Blog · Pocket Notebooks

Pocket Notebook Ideas: How I Use Field Notes Every Day

Six ways I use pocket notebooks, from a commonplace book to a travel scrapbook, and the Field Notes setup I carry every day.

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

Pocket notebooks can be used in a lot of different ways. My advice is to start with one notebook and carry it around. For me, the whole point of a pocket notebook is to have it with me so I can reflect and 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 use is a commonplace notebook, where I collect quotes and notes from what I read. I used to keep my commonplace in Field Notes, but I switched to the LOCHBY notebooks that came with my LOCHBY covers. Their paper is super nice.

My LOCHBY Pocket Journal cover fits two of those notebooks plus a couple of highlighters and a pen, so everything I need is always handy. When I am reading a book, it is in my bag.

The cover does not need to be a LOCHBY. I have also used leather covers from Etsy that hold one or two Field Notes.

The commonplace notebook grew out of my pocket system. When 2026 began, I carried four pocket notebooks: mind, body, soul, and a catch-all. I wasn't using the mind notebook on the go as much as I had hoped, so I turned it into its own notebook that stays next to whatever book I am reading. My reading notes are more organized that way, and I always know where they are.

If I come across a quote when that notebook is not nearby, I jot it down in the catch-all pocket notebook I carry with me.

2. An everything notebook

The second use, and my favorite, is an everything notebook, which I call my catch-all. I like having a bigger journal for planning, but I found that I don't take it with me often enough. A pocket notebook goes everywhere.

The last one I filled is full of random things. I stick items onto its pages, and flipping through it helps me remember things I have done.

When I need to test a pen, I scribble on a page, and that test stays in the notebook too.

My current setup is a cover holding several pocket notebooks, and it goes with me at all times. The whole package does not quite fit in a pants pocket, but it is still compact. If I don't have a bag, my wife can put it in her purse.

Anything goes in the catch-all. When I need it, I pull it out, grab a pen, and I am ready to go.

3. A habit tracker and an index

I have used pocket notebooks for habit tracking. I turn the notebook on its side for more room, list the dates of the month, and write a super quick note about what happened each day.

Next to each note, I track a few habits and my mood.

Those monthly trackers worked super well, and I used them for many months. Then I realized I was filling notebooks in less than a month, so a tracker would sit half finished when its notebook ran out.

So I switched to a weekly setup. My current catch-all has a more formal weekly tracker for the habits that keep me healthy and sane, plus space for a weekly reflection.

I have also wanted to index my notebooks better. I give each notebook a name and a number, and every page is numbered, so any page can be referenced from somewhere else.

For the index itself, I started a new Field Notes, a Glacier National Park edition. Each month gets a page: January comes first, with the day numbers written down the side, and when February comes around I do the same and keep going. When something worth remembering happens, I write next to that date which notebook and page it is in.

Every notebook is also dated on the inside with the day I started and finished it, so I can go back and find the right one super easily. My brain works a lot better when I think in dates.

I left a few pages at the front of the index for special collections that are not tied to a day, like a packing list.

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

4. A collections notebook

I realized I had been putting my bigger collections and lists in my larger planner notebook. That planner mostly stays on my desk and does not go with me very often.

Reference lists are more useful in a notebook I carry all the time, so I decided to consolidate them into a dedicated collections pocket notebook.

It will hold lists I may need, such as a packing list or, when we travel, the places we will be staying. These are things I want to reference for longer than a couple of weeks, which is about how long it takes me to fill one pocket notebook.

Those lists used to live in whichever notebook I was using at the time. Once I finished and archived that notebook, they were hard to find. That is why they now get a notebook of their own.

5. A prayer journal

The last notebook in my everyday setup is my prayer journal. Any time I pray or go to church, I write my notes, feelings, and the things I am praying about in it. When one fills up, a new one takes its place. I am on my third.

6. A travel scrapbook and memory keeper

When my wife and I went to London last year, I carried a pocket notebook everywhere, wrote notes in it, and stamped it at the places we visited. The Harry Potter attraction had stamps that press into the paper, and I love that texture.

Visiting Wimbledon had been a dream of mine for a long time, so I cut up the Wimbledon map, pasted it into the notebook, and added a photo of my wife and me. Show tickets, receipts, and a London Underground map went in too.

The result is a quick travel collage of the places I visited and wanted to remember. A pocket notebook is perfect for this because it is always with you.

Even when I am not traveling, I cut up maps. Circling a park we visited on a map and pasting it into the notebook is a great way to remember the day.

I also cut pictures out of magazines, like one of the dome in Las Vegas that caught my eye as a structural engineer. I trim the edges so each clipping fits the page precisely.

Why the Field Notes size

Before settling on Field Notes, I tried the Traveler's Company Passport size, which is a great notebook too. I filled a few of its inserts, but the size never clicked with me. Before buying more inserts, I even cut a Field Notes down to Passport size to give it another shot.

Field Notes are just so handy. An A6 notebook feels a little too big to me and a Passport notebook a little too small, while the Field Notes size feels perfect for what I want to carry.

I subscribe to the Field Notes annual subscription, so new editions arrive every quarter. I keep a stack ready to use and a stack of finished ones.

Field Notes wear so nicely, and they feel just right. The covers on the National Parks editions get super soft with use.

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?

I use pocket notebooks as a commonplace book, an everything notebook, a habit tracker and index, a collections notebook, a prayer journal, and a travel scrapbook. My favorite is the everything notebook, a catch-all that goes everywhere with me.

How do you index pocket notebooks?

I give each notebook a name and a number, number every page, and date each notebook with the day I started and finished it. A separate index notebook has a line for every day, where I note which notebook and page holds anything worth finding again.

Why a habit tracker by week instead of by month?

I was filling pocket notebooks in less than a month, so monthly habit trackers kept ending up half finished. A weekly tracker works better for me.

Why Field Notes instead of a passport or A6 notebook?

An A6 notebook feels a little too big to me and a Passport notebook a little too small. The Field Notes size feels perfect, and they are just so handy.