized Rhodia Unlimited notebooks are very portable and have an elastic closure. They are a 3 1/2 x 5 1/2″ notebook containing 60 sheets (120 pages) of our fountain pen friendly 80g, white Rhodia paper in a lined or graph format. Covers available in black or orange. Continue Readering »
The 20 Winners from the Rhodia Reporter Webnotepad Giveaway!
Congratulations to all who entered! The 20 folks below will each be receiving one of our new reporter style Webnotepads. Didn’t win this go round? Just WAIT till you see what I will be giving away later this month to celebrate my 3-Year Anniversary writing for Rhodia Drive!
James from Sidney IL
Bill Gibson
Jeff Low
Belén
Pete Mac
Niel from Marietta
Christian Manzella
Jakki from Middletown
aeroblazer
Dorothy B. from New Bedford
David Maliniak
stacy m from Walls
Darlene Propp
arcatared
Lee Smallwood
Hector from Cedar Springs
Paul Sedillo
Eric S from Wooster
Gustave
Journal Daddy
…buy this notebook
“If you do not have any ideas worth committing to writing, think up some now, then buy this notebook…I just took my wife to the store today to get her own Rhodia notebooks!”
Well Keith, we certainly appreciate your kind words about our products and hope your wife is enjoying them as well!
Have you tried one of the Unlimited books yet? Very portable with an elastic closure, the Unlimited is a 3 1/2 x 5 1/2″ pocket sized notebook containing 60 sheets (120 pages) of our fountain pen friendly 80g white Rhodia paper in a lined or graph format. Covers available in black or orange.
Image and quotes courtesy of Keith – keithgb on Instagram.
Back to School already?
Maybe it’s just me, but back in the stone age when I went to grade school, I don’t remember ever going back in August. August was when you went shopping for Trapper Keepers, three ring loose-leaf paper, Erasermate Pens, Sergio Valente jeans, banana combs, Aigner keychains… (because I couldn’t afford a wallet or purse like the other girls.) Since I don’t have children I have no real clue – but it sure seems like the school year is shorter than it used to be.
I’ve also taken notice of all the new freshmen arriving on the local college campuses – wandering around town and getting a feel for their new digs for the next four years. (I can’t help but wonder how many will be taking Rhodia to school with them.)
Does time move faster as we get older?
PS – there is still time to enter for your chance to win a Rhodia Academic planner.
Taken at UMass Lowell North Campus - Image courtesy of z3tek on Instagram
If you could read anyone’s notes or memoirs…
Sometimes I really miss my Gram. She was a wonderful person and it was no secret that she was very much loved for her food. She worked as a cook for 18 years and the whole family would go crazy for her meatloaf, stroganoff, stuffed cabbages, and baked hams. Gram loved watching cooking shows and when she went on vacation, all she’d talk about was the food she ate while on the trip. I have no idea what Gram thought of the Sistine Chapel, but she made sure to tell you what she ate while in Italy.
If there was one person I wished had left a journal or two behind, it’s Gram.
Whose notes would you want to read?
Image courtesy of mimi_pan11 on Instagram.
Reflections
For each of the last seven years, I’ve been attending a summer retreat in the mountains of central Pennsylvania. At the last four of those seven, I have been teaching my workshop “Mandala: An Artful Meditation” as a part of the programming which also includes African dance, several forms of hand drumming, transformative writing, and more. Continue Readering »
Marker Doodles.
Despite there being a plethora of marker brands out there, at some point the idea of a permanent marker became synonymous with Sharpie. I guess they managed to corner the marker market. (heh)
I mean, doesn’t everyone have at least 1 Sharpie in their house? For as long as I can remember, I’ve used these permanent markers pretty much exclusively for addressing packages. I do somewhat remember that one other brand that had the amazingly strong smell – and they’d squeak when you write on poster board with their chiseled nibs.
I mostly just use the black ones in a few varying sizes, but I do have a few other colors, including silver. I’ve tried their paint pens and “Bleedproof” pens but they didn’t really suit my needs.
Are you a Sharpie fan? Do you use them mostly around the house like me, or do you use them for art? for work? Bleedproof pens in your Webbie?
If you’ve never visited, Sharpie has a pretty cool blog.
