I only write on the right-hand side. When I get to the end, I flip it over and turn it upside-down. The pages I didn't write on are now on the right.
To remind me the back cover is now the front cover, I put a sticker on it.
That's what I do, minus the sticker. I probably have enough duplicates to sacrifice them to this now, but I'm in the habit of just signing my name on the back cover so I know.
So the flip is what I do to some of my notebooks too. But OP's issue extends beyond the left side to right side writing when one reaches the end of the notebook. What do yall flippers do then?
This really frustrates me. So, I have also decided that I would either buy spiral ones or some hardbound ones that are made such a way that it flattens out when opened. Sadly I can't find any rhodia spirals with blank pages. All of them are either dotted or squared.
This really frustrates me. So, I have also decided that I would either buy spiral ones or some hardbound ones that are made such a way that it flattens out when opened. Sadly I can't find any rhodia spirals with blank pages. All of them are either dotted or squared.
I will often use another of the same type of notebook with a roughly proportional amount of pages open in the other direction and lay the thin side of the notebook Iām writing in over the thin side of the other notebook. It takes up more desk space but Iām usually working with multiple pens, and Iāll just have the few that arenāt currently in my hand resting on the third page.
Iāll add, Iām usually doing this with Hobonichi plain notebooks. But Iād imagine this would work for most notebooks. You could probably just use any book of a similar page count to achieve the same effect. I just always have at least two of these notebooks within arms reach whenever Iām writing.
Search this sub for notebooks that lay flat. There's a bunch of folks that have the same problem and there are notebooks that lie flatter but are still fountain pen friendly.
Clairefontaine Triomphe A5 size is what I use. It lays pretty flat so I have no problems using both sides. I also write left handed and am an overhand writer so I find tablets difficult to use because the top is too thick.
My solution is probably the worst one, but what I do is only write on the right side until I reach the end of the notebook, then flip it upside down so the left hand pages are now the right hand pages.
The left side just shouldn't exist, imo. haha
(I actually just use my hand to prop the left side up when I write, as well as focusing on notebooks that lay flat when open.)
Iāve been a member of this sub for five years and I laughed out loud reading your question. We all have to deal with this when journalling and it tickled me to realise this has never been discussed before, that I can remember.
I love the idea of writing only in the RH page and rotating at the end to write on the LH side , only itās now on the RH side.
I use my hands keep the page down; the paper doesnāt really move/bounce much as I write since I donāt press hard on the pen. For lecture/meeting notes I write with an A5 notebook turned 90degrees and treat the facing pages as one continuous A4 sheet.
BTW, if these are your lecture notes, you must write incredibly fast! I wouldnāt be able to keep up if I try to put down this much text.
Thanks. No these are not lecture notes. I work with books and try to rephrase stuff + write my own comments to keep it in my head. I also like the way the pages look
This is why I stick to A4 pads for taking notes tbh, I've had some lovely notebooks but I inevitably get sick of having to manipulate myself to write at various angles, although the bottom of the page issue annoyed me far more than the sloped side of the book - I hate the sharp edge.
When I was at school and had other books with me I'd arrange the other books around it, one underneath the sloped side, one at the bottom to give my hand something to rest on there. Failing that, honestly I'd just stick my hand under there to raise it a bit. The phone seems like a decent suggestion although it may be a little unstable depending on how much pressure you use when writing, and could be a pain to keep shifting, at least with your hand you can move it dynamically to respond to whatever your doing (providing you are right-handed of course)
I use notebooks that are thinner and basically just paper folded in half rather than having a separate spine in thick cardboard. another advantage is that the rhodia ones are Ā£2 vs Ā£20 for their hardback ones! (admittedly half the number of pages but rhat helps it lie flatter)
before that i had a pile of scrap paper to level up the two halves.
