Blog · Pocket Notebooks

Pocket Notebook Ideas: How I Use Field Notes Every Day

Different ways that you can utilize your pocket notebook, what my setup looks like, and some of the things that you can do to improve your own setup.

Luis Duque, PE · September 26, 2026 · 7 min read

Pocket notebooks really have a lot of different ways they can be used. Honestly, just start with the notebook and carry it around. The purpose of the notebooks, at least for me, is to carry them, reflect, take notes.

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Use	What goes in it	Where it lives
A commonplace notebook	Quotes and notes from what I read	Next to my book
Catch-all	Anything, from pen tests to things I stick in	In my pocket
Habit tracker and index	A line a day, trackers, page references	In my carry
Collections	Packing lists, places we are staying	In my carry
A prayer journal	Notes from prayer and church	In my carry
Travel scrapbook	Tickets, maps, stamps, receipts	With me on the trip

1. A commonplace notebook

The first one is a commonplace notebook. And for that I'm using a LOCHBY journal that I got a little while ago. I was using Field Notes for my commonplace, but I figured these would be a great way to use some of the LOCHBY journals that came with their covers.

I'm able to fit two on this cover in particular. I'm able to put a couple highlighters and a pen to always have it handy. And this goes with me everywhere I go.

It doesn't necessarily need to be a LOCHBY. I've had these leather ones from Etsy that I've also just put one or two Field Notes in.

I extended the mind portion into its own notebook, because I feel like I wasn't using it as much as I was hoping for on the go. And this way I can be a little more organized and keep everything in a unique system that I can just put next to my book. It's always going to be there.

And if I do end up having quotes or anything when I'm not near my notebook I can just jot them down in my catch-all pocket notebook that I carry with me.

2. An everything notebook

The second way, which is my preferred way, is just as your everything notebook. I like having a bigger journal for planning, but I found that I don't carry it enough to places where I go.

This is one I just finished. It's full of just random things. I stick things to it, and I'm able to just remember some of the things that I've done in the past.

Sometimes I just need to try pens, and I just scribble on a page and have that there.

The whole package takes quite a bit of space, and it doesn't quite fit in a pants pocket. But it's super compact. If I don't have a bag myself, I can give it to my wife and she can put it in her purse.

Anything goes. If I need it, I just pull it out, grab a pen, and I'm ready to go.

3. A habit tracker and an index

I've tried habit tracking in a pocket journal. I flip it on its side to give a little more space. I just write something super quick on what happened.

Then I track a few habits and my mood.

These worked super well, and I was really happy. I used these for many months. What I came to realize is I was going through notebooks faster than a month.

So I moved away from these and started doing more of a weekly setup.

I have also been wanting to index my notebooks a little better. I give each of them a name and a number, and all the pages are numbered, so I'm able to reference it from somewhere else.

I have January as the first month of the year. And then I'm going to put all the numbers on the side. And then once February comes around, I'll do the same and then keep going.

And since all of these are dated on the inside, I know when I started it, when I ended it, so I can go back and find the notebook super easy. My brain just works a lot better when I'm thinking of dates.

I did leave a few pages at the beginning for just special collections.

Best for: finding things again across a stack of filled notebooks.

4. A collections notebook

I came to realize I've been putting all my bigger collections and bigger lists in my bigger notebook, the one that I use mostly as a planner. And again, I don't carry these with me a lot.

So having reference lists on a notebook that I do carry with me all the time is probably going to be more beneficial. So I decided to consolidate.

I'm planning on just putting lists that I may need, be it a packing list or, when we travel, lists of the places that we're going to be staying. Those things that I want to reference maybe a little longer term than a couple weeks. That's what it takes me to fill one of these notebooks.

Those used to live in specific notebooks, but once I finish them, they will just get lost, because I archive it, put it away, and it was hard to find them. So I'm dedicating a notebook for that.

5. A prayer journal

So anytime I do any prayer, go to church or anything, this is where I write those notes, feelings, things that I'm praying about. That gets in and out as it gets completed.

6. A travel scrapbook and memory keeper

When we went to London last year, I just wrote some notes, took it around with me, stamped it in places. I did have it at the Harry Potter place, and they had these stamps that just get etched in the paper.

I did end up cutting up the Wimbledon map, which has been a dream to go there for a long time. So I was really excited to be there, and I just cut it up, pasted a picture of myself and my wife.

So again, a quick travel collage of things that I visited and wanted to remember. A notebook like this is perfect. You carry it with you.

Even when I'm not traveling, I tend to just cut up maps. Map circling where you've been is a great way to use it.

Then another one is cutting things from magazines. I just cut it and then trim the edges to really make it fit precisely to the notebook.

Why the Field Notes size

Another really great one is the Traveler's Company passport size. I did fill up a few inserts, but it just did not click with me. I even cut down one of these Field Notes to size to give it another shot before I bought any more inserts.

These Field Notes are just so handy. The A6 feels a little too big. The passport feels a little too small.

I do subscribe to their annual subscription. So I get them quarterly, and I have a stack of them ready to be used, as well as a stack of them that have already been used.

These Field Notes wear so nicely, and they just feel so right. The national parks ones, the cover gets super soft, super nice once it gets used.

Verdict: start with one Field Notes as a catch-all. Split out a commonplace, collections or prayer notebook only when a use outgrows it.

The gear worth a look

Field Notes: the pocket notebook size that feels right for my catch-all, index and collections.
LOCHBY Pocket Journal: holds two inserts, a couple of highlighters and a pen for my commonplace notebook.
Passport size: I filled a few inserts, but the size felt a little too small for me.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What can you use a pocket notebook for?

Pocket notebooks really have a lot of different ways they can be used. The first one is a commonplace notebook. The second way, which is my preferred way, is just as your everything notebook.

How do you index pocket notebooks?

I give each of them a name and a number, and all the pages are numbered, so I'm able to reference it from somewhere else. And since all of these are dated on the inside, I know when I started it, when I ended it.

Why a habit tracker by week instead of by month?

What I came to realize is I was going through notebooks faster than a month. So I moved away from these and started doing more of a weekly setup.

Why Field Notes instead of a passport or A6 notebook?

The A6 feels a little too big. The passport feels a little too small. These Field Notes are just so handy.