Notes are an important aspect of school. Here at TakeNote!, we pride ourselves on the ability we give students to find the appropriate tools needed for note taking at a fraction of the price. One of the most important tools with note taking is the pen. The pen is a tool that is absolutely necessary for writing facts and thoughts onto paper. We asked customers around the St. Paul area what their favorite pens are!
Sandy Newman, College Student at St. Thomas
My favorite pen is the Staedtler Fine-liner pen. They make a ton of different shades and packs that have to do with the thing you are using them for. I personally use them to spice up my notes I took with black ink. This gives the pages more depth! I highly recommend the 34 pack because it includes all the colors you may need and more! On the plus side, they last a long time and write smooth!
Garrett Smith, Business Owner
I use pens in all aspects of my company. Whether this be at conference calls, meetings and general daily tasks, pens are used across the board. I would have to say my favorite is the Pentel G-2 pen because the ink doesn’t bleed and it is a dark enough color when scanning papers! Highly recommend!
Samantha Miller, Mother of Three, Part-Time MBA Student
Life can get super hectic at times. As an MBA student and a mother of three, finding time to get work done is nearly impossible! When I have an idea for an assignment or such, a notepad and pen are all I need to quickly write down a list or an idea! I personally use any Pilot pen from TakeNote! because they are not only affordable, but worth the price!
We hope you use these reviews to the best of your interest when purchasing a new pen! Stop by TakeNote! today to find your favorite pen!
Products at TakeNote!
We carry a wide variety of filing and organizational systems in our store in Saint Paul, MN! You will find our staff helpful in finding you the best products to suit your needs. Come stop by for a visit!
We also carry journals and planners to kickstart your planning journey. Our best seller is the Lemome Leather-Bound Journal for bullet journaling.
Calligraphy is much more than what you see from documents from years past. The slightly unreadable documents from hundreds of years ago may not be in your favor. However, calligraphy has recently become a more prevalent art statement in modern society. Bits and pieces of calligraphy can be used in note taking as well as art pieces. Here are some examples below:
As you can tell, it is a major step up from what the original style of calligraphy was. Artists took this original style and made it their own with their own personal flair. Instead of harsh blocky letters, softer and more loopy lettering became more prevalent.
Learn to do a newer and more updated style of calligraphy here. As you can see, this person used their style in a bullet journal and notes.
Apart from these videos, TakeNote! offers classes to improve your calligraphy needs. Contact the store via Facebook or Twitter to get started!
Also, use the form below to schedule a class time!
Studyblogs are at the height of popularity at the moment. From visuals to spacing, these blogs are inspiring students from around the globe. Have you ever wondered how people create study blogs? Well you’re in luck, because we will show you the most effective way to go about studying, and bring you to be the most organized student possible.
Step one: Change your handwriting
Use different fonts and handwriting styles when writing your notes to emphasize information. This can also help to stimulate your brain and remember the information at hand.
Step two: Add visuals
Adding visuals to your notes increases your chance of retaining information. As you can see below, which one is more enticing and visually appealing to look at?
Step three: Use color
Like visuals, highlighters and colored pens can also increase the chance of retaining information because your mind requires some sort of visual to allow your brain to be able to remember an accurate bit of information. We recommend the Mildliner highlighters, offered at our TakeNote! location!
Step four: Use the kind of notebook and paper you feel the most comfortable using
Use a kind of paper style you feel comfortable with because it allows you to focus on the notes and provides a sense of consistency. So whether you organize your papers in a binder, or write all your notes in a certain notebook, staying consistent is the key to taking notes. So if you like lined paper, or graph paper, use the same for all of the notes you take!
Products at TakeNote!
We carry a wide variety of filing and organizational systems in our store in Saint Paul, MN! You will find our staff helpful in finding you the best products to suit your needs. Come stop by for a visit!
We also carry journals and planners to kickstart your planning journey. Our best seller is the Lemome Leather-Bound Journal for bullet journaling.
Sustaining the earth is all the rage in the media. Not only is it extremely important to the earth, but extremely important to the future and well being of humanity. If we do not act on this issue right now, our children and their grandchildren will suffer immensely. In recent years, companies have been striving to a more sustainable ideology, but our work here is not done. We need to ask ourselves- What are we doing at this moment that will impact the future of our earth?
Let’s get down to paper. This resource in itself an absolute necessity, especially for school and corporate settings. A box of paper is like Pandora’s Box; the key to wisdom and communication. Nevertheless, cutting down trees creates major implications to our Eco-system and we must do something about it before it is too late. Deforestation, as seen in the picture below, is incredibly real and increasing exponentially.
According to Pointpark.edu, “One ton of 100 percent recycled paper saves the equivalent of 4,100 kWh of energy, 7,000 gallons of water, 60 pounds of air emissions and three cubic
yards of landfill space.”