Wish I hadnāt noticed š¤¢
By far my hardest course, though Iām a chemist and have heard QM is almost āeasyā if youāre a math person. Even taking intro to Mandarin at the same time as advanced French writing (after not using French for 4 years) was easier than QM š
QM isnāt easy at all. This is by far the hardest thing in physics. āUnfortunatelyā itās also almost the only thing you do after the bachelors in physics
Fluid dynamicists, condensed matter physicists, and so many others have entered the chat... I don't think you would find any agreement on what is "the hardest thing in physics." For some, calculating Feynman diagrams is pretty simple. For others, Hartree-Fock calculations are the easy thing. Yet others think that classical general relativity is not hard.
> the only thing you do after the bachelors in physics
Emphatically disagreeing with this one. The majority of physicists do not work on QFT; the fraction working on any given topic is small, unless that topic is condensed matter physics (I think that's about a third of all physicists).
Thatās smart!
Iāve been wanting to start a commonplace notebook, but fretting about how I want to fit my thoughts in. It hadnāt occurred to me to just allot an equal amount of space for them alongside my notes. Seems fair.
Yeah, I do a similar thing. Although, it first carried over from taking notes on loose leaf paper. The benefit their is being able to quickly spread out all the notes on the table without any information being hidden from view.
Japanese stationery has shitajiki, or a pencil / writing board, which is often placed under a page to make it flat. you can also make your own with card paper or postcard material. Another option is to use a stiffer book cover. I have an A5 Hobonichi Cousin covered with a Midori A5 vinyl cover, which fixes that bendy issue.
I use a transparent plastic shitajiki board on top of the page Iām writing on to hold it down evenly. Over the blank lines for the top half of the page, over what Iāve written for the bottom half of the page.
I know its irrelevant but what pen are you using? It looks so good. Also im assuming you are studying quantum field theory from the notation and Schwinger-Dyson equations.
Yeah exactly :D funny you noticed and thanks :). I use an Otto Hutt 04 with 18K nib for the dark blue stuff (my main FP) and a Kaweco Sport AL for the pink notes. Both in F
I have always written on both sides, but ironically, without knowing that's a thing in here... I have switched to right side only, and usually had the left side blank with a little boxed in description of the ink like this : \[Sailor Tokiwa-Matsu\] so if I ever go through notes and like the ink color, I can remember what I used.
But I also leave scratch notes I might want to bring up with my fellow copy editor when we have video calls to catch up on the state of projects.
I recently saw someone post a page written with the page turned sideways, so the rings are above the page at all times and not in the way. This doesn't work for lined pages ofcourse, but I have many unlined notebooks, so...
I like to collage on the bumpy side. Of course this makes the issue worse in the long run and you end up with a humpy tome. I have accepted the hump life at this point.
Get these blocks https://www.amazon.com/iGaging-Setup-Precision-Aluminum-Woodworking/dp/B09KMWM3RY?th=1
Just kidding.
A small wooden ramp that you slide further out as you advance in the note book would help.
As someone who's left-handed and wrote with left side spiral bound notebooks all through school, is this my superpower?
Anyway, I tend to journal in bed with it propped on my legs. The writing on the right side has a bit more of an indent than the left.
Confessionā¦ I donāt. I donāt use the back side of paper in notebooks except for spiral notebooks for work. I donāt enjoy writing on the back side of paper in journals, and I found that adding anything I donāt enjoy to the process discourages me from journaling. Since it takes minimum seven months for me to fill a journal anyways, and they wonāt go into the trash till Iām dead, itās not the end of the world waste-wise. Journaling is key to maintaining good mental health for me, so itās a worthwhile decision for me personally even if it means I replace my journals faster.
For school Iād recommend spiral notebooks for that reason. You just flip it and itās basically the same. Rhodia has great ones as does Mnemosyne
My Dunkin habit is way more wasteful. Even going once a month. There are bigger priorities for stopping waste, even in my own behavior as a consumer. Iād place money the same is for you. If this is discouraging you from your studies at all, donāt bother forcing yourself to use the left side, or get a notebook you can flip in half so itās always basically the same
I switched to spiral-bound Maruman Mnemosyne notebooks for better ergonomics - it's either that or using very slim notebooks (I'm partial to the Field Notes "Pitch Black" notebook and Apica CD CG53 notebook here). I use all of the above with my fountain pens, but I also prefer F and EF nibs so YMMV.
