Why Spellbook?

I ran across David's site via 43folders because he has some great organizational forms called Printable CEO.

He just had a post that resonated with me. He is starting to learn MySQL, a database, and realized he needed to keep notes someplace handy, like he did in school. And what better way to name them then to call them a spellbook as they are a record of all the secrets, tricks and workarounds you've discovered over time and this gives them a place to be found again. It's rather cool.

When I was in engineering school I spend a lot of time taking notes and just the very process of writing down what you learn is very powerful at helping you remember those things. Now I am keeping a lot of that material in virtual form, but there is a certain goodness to having a physical notebook for those times when a laptop isn't appropriate. I found a nice little bookmark/pen that will keep a pen handy at all times.

The lab books I used in school are just too big and hard to find and the composition books at the local office stores are too flimsy, so I ended up at Barnes & Nobles and got a pack of quadrille Moleskines. They were cheaper anyway.

I've also been carrying around a Hipster for a while to jot down notes on and it works pretty well.