Awhile back, I showed off the epic Baron Fig Mastermind Dot Grid pad. The Mastermind is a big freeform notepad in the spirit of the old deskpads. If you are looking for something that’s a little more structured and smaller to help streamline your work week, the new Mastermind Week Pad (3 pads of 18 sheets for $9) might be just the thing.
The Week Pad is just about the length of my MacBook Pro 13″ (measuring 11″ x 3″ with rounded corners) which means it can easily fit in front of my computer as I’m preparing a week of blog posts, meal plans, appointments or other weekly activities around the house. Since the sheet is divided into the work week with a small spot for the weekend, this was definitely designed for school or work-related planning.
The sheets are glue-bound across the top and there is no chipboard backing making it very slim. It also means the pads can get pretty floppy as you get down to the last few sheets. If you are writing on a particularly hard surface, you won’t have the cushion of a chipboard backing either which is a bit of a bummer.
The paper used is the same stock that is currently featured in the Confidant, Vanguard and other products so I don’t feel I need to go into lengthy pen testing detail other than to say that it works well with most medium-nibbed fountain pens, felt tip, rollerball, ballpoint and pencil. Since the Week Pad are only printed on the front, show through is not as much a concern though I did find myself using the back of the sheets the following week for scratch paper and grocery lists since it does hold up well. The size lends itself to flipping itself over and being that long list for the grocery store, for sure.
Since the Week Pad does not have a chipboard backing and the sheets aren’t sticky back, there is a definite impermanence to them. My weekly list ended up getting pinned to my pinboard/refrigerator and then thrown away which is a different method of working for me. But the Week Pad created a great way to share group activities/events in the house that would normally have been in my planner.
I would also like a place to put the week’s date since these little sheets can have a tendency to accumulate and it could be difficult to determine which one is for this week and which one was from three weeks ago.
Overall, its an interesting concept and I like the idea that Baron Fig is trying new ways to plan, organize and use paper and analog tools in our increasingly digital world.
DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Baron Fig for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