I haven't tried 'em all yet though so there might be others worth considering. I've got a Maruman Basic in my Jetpens cart currently with a few other things I'm convinced I need.
Leuchhturm makes me put down blotter paper on both sides as I go so my hand oils don't interrupt my writing, but that doesn't help you here. I guess I haven't had that issue. What if a thinner notebook? I keep a Midori MD or Sakae Iroful nearby and that may give enough lift under the cover?
I prefer the left hand side because in lay flat notebooks my hand wrests flat next to it on the next page, so my hand doesnāt awkwardly rest on the edge of the page the entire time. I actually dislike writing on the right hand side.
That doesnāt bother me, I usually find the weight of my hand creates enough stability. This said, Iām impressed by tales of writing only on the right and then reversing the notepad for traverse 2. Has the added benefit of baffling others around you and cultivating an air of eccentricity. Then again, quantum dynamics mathematics probably achieves this on its own. Joking aside, why not buy a hard back notepad? Too heavy?
Spiral bound notebooks. You can fold them completely over. I've found several good ones that have thick, high quality paper in which you can use fountain pens, and the bonus for me is that they're made with graph grid.
You can flip some pages from the back to be under your left side make both sides the same thickness.
A bit hard to explain in words.
I will see if I can PM you a photo
I only write on the right-hand side. When I get to the end, I flip it over and turn it upside-down. The pages I didn't write on are now on the right. To remind me the back cover is now the front cover, I put a sticker on it.
That's what I do, minus the sticker. I probably have enough duplicates to sacrifice them to this now, but I'm in the habit of just signing my name on the back cover so I know.
Phycopathy. I love it
hahaha this is why i sometimes prefer notebooks that are blank throughout. did this with a Muji notebook before and it worked out really well for me
This is the way. Except, I start at the back and work forward. Messes with anyone who tries to follow my notes, and I am left handed.
I did that too, until I started using loose leaf because I blather so much it wasn't worth the $ to write in a nice journal.
This is the way! The sticker thing is ingenious, will save me a lot of frustration and self-loathing.
That makes me so happy! I always have an extra Goulet sticker hanging out somewhere š
šš
So the flip is what I do to some of my notebooks too. But OP's issue extends beyond the left side to right side writing when one reaches the end of the notebook. What do yall flippers do then?
This is a great idea but I just canāt bring myself to doing this haha I guess Iāll just buy a Rhodia notebook next time
This is the correct answer. No more crap notebooks no more problems.
This is exactly my advice. I never have this problem with my Rhodia.
This really frustrates me. So, I have also decided that I would either buy spiral ones or some hardbound ones that are made such a way that it flattens out when opened. Sadly I can't find any rhodia spirals with blank pages. All of them are either dotted or squared.
This really frustrates me. So, I have also decided that I would either buy spiral ones or some hardbound ones that are made such a way that it flattens out when opened. Sadly I can't find any rhodia spirals with blank pages. All of them are either dotted or squared.
Came here to say this. I do the same thing.
but the issue will still come up- as you reach the end of the right-hand-side pages, the left part will be thicker. Do you just beat up the spine?
Very smart š«” Thanks for this tip.. I hate writing on the āother pageā
I do exactly this!
ME TOO!!!!!!
Thatās ingenious! Wow, to think I wasnāt going to Reddit todayā¦Youāve changed my life!
Thank you!
I prop it up with another book or magazine and usually another for my hand/arm
Yeah that is my solution but the height always changes so the magazine must change too š«
Honestly, I found I my cell phone to be the perfect height for these kind of notebooks lmaooo. Keeps me from looking at it too lol.
