Should I Use Notebooks More Often? (Cal’s Strategy) | Monday Advice

July 13, 2026

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5 min read

Four Notebooks, Four Purposes: Cal Newport’s Analog Strategy

Cal Newport opens with a confession that will resonate with anyone who has bought a beautiful notebook only to let it gather dust: “It’s not enough to simply own a nice notebook. You need a specific use for it that takes specific advantage of its analog format.” The problem isn’t the notebook—it’s the lack of a clear job for it. Newport walks through the four notebooks he actually uses, explaining what each one does, why paper is the right tool for that job, and what specific format makes it work.

The Daily Planner: Intentionality Through Tactile Planning

Newport’s first notebook is a time block planner—his own product, but the principle applies to any similar format. He uses it to plan every minute of his workday, assigning each block a specific task rather than reacting to whatever comes in. The key insight is that drawing out the day with pen on paper makes it feel more intentional than dragging blocks around on a screen. “It makes it seem intentional, much more so than if I’m just moving things around on a digital screen,” he says.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **The Notebook Problem** - Cal introduces the episode: people buy nice notebooks but don't use them because they lack a specific purpose that leverages the analog format.
2 (02:13) **Notebook #1: The Time-Block Planner** - Cal uses a time-block planner to plan every minute of his work day.
3 (06:49) **Notebook #2: The Remarkable Paper Pro (Digital Notebook)** - Cal uses a Remarkable Paper Pro for long-term strategic plans and big projects (e.g., Halloween display).
4 (14:02) **Notebook #3: Field Notes for Single-Purpose Brainstorming** - Cal uses small, portable field-notes notebooks for dedicated brainstorming on one specific problem at a time.
5 (18:23) **Notebook #4: Grid-Lined Composition Notebooks for Working Memory Extension** - Cal uses cheap grid-lined notebooks to extend his working memory while solving hard problems in real time.
6 (25:04) **Review of the Four Notebook System** - Cal summarizes the four notebook types and their specific purposes.
7 (26:34) **Q&A: Reading Block and Math Work** - Jesse asks about the reading block in Cal’s time-block plan and whether Cal still does math.

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Guests on this episode

Cal Newport

Show Notes

Tell me if this sounds familiar: you buy a beautiful notebook, excited by all its possibilities to help refine your thoughts and generate new insights. Then it sits unused until you forget about it. The problem is not *what* notebooks you own but instead *how* you use them. In this episode, Cal walks through the four different notebooks he owns, and the four different ways he uses them.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

(0:00) Should I Use Notebooks More Often? (Cal’s Strategy)

(30:11) Comments on a controversial article

(33:18 ) Statistics about smartphone bans in schools

(38:15) A practical question about remote work

(40:57) A question about focus and the World Cup

(46:08) What Cal is up to

(48:12) What Cal is reading

Books:

Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (Walter Ong)

Lost (Rachel Hartigan)

Links: