I’ve always been a big fan of notebooks. For me, writing down notes and organizing my thoughts have always been easier on paper than electronically. My wife recently told me “nobody uses notebooks anymore.” While I love my wife, this is not true. Being in the military, I often find myself in spaces where electronic devices are not allowed, therefore having a pen and pad to write down notes is crucial. Other professions will also find that the old fashion way of taking notes is much preferred as well, not only out of necessity, but convenience too.

So why squares or dots? Regular lined paper is fine for journaling or book drafts, but I prefer grid or dot notebooks because it allows me to take notes and make charts and tables easily (because I’m a nerd). Additionally, dots make bullet journaling easier if you are into that thing. So if you are in the market for one of these bad boys, here are my top three picks. I personally own all three of these and I am very happy overall with each one.

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1. Leuchtturm 1917

I really love this brand because of the index page added in the front, the pages are already numbered, and there is a Date header in the top right corner of each page. Like the rest of the notebooks in this post, both the pages have a high quality feel to them. If you are looking for a notebook to help you get organized on a subject, this one is my favorite. Check out Leuchtturm1917 for yourself.

2. Moleskine

This seems to be the ‘go-to’ notebook when people want to get a quality notebook. On both ships I’ve been stationed on, this notebook was very popular with Sailors because of its high quality, or maybe it was just trendy…. Anyway, it feels great in your hands, they have many different styles (square, dot, lined, blank, etc.). They also have many partnerships with different brands that allow them to have stylish covers. I once saw a Pikachu styled Moleskine at the Narita Airport in Japan. If you want nothing but grid (thus more writing space) and no extra frills, then the Moleskine is for you.

3. Rhodia

This one is dot grid, which allows for bullet journaling. It’s still very high quality similar to Leuchtturm and Moleskine. Rhodia typically makes notepads or spiraled notebooks, so this is a departure from their style. This model is part of their Webnotebook series, which only comes in dotted paper from what I’ve seen. Like the Moleskine, this one is all dots and no other features like an index page, pagination, or date headers. My only gripe with this is that the covers are not flush with the pages. This does have the added benefit of protecting the sides of the pages from damage, but it is not as aesthetic in my opinion. Still, this notebook is awesome and I personally own one as well. Check out Rhodia for yourself!

edit 1: Rhodia makes all styles of notebooks, but I mostly see pads and spiraled Rhodias at stores

edit 2: Rhodia webnotebook comes in lined and blank, in addition to dot grid, but no line grid

edit 3: Rhodia’s premium goalbook is similar, to the webnotebook but has flushed edges

Thanks reddit user FirstFlyte