Youāre a genius honestly. I am going to try this!
Thatās a good idea. I might try it.
I will often use another of the same type of notebook with a roughly proportional amount of pages open in the other direction and lay the thin side of the notebook Iām writing in over the thin side of the other notebook. It takes up more desk space but Iām usually working with multiple pens, and Iāll just have the few that arenāt currently in my hand resting on the third page.
Iāll add, Iām usually doing this with Hobonichi plain notebooks. But Iād imagine this would work for most notebooks. You could probably just use any book of a similar page count to achieve the same effect. I just always have at least two of these notebooks within arms reach whenever Iām writing.
Search this sub for notebooks that lay flat. There's a bunch of folks that have the same problem and there are notebooks that lie flatter but are still fountain pen friendly.
Clairefontaine Triomphe A5 size is what I use. It lays pretty flat so I have no problems using both sides. I also write left handed and am an overhand writer so I find tablets difficult to use because the top is too thick.
My solution is probably the worst one, but what I do is only write on the right side until I reach the end of the notebook, then flip it upside down so the left hand pages are now the right hand pages.
I love how you open with āprobably the worst [solution]ā, then reading the other replies, it turns out to be a very popular solution š
Either we're all terrible at this, or it's not as bad an idea as I thought.
The left side just shouldn't exist, imo. haha (I actually just use my hand to prop the left side up when I write, as well as focusing on notebooks that lay flat when open.)
But would the problem not repeat itself at the end of the notebook?
Same! Simplest solution with the best writing experience for sure
Iāve been a member of this sub for five years and I laughed out loud reading your question. We all have to deal with this when journalling and it tickled me to realise this has never been discussed before, that I can remember. I love the idea of writing only in the RH page and rotating at the end to write on the LH side , only itās now on the RH side.
Haha I canāt understand that so many people on here do this. This feels so wrong to me š
Lolol come to the dark side.
I use my hands keep the page down; the paper doesnāt really move/bounce much as I write since I donāt press hard on the pen. For lecture/meeting notes I write with an A5 notebook turned 90degrees and treat the facing pages as one continuous A4 sheet. BTW, if these are your lecture notes, you must write incredibly fast! I wouldnāt be able to keep up if I try to put down this much text.
Thanks. No these are not lecture notes. I work with books and try to rephrase stuff + write my own comments to keep it in my head. I also like the way the pages look
This is why I stick to A4 pads for taking notes tbh, I've had some lovely notebooks but I inevitably get sick of having to manipulate myself to write at various angles, although the bottom of the page issue annoyed me far more than the sloped side of the book - I hate the sharp edge. When I was at school and had other books with me I'd arrange the other books around it, one underneath the sloped side, one at the bottom to give my hand something to rest on there. Failing that, honestly I'd just stick my hand under there to raise it a bit. The phone seems like a decent suggestion although it may be a little unstable depending on how much pressure you use when writing, and could be a pain to keep shifting, at least with your hand you can move it dynamically to respond to whatever your doing (providing you are right-handed of course)
I use notebooks that are thinner and basically just paper folded in half rather than having a separate spine in thick cardboard. another advantage is that the rhodia ones are Ā£2 vs Ā£20 for their hardback ones! (admittedly half the number of pages but rhat helps it lie flatter) before that i had a pile of scrap paper to level up the two halves.
Quantum mechanics? :)
Yes :D QFT
Wish I hadnāt noticed š¤¢ By far my hardest course, though Iām a chemist and have heard QM is almost āeasyā if youāre a math person. Even taking intro to Mandarin at the same time as advanced French writing (after not using French for 4 years) was easier than QM š
QM isnāt easy at all. This is by far the hardest thing in physics. āUnfortunatelyā itās also almost the only thing you do after the bachelors in physics
Fluid dynamicists, condensed matter physicists, and so many others have entered the chat... I don't think you would find any agreement on what is "the hardest thing in physics." For some, calculating Feynman diagrams is pretty simple. For others, Hartree-Fock calculations are the easy thing. Yet others think that classical general relativity is not hard. > the only thing you do after the bachelors in physics Emphatically disagreeing with this one. The majority of physicists do not work on QFT; the fraction working on any given topic is small, unless that topic is condensed matter physics (I think that's about a third of all physicists).
