Advice for students: Twenty uses for a Post-it Note
[T]he Post-it Note was more than just a practical tool — it was also a psychological one. Compared to the clunky machines of the 1980s that generated all those documents, it was a vision of high-tech minimalism. Its edges were sharp and square, with no ugly binding, no perforations, no metal rings. Its color, a subtle but attention-getting yellow, was somehow like the color of thought itself, a lightbulb going off in your head. Devoid of any other graphic elements, it had the effect of a clean, calming, blank screen. And, yet, for all its streamlined efficiency, it was playful and user-friendly. . . .
from Greag Beato’s Twenty-Five Years of Post-it Notes
As the photograph suggests, I’m partial to Post-it Notes. Here are twenty ways to use them:
1. Mark your place in a book. It seems so obvious, yet relatively few students seem to do it. When your professor picks up with the poem or short story or chapter of the day, you’ll be on the same page.
2. Mark the beginning and ending points for a reading assignment: immediate feedback on your progress.
3. Mark selected readings in an anthology.
4. Mark the notes or glossary at the back of a book for easy repeat access.
5. Mark passages in a library book.
6. Keep several Post-its on the inside cover of a datebook, planner, or notebook: now you’re prepared to leave a note anywhere.
7. When you sit down to work, make a small-scale to-do list on a Post-it and stick it to your desktop.
8. Leave a Post-it on your alarm clock or inside doorknob as a reminder.
9. Avoid fines and late fees: put Post-its with due dates on library books and DVD rentals.
10. When there’s no Scotch tape, cut the sticky edge from a Post-it to use as fake tape.
11. Use the sticky edge as a temporary label for a folder.
12. Fold the sticky edge into a hinge to hold a piece of paper or a postcard on a wall.
13. Wrap the sticky edge around a cable to identify it.
14. Use the sticky edge to clean between the keys of your computer keyboard.
15. Jot down less familiar keyboard shortcuts on a Post-it to keep by your computer.
16. Which way does the envelope go when you feed it into the printer? Draw a diagram on a Post-it and stick it on your printer.
17. If you drive an older car that doesn’t remind you that you’ve left your headlights on, use a Post-it as a reminder. When you put your lights on in the daytime, stick a Post-it note on the driver’s side window. When you leave your car, you’ll see the note and remember why it’s there.
18. Keep a Post-it on the refrigerator and jot down what you need from the supermarket.
19. When you go to the supermarket, remove the Post-it from the fridge and stick it on your wallet. At the store, stick the note to the handle of your cart and have both hands free for shopping. Toss the note when you leave the store.
20. Splurge! Use a whole pad of Post-its to make a flip book. (Thanks to my son Ben for this last tip.)
Michael Leddy is the author of “How to e-mail a professor”. He blogs at Orange Crate Art. The photograph above is of his paperback copy of Marcel Proust’s The Guermantes Way, the third volume of In Search of Lost Time.
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Comments
David McMahon says on September 27th, 2006 at 1:15 pm
As an employee of Yale University’s library system, I implore you not to use sticky notes on library books. The acids in the adhesives will eventually discolor the paper and turn it brittle. Even if you don’t leave the notes in the book, they can leave residue. Also, removing them can damage the paper if it is already brittle or weak.
dephyler says on September 27th, 2006 at 1:34 pm
Keep some mini post-its in your wallet. When you go out to eat with friends and pay with a credit card, you can write the amount to be charged on a mini-note and stick it to the card.
Michael Leddy says on September 27th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
Well, I’d better make that “Nineteen Uses.” I had no idea that Post-it Notes can damage books. I’ve de-Posted library books many times when returning them, and no librarian has ever said anything about it.
Out of curiosity, I just removed some Post-it Notes from one of my (not the library’s) books. These Post-its were stuck to pages for at least fifteen years. (Yes, it’s been at least that long since I read the book.) The paper underneath the notes looks and feels the same as the rest of the pages. Maybe I was lucky. Still, I won’t be using Post-its in library books.
Steve Rogers says on September 27th, 2006 at 3:38 pm
I keep a small cache of stickies on the inside of my wallet for to-do lists and grocery lists. Sort of a “Stick-ster PDA”. Don’t have to worry about bending bulky 3 x 5 cards in your back pocket.
Ken Fehling says on September 28th, 2006 at 5:15 am
I knew a guy back in college that used post-it notes so he wouldn’t burn his fingers at the end of smoking a joint. Very useful things indeed.
John says on September 28th, 2006 at 7:55 am
Post-its can also make a very nice and secure label for 3-ring binders. Write the title on one, use another to cover about 1/2 of its sticky side and slide it down into the label holder, press against the titled one and pull up on the other.