Now, don’t worry too much because there are options out there to prevent the issue for deepening even more. Companies are gaining more interest in the world of sustainability from reusable shopping bags to recycled paper bags. Here at TakeNote!, we strive to get on board with this problem by offering a wide selection of recycled papers and notebooks. We specialize in GreenEarth™ products, from their “TreeToTree” notebook line, and “PlasticSaver” pen collection.
“The GreenEarth™ notebooks are perfect for any use! Best of all, I know I am doing the right thing when I purchase them!”-Amanda, avid TakeNote! Customer
Come on down to TakeNote! today, and take a look at our recycled products!
Products at TakeNote!
We carry a wide variety of filing and organizational systems in our store in Saint Paul, MN! You will find our staff helpful in finding you the best products to suit your needs. Come stop by for a visit!
We also carry journals and planners to kickstart your planning journey. Our best seller is the Lemome Leather-Bound Journal for bullet journaling.
Life as we know it already comes with stressors. Adding College courses to your already busy plate of work and life comes with other various side effects. It’s how you decide to handle the stress that decides whether or not you will pass or fail with this new load of classes. Luckily, TakeNote! has a few ideas we gathered from multiple colleagues all with various backgrounds and degrees to bring you the ultimate list of ways to deal with these stressors. Let’s walk through these, shall we?
Take a moment to breathe.
First and foremost is staying organized within your own life. Disregard school for a second. Take a breather. Count from zero to twenty. What image can you capture of your life at this moment? Are you proud of it? What have you done so far in your life to bring you here, and what are the main issues to be fixed? Carrying stress from personal life can dramatically affect your school life, because extra weight can distract you from the task at hand.
Make a list for yourself. List out everything good about your life in this moment. Next, list any improvements you want to make in your life, from attitude towards life in general, or immediate tasks at hand. Finally, write down things that you need to remind yourself in the middle of a course when there is nothing going through your mind, but the repeated thoughts of stress.
Now that you have distinguished what exactly is going on through your mind, work on cleaning out your work and living spaces. It is extremely important to have your living spaces clean and organized, since you spend your day-to-day in these quarters. Spend 15 minutes after reading this blog to quickly tidy up your desk and room. See the dramatic change of before and after. Notice your mind immediately be filled with dopamine from the erasing of a small, but often unnoticed stressor. With the topic of this, realize that mental health is a huge part of controlling stress. Your brain is like a pile of bricks; if something is missing or not in line, the whole wall can come crashing down.
After cleaning your living space, consider going through your schoolwork. Sort through the thousands of papers and toss any with unnecessary information. Keep the ones you absolutely need. You can use an array of folders and filing systems to control and organize exactly where each of the papers goes. An example would be; all the English papers go into the green folder, and all Biology papers go into the blue folder, etc. Whatever your methodology is for organizing schoolwork, do that. Luckily, we carry a wide selection of filing systems for papers, big or small. (More information on products at the end of this blog).
Let’s discuss time management. As a new college student, you may find yourself crushed on time. Even though a class meets an hour a day twice a week, does not mean that the work needed to be done outside of class simply doesn’t happen. It is the complete opposite, sometimes requiring an absurd ratio of time outside of the given class time. There is a way to manage this, even with jobs and club activities. With a planner, you can effectively map out a schedule that works for you. Color coordinating specific actions or classes can help distinguish the amount of time spent on work in these classes. If a paper planner is not your thing, consider looking into Google Calendar. There are tons of technology out there that can help you succeed!
Have you ever heard of a bullet journal? This is a specific kind of planner that you can format to your specific liking. For example, you can plan spreads weekly, daily and even monthly, depending on your scheduling style. Creating one of these planners requires a significant amount of time, however the results are worthwhile. As a plus, there are thousands of Instagram and Pinterest accounts that post pictures with inspiration for your bullet journal! You can be as creative to as minimal to it as possible, it just depends on your style! Here at TakeNote!, we offer a range of journals from small to large to fit your personal planning ideas!
What are you doing to make your college years worth it? How are you utilizing the tools you are presented to create a life worth looking back on? If at any time you feel as if your work is not good enough, or you are stressed out about the imbalances, remember that there are millions of other college students in the same situation as you. Take a minute and breathe, and get your life on track.
Good luck with the years ahead!
Products at TakeNote!
We carry a wide variety of filing and organizational systems in our store in Saint Paul, MN! You will find our staff helpful in finding you the best products to suit your needs. Come stop by for a visit!
We also carry journals and planners to kickstart your planning journey. Our best seller is the Lemome Leather-Bound Journal for bullet journaling.
Here at TakeNote!, we strive to provide the top quality products to our consumers. Along with an amazing array of products, we also offer classes to get yourself back on the #StudyGrind.
Enjoy our wide selection of papers and pens to make this school year a whole lot smoother!
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
Take Note! 