<p>im more of a folder person for loose sheets and a notebook person for notes. a binder might be better for me, but it just seems like too much work.</p>
<p>Binders - Pros
- control over order of papers, how much to put in, etc.
- can buy those tabbed things to organize
- folders fit in it, folder paper, notebooks, even those pencil cases specially for binders
- everything in one place</p>
<p>Binders - Cons
- the rings could tear the holes in your paper (you have to buy those circle sticker things, reinforcements I believe), and papers could just fall out
- the huge ones can be heavy, a pain to flip through things
- you have to hole punch everything, unless you put all your papers in the clear plastic sheets</p>
<p>Notebooks - Pros
- all your paper in one place
- usually light, easy to keep track of</p>
<p>Notebooks - Cons
- can't rearrange the sheets / notes
- spiral ones poke you, they bend and tear and become ugly
- when you rip paper out, there's a part of it left and it's annoying (but maybe that's just me :P)</p>
<p>Personally, I think I'll get both, with the kind of notebook that when you rip out a sheet, it's just like folder paper. NO spiral notebooks for me, argh, unless they're plastic. :P</p>
<p>What kind of planner are you guys going to get? Those small 6 ring refillable ones, or the bigger kind? I'm looking for something very simple, businesslike, NO flowers or cutesy pictures, with monthly, daily, and weekly space, but I can't find a good one so far. I love looking around at Office Depot though. :)</p>
<p>Qwertyqwerty, Five Star makes a really good planner though it doesn't have a seperate daily section. For ten bucks though, it's awesome.</p>
<p>Personally I prefer Office Max's product offerings but it hardly matters :)</p>
<p>I dont know what I am going to use for a planner, I have never really kept with it. I used to have a palm pilot but it got used more for other pursuits than keeping track of assignments (the novelty wore off maybe because I didnt have much to keep track of in 8th grade). I had started using it again in 11th grade and I might have actually kept up with it but it was stolen and never seen again.</p>
<p>I think I will just go with the computers calender (anything wiht the .ical format, currently I use mozilla sunbird but I will switch to lightening when it is released) that is syched to a webserver so it is accessable anywhere and always up to date on multiple computers. That will be paired with whatever I need to write things down in daily (like the corner of a page of notes or somethign...) and maybe a white-board.</p>
<p>actually...toward the end of senior year I just started carrying a legal pad, and I would just use the legal pad for everythign, notes, assignments, etc. for a few dif classes...then every few days I'd go through it and tear out old notes etc and file them away into the binders i had for those classes that i kept at home...then i didnt have to carry around all the crap i had from each class, like the syllabus, and old handouts and stuff I just had all of the current assignments/notes for all my classes, all in one place. meanwhile, all the crucial documents from the class were safely at my desk at home, because usually there's no need for such things when just going to a class for a lecture. I found it much simpler, and all i had to carry to school usually was one legal pad and pen. (any new loose papers I recieved fit nicely between the pages and the bardboard back until I was able to file them into their respective binders.) its a good system if you keep up w/ it</p>
<p>it did get confusing though, because in the midddle of a 3 page calc assignment theyred be an english paper...so you have to make sure you label stuff well.</p>
<p>I used binders until last year. I think notebooks are wonderful because you don't lose notes (or the order in which you wrote them).</p>
<p>notebooks.
i'm left handed and for already stated reasons, don't use a binder. i get one of those 5 star notebooks that has about 4 subjects worth of paper and use it for all my classes. they usually have a pocket or 2 for loose papers and then plenty of spiraled paper for class notes. it really cuts down on the amount of things in my bag giving me a lighter load, which is important when you have to walk everywhere.</p>
<p>I was forced to use binders all though high school and hated them. I usually just throw everything into a pocket. Also writing on the back of a paper that's clipped into a binder is annoying.</p>
<p>I ditched binders for notebooks in middle school, and then ditched notebooks for folders by high school. It's all about weight and my poor back. Bulky backpacks bite too. But I guess you hafta be pretty darn organized with folders...</p>
<p>I could never do the folders thing because they would end up bent and misshapen half-way through a quarter and I would just throw them out and have to recopy the notes. I like binders but tend to use notebooks for math. The reason I don't use notebooks for all classes is that it's kinda hard to refer notes when doing assignments and I take notes on just about everything so notebooks will most definitely be out for college except for maybe calculus.</p>
<p>I used a combination of everything in high school and plan to do the same in college.
Binders for most subjects, but I use folders with some lined paper and unlined paper for notetaking, then file everything away when I get home, or at least every few days. I also use nice lined paper that's already reinforced so it never rips out of my binder. And folders are so cheap that after they are beat up I just replace them a few times a year.
Then, for math, I always use a notebook.</p>
<p>gphoenix, i hear you. I pick stuff based on weight =P Ah.. boo on the back.</p>
<p>file folder. Its quick and easy to handle. I hate 3-ring binders. I can never find a 3 hole punch</p>
<p>At the start of term, I'm all organised with notebooks and all of that... but by the end of term if I can pull out 10 sheets of clean white paper that's what gets used :p</p>
<p>I prefer a decent balance of notebooks which have the folders inside and binders. With notebooks, I can write down notes and assignment and store hand-outs and loose-leafs inside the pocket folders. They don't take up space that much. With binders, they can hold everything I need for class.</p>
<p>Throughout the school year, I used binders because they were recommended. They were useful for a while because for one class I could store all my hand-outs, tests, and quizzes and write down notes in one binder. But, carrying the binders for three or four classes in a row got burdensome. If I forgot my binder for one class, I would be screwed. Also, the binders took up a lot of room on classroom desks, in lockers, in backpacks. I found it easier in class to concentrate if I didn't have so much stuff in front of me. And, although recommended, I didn't need binders for most of my classes. So, notebooks were more useful in some cases.</p>
<p>Last year in college, I used spirals for the most part. They're lightweight to carry around campus. Binders-I used for English just because my prof wanted us to write on loose leaf papers.</p>
<p>I used to use binders all the time. But them I switched to floders and notebooks and it's been good. They are ALOT less heavy. Oh, here's a tip for other folder/notebook people. Don't buy paper folders because they break WAY too much. Instead, opt for folders made out of plastic. Some of my plastic folders have lasted for 2-3 years.</p>
<p>I use notebooks for taking notes (I'm thinking I will be able to get by with only one 3 subject notebook for this year, last year I had one for each class), and folders for various stuff. At the end of the year the folders are torn to hell, but that's part of the fun. I also often put older stuff in a plastic filing cabinet I have. I don't really look at my notes after I write them though...they are mainly for picking things up during the lecture. I go to the book when I need to clear something up.</p>
<p>Notebook. Definitely notebook. Binders are too big and you have to keep remembering to refill them with paper.</p>