🌈 Four Color Pen Process

The Four Color Pen Process for Note Taking for Admins and Assistants


I love pens. I love notebooks. It is a hard task to get me back out of a stationery store once I’ve walked into one. I am a total sucker for big packs of multicolored pens and I would buy them with total abandon. ⁠

Now that I’m *cough* older and wiser I realize that those pens just collect dust. I had drawers full of beautiful pens I never used. I’m not about that life.⁠


I always go back to my one true love. A simple Bic 4 Color Pen and now that I’ve found it in Fine point, I’m making it official.⁠

I realized that I don’t have time to pick up those beautiful pens when I’m frantically taking notes. Who has time for that? I know I don’t?⁠

In my second year at college I learned that I couldn’t just use one color either. I used to take notes in class and then when it came time to study them it was just a sea of black ink and I couldn’t concentrate on the page. It all looked the same. That’s when I picked up a 4 color pen. That was twenty years ago. I told this relationship was getting serious!⁠

But it took me the next 15 years to really understand that I’m only wasting my money when I try the new pens. I never use them. As much as I love them, I have a good thing going.⁠

The Four Color Pen Process for Note Taking for Admins and Assistants


Over the past 20 years I’ve developed this method organically. My 4 color pen process. I didn’t consciously even think about it until today. I realized I had been doing this for years