John says on October 1st, 2006 at 9:51 am
I’m no librarian, but quality 3M Post-It notes leave very little residue even after being stuck for a long time. Cheap store brand ones leave adhesive behind after even a few days.
Mary Whisner says on October 31st, 2006 at 2:10 pm
I use little Post-it Notes to mark passages that I’ve read and want to copy over later. (I keep a Word document with quotations that appealed to me for one reason or another.)
Ever have trouble getting a sign out of a sign holder (like the little holder outside your office door that says your name)? Slide in a Post-it: it will grab onto the sign enough for you to pull it out.
I am a librarian, and I’ll echo the caution about preservation. I’ve seen old pages tear (I’ve done it myself) when the notes are removed. I think it’s most dangerous with paper that’s already brittle. I work in a law library, so we have old volumes of the Federal Register, old case reporters, old statute volumes and more. I don’t worry about sticking one on new paper for a few days.
Robert says on November 2nd, 2006 at 4:27 am
Keep some mini post-its in your wallet. When you go out to eat with friends and pay with a credit card, you can write the amount to be charged on a mini-note and stick it to the card.
LearningNerd says on December 9th, 2006 at 5:39 pm
Post-it notes also make useful around-the-house flash cards for studying things (vocab words, etc.). Just stick them where you know you’ll see them, and you’ll jog your memory without any extra effort!
For example, if you need to remember the meaning of the word “defenestrate” (which means “to throw out of a window”), write the word on a post-it note and stick it on your window.
And have you ever seen post-it note art? The post-it note Elvis mosaic is truly impressive!
Grace says on December 9th, 2006 at 5:51 pm
As a teacher and a piler of anything that is paper, I somtimes use Post-its in place of paper clips/staples. If I have a small stack of anything (2-10 pgs), I will wrap the post-it over the top-edge of the stack, with the sticky part showing on top and the rest of the post-it folded over the back. Then, I label the sticky portion, so when I flip through my massive piles of smaller stacks, I can find what I need faster.
Ariah Fine says on December 9th, 2006 at 6:11 pm
This totally reminds me of a hilarious post my brother did for an art class once:
http://blog.iamnotashamed.net/.....it-note-2/
Hugo Ayala says on December 9th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
21.- cover the entire room with post-its and make a great prank !
Bitter Old Bastard says on December 9th, 2006 at 7:50 pm
“I knew a guy”. lol
Grym says on December 10th, 2006 at 2:37 am
using post-it notes to write miscellaneous notes and (gasp) post them. What a hack! OMGBBQGENIUS!!!
musti says on December 10th, 2006 at 3:03 am
This is pure genius. Also, I didn’t know the backside was stickable. Wow!
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Kevin Jones says on December 10th, 2006 at 3:06 am
Carry around some post-its and a pen in your pocket or purse for instant “business cards” to easily record yours or others’ phone numbers, addresses, web sites, or other information.
As for library books: I once went the post-it route, but I discovered that a digital voice recorder can be more supple for notation than post-its. You can record not just the page number and approximate position on the page, but also your immediate thoughts on what you think is important to note.
Most people can talk faster than they can write, anyway.
Robbert says on December 10th, 2006 at 6:53 am
You can use post-it notes as margin-extender when the text is too close to the paper and you don’t want to punch holes through the text.
I also use post-its to reinforce shop-receipts that I need to keep for guarantees, and which are usually to brittle to survive that long. Another thing where you don’t want holes at the wrong spot.
sw says on December 10th, 2006 at 9:38 am
I have not met a librarian that i didn’t not like…. :-( (share the books!)
Steph says on December 10th, 2006 at 9:09 pm
And, there is always the “Yellow sticky method” for project management: http://www.swqual.com/training/yellow.html
jason says on December 11th, 2006 at 1:41 am
Here another use for post-its:
http://www.gumbah.nl/index.php.....-it-party/
jeff says on December 11th, 2006 at 11:23 am
as a library-lover, I am at odds with my Post-it use. I do use them in library books, even though I know the risks. My feeling is that it’s better than actually writing in the books, and for the short period that I’ll have the books in my possession (I try to use-and-return my books, rather than keep them out for the whole checkout period) it makes my life easier and is a small risk.
I suppose it’s a priorities thing. I value the physical artifact of the book, but I value the information inside the book higher.
caveblogem says on December 14th, 2006 at 11:03 am
Regarding numbers 1-5 I just developed a simple origami page corner from a square sticky note that allows you to mark places without getting adhesive on the book. See http://caveblogem.wordpress.co.....icky-note/
dora says on March 1st, 2007 at 10:08 pm
You can generate online here : http://notes.mastervb.net