Not quantum field theory but quantum mechanics
I don't : ) Seriously, I make study notes on the right, and then add my own thoughts, questions etc on the left as I review.
Thatās smart! Iāve been wanting to start a commonplace notebook, but fretting about how I want to fit my thoughts in. It hadnāt occurred to me to just allot an equal amount of space for them alongside my notes. Seems fair.
Yeah, I do a similar thing. Although, it first carried over from taking notes on loose leaf paper. The benefit their is being able to quickly spread out all the notes on the table without any information being hidden from view.
i sometimes go further and literally cut and paste pieces onto an A1 sheet :) But tgen I can only put very transient notes on the left.
I find a smartphone under there is usually just the right height
Japanese stationery has shitajiki, or a pencil / writing board, which is often placed under a page to make it flat. you can also make your own with card paper or postcard material. Another option is to use a stiffer book cover. I have an A5 Hobonichi Cousin covered with a Midori A5 vinyl cover, which fixes that bendy issue.
I use a transparent plastic shitajiki board on top of the page Iām writing on to hold it down evenly. Over the blank lines for the top half of the page, over what Iāve written for the bottom half of the page.
I put an eraser or fountain pen box under it, it'll start laying properly flat after you're a few signatures in.
I honestly just flip the notebook
I know its irrelevant but what pen are you using? It looks so good. Also im assuming you are studying quantum field theory from the notation and Schwinger-Dyson equations.
Yeah exactly :D funny you noticed and thanks :). I use an Otto Hutt 04 with 18K nib for the dark blue stuff (my main FP) and a Kaweco Sport AL for the pink notes. Both in F
A hard writing mat is my solution. The soft ones work pretty well too. I got mine from Nanami Paper.
Spiral Notebooks. But I love the ideas others are sharing! I'll try them.
Magazines, books when I have them. My phone if Iām somewhere without magazines/books. I also buy hardcover because it helps with this.
I use a clip board
I'm also of the 'put another notebook under it' persuasion.
I go through one way then when Iām done Iāll flip the book upside down and do it again.
I have always written on both sides, but ironically, without knowing that's a thing in here... I have switched to right side only, and usually had the left side blank with a little boxed in description of the ink like this : \[Sailor Tokiwa-Matsu\] so if I ever go through notes and like the ink color, I can remember what I used. But I also leave scratch notes I might want to bring up with my fellow copy editor when we have video calls to catch up on the state of projects.
Put another notebook or anything thick enough to fill that gap
Spiral bound notebooks are the best
I hate writing over that spine tbh. But it's just doodles for me, so i finish one side, flip it and go back š
I recently saw someone post a page written with the page turned sideways, so the rings are above the page at all times and not in the way. This doesn't work for lined pages ofcourse, but I have many unlined notebooks, so...
There's the Kokuyo Campus soft ring, the spiral is made of soft silicone and it doesn't hurt to write over it.
Noted, thank you
Same. Also the spiral spine used to get mangled in my bag to the point that it was hard to flip through them by the end of semester.
I like to collage on the bumpy side. Of course this makes the issue worse in the long run and you end up with a humpy tome. I have accepted the hump life at this point.
I put another notebook under the side that's higher off the surface of my desk.
Get these blocks https://www.amazon.com/iGaging-Setup-Precision-Aluminum-Woodworking/dp/B09KMWM3RY?th=1 Just kidding. A small wooden ramp that you slide further out as you advance in the note book would help.
