This might be the most important decision you make about your notebook practice.

Your notebook needs to live where you already are, not where you think you should be.

Here’s the common mistake: putting the notebook in an aspirational location. The beautiful desk in the home office with perfect lighting. The special reading chair. The dedicated workspace you set up but rarely use.

The problem is simple: If you’re not already spending time there, you won’t use the notebook.

Think about where you actually spend your day. The kitchen counter where you drink your morning coffee. Your desk at work. Next to your laptop if you work from home. In your bag if you’re always on the move.

Not where you wish you spent time. Where you actually are, during the main part of your day, when you’re doing things and thinking about things.

Physical proximity matters more than you’d think.

If you’ve started a notebook practice and it’s not sticking, check where the notebook lives. If it migrated to a drawer or a shelf, that’s your answer. Move it back to where you actually spend your day.

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This is part of a series about Hand-Write. Think Better.—a method for people who feel overwhelmed to start simply writing more on paper. Get the book → or grab the free quick reference →