If you're a Writer, you need a Moleskin

I had one of the first Psion PDA's, then I moved onto a succession of Blackberries, which I still use, and which synchronize wirelessly with my Outlook calendar and tasks - so I'm an advocate of the paperless office, but I still couldn't live without my Moleskin notebook, and nor should you.

The Moleskin is the Rolls Royce of notebooks - pocket or hand bag sized, and as used by many, many famous people for donkey's years, including Ernest Hemingway, Vincent Van Gogh and Henri Matisse. Moleskins are just so well made, with proper stitching between the leaves, so they never fall out, a robust cover, elasticated straps to keep them closed, and best of all, proper cartridge style paper.

For a blogger, they are essential - you know that ideas for new posts appear at the most unlikely times - make sure your Moleskin is by your side and jot the details down. When you think of the changes your going to make to your site at 4 in the morning, be sure to jot them in the notebook, which you need to leave at the side of your bed. Writing the notes, then ticking the tasks as you do them, is so much more satisfying that entering a to do note on a phone, and you'll have a lasting legacy to the work you're doing - I have all my moleskins collected, and I love looking back at them to see where I was and what I was thinking at the time.

Moleskins are available in a wide variety of sizes and styles - some have ruled lines, some are plain, some use paper designed for water colors. I prefer the small version, with plain paper, so you can both write and draw.

If you don't already use one, call into your local stationery shop and pick one up, or you can order direct from Amazon at this link:

Moleskine Pocket Sketch-book