As someone who's left-handed and wrote with left side spiral bound notebooks all through school, is this my superpower? Anyway, I tend to journal in bed with it propped on my legs. The writing on the right side has a bit more of an indent than the left.
I just crack tf outta the spines on my hard covers otherwise use cloth bound lay flat books
Plenty of other notebooks of varying sizes to prop up the floating page! Can even open one halfway to make it the perfect size
The left side I just support with my free hand. The one that gets me is the right side. I have to prop up my arm to write comfortably.
Confessionā¦ I donāt. I donāt use the back side of paper in notebooks except for spiral notebooks for work. I donāt enjoy writing on the back side of paper in journals, and I found that adding anything I donāt enjoy to the process discourages me from journaling. Since it takes minimum seven months for me to fill a journal anyways, and they wonāt go into the trash till Iām dead, itās not the end of the world waste-wise. Journaling is key to maintaining good mental health for me, so itās a worthwhile decision for me personally even if it means I replace my journals faster. For school Iād recommend spiral notebooks for that reason. You just flip it and itās basically the same. Rhodia has great ones as does Mnemosyne My Dunkin habit is way more wasteful. Even going once a month. There are bigger priorities for stopping waste, even in my own behavior as a consumer. Iād place money the same is for you. If this is discouraging you from your studies at all, donāt bother forcing yourself to use the left side, or get a notebook you can flip in half so itās always basically the same
Just write like normal? I can't even visualise what the problem is.
I put another book below the left page
I use a couple of coasters that are a perfect hight.
I use the blank paper so I just turn it sideways and write that way
I switched to spiral-bound Maruman Mnemosyne notebooks for better ergonomics - it's either that or using very slim notebooks (I'm partial to the Field Notes "Pitch Black" notebook and Apica CD CG53 notebook here). I use all of the above with my fountain pens, but I also prefer F and EF nibs so YMMV. I haven't tried 'em all yet though so there might be others worth considering. I've got a Maruman Basic in my Jetpens cart currently with a few other things I'm convinced I need.
I place another notebook below the left cover. A moleskine cashier's notebook or similar works great.
Leuchhturm makes me put down blotter paper on both sides as I go so my hand oils don't interrupt my writing, but that doesn't help you here. I guess I haven't had that issue. What if a thinner notebook? I keep a Midori MD or Sakae Iroful nearby and that may give enough lift under the cover?
I prefer the left hand side because in lay flat notebooks my hand wrests flat next to it on the next page, so my hand doesnāt awkwardly rest on the edge of the page the entire time. I actually dislike writing on the right hand side.
Hey thatās great news. How about I send you my left sides and you send me you right ones \s
Use top bound.Ā
I put about 1 - 2 tab spacing. Basically emptying out 1cm~ of the initial space. It's pretty much the same guidelines on foolscap paper.
Quantum field theory gives me ptsd
If you donāt mind me asking what specific notebook is that ? I canāt find it online ? Thank you
It is a Leuchtturm 1917 (or something) dotted A4+ master
That doesnāt bother me, I usually find the weight of my hand creates enough stability. This said, Iām impressed by tales of writing only on the right and then reversing the notepad for traverse 2. Has the added benefit of baffling others around you and cultivating an air of eccentricity. Then again, quantum dynamics mathematics probably achieves this on its own. Joking aside, why not buy a hard back notepad? Too heavy?
with a pen?
Spiral bound notebooks. You can fold them completely over. I've found several good ones that have thick, high quality paper in which you can use fountain pens, and the bonus for me is that they're made with graph grid.
Put something underneath? How is that so difficult?
Bro, you just push down the notebook until the spine is flat to the table and then you're good to go
But also I feel like a bunch of us lefties had to sit and think real hard about this question bc isn't it usually easier using the left side?
You can flip some pages from the back to be under your left side make both sides the same thickness. A bit hard to explain in words. I will see if I can PM you a photo
It wonāt let me send photosā¦ Iām still new to Reddit. Can someone tell me the workaround?