The Tiny Notebooks system is designed around an abundant supply of 3.5"x5.5" 48-page notebooks. "Abundant" means "more than you can imagine using in the near future". Tiny Notebooks works best when you have no hesitation to start a new notebook for a new topic, which requires having no fear of running out.
This system involves a lot of writing, so it is important to pick pens that are reliable and comfortable to use. It is better to use a pencil than a pen that requires enough force to cause hand cramps, which many cheap ballpoints ("stick pens") do. Color is useful for emphasis and expression, so a variety of colored pens (or pencils) may be of use. You will be labeling the outsides of your notebooks; you may need an opaque pen in a light color for marking dark covers.
Once filled, completed, or set aside, notebooks will be organized (it's easy, don't worry) so they can be found again if they are needed in the future. An appropriate-size box with divider tabs helps. Notebooks you are actively writing in because they refer to current projects will require a travel case; tiny notebooks fit neatly in many pen cases, creating a convenient "mobile office".
You will want to buy at least a dozen tiny notebooks to get started - you are likely to find yourself starting five to ten of them within the first two days. It's important to keep spares on hand, so notebooks don't feel like an item in limited supply. If your notebooks don't come with page numbers, you will need to add them, but this takes less than two minutes when you start a new notebook.
Notebooks must be:
Some notebook options include:
Pen selection is slightly less important than notebook selection, since most pens are suitable for writing in notebooks with. Thin paper will have more "show-through" and will benefit from pens that use less ink and make lighter marks; soft paper will have more "feathering", especially from thin inks (from rollerball or fountain pens). Very inexpensive ballpoint pens ("stick pens") typically require force to write with to avoid skipping, which will cause wrist and hand pain; pencils are a better choice.
Although you will never refer to 90% of your notebooks again after finishing them, you don't know which 90%, so archiving your notebooks so they can be retrieved later is important. Although Field Notes manufactures a box designed for storing their notebooks, any storage box intended for a large volume of 4"x6" index cards will work for your 3.5"x5.5" notebooks. Small boxes are appropriate if you're just getting started, but larger boxes are also easy to get, and it may be worth considering an entire cabinet drawer if your collection grows impractically large.
Your notebooks will be sorted by category, then by topic. You will need divider tabs for your storage box; look for tabs designed to match the size of your box. Field Notes' Archival Wooden Box includes tabs.
Small notebooks are very portable, but if you find yourself working away from your primary workspace -- or if you do not tend to work at any single workspace - you will want a way to carry all of your active notebooks simultaneously. This can be up to a dozen tiny notebooks.
A few other components may help, but aren't necessary to use the system: