…The absolute best way to set up your notebook for ultimate organization and productivity.

Over the last 6 years of working as a mechanical assistant project manager then mechanical project manager I have developed the best way to set up a notebook to stay organized.

I use to just grab whatever notebook was lying around and take notes and make to-do lists. I ended up with 3 of 4 notebooks scattered around with information. This was not organized. I tried several different methods, tweaking things here and there. Here is the simple but very effective way to keep your notes organized.

Here is my method:

You’ll need:
1. A one inch binder.
2. Divided with 5 tabs
3. Filled with loose leaf paper.
4. A monthly planner.

Here is a photo of my note book:

The 5 tabs are:
1. General Notes
2. Short Term Action List
3. Meeting Notes
4. Misc.
5. Quick Contacts
(You can either hole punch the monthly planner and keep it in the very front or keep it in the front pocket of the binder.)

General Notes - The General Notes section is where I write anything and everything that comes up during the day.

Short Term Action List – The Short Term Action List section is the place I use to write the most important items I need to address the next day.

Meeting Notes - If you’re like me you attend a boat load of meetings. This is where I take the meeting notes.

Misc. – I use the misc. section for two main purposes. I want to be the best in my profession so anytime I do anything I make notes in this section about what I did right and what I could improve on. I label it, “How can I be the best!!!!!!!” Another thing I use this section for is people watching. I make notes about what qualities I see in other people that make them seem more professional or unprofessional so I can learn from them.

Quick Contacts – I’m always getting people’s names, phone numbers and email addresses. I need a quick place to jot this information down so I created a spreadsheet in excel, printed a few copies and inserted them in this section of my notebook. Later if I’ll need the information, I’ll have it transferred to my Outlook contacts.

Here is the Quick Contacts sheet I use:
Quick Contacts


Here is the mothly planner I use:

I like the monthly planners that are folded over and binded with a staple rather than the type that have the metal rings. The type that are folded over are much thinner and fit in the notebook with ease.

I'd like to hear from you. What do you think about this method? What method do you use. I'm always open to improving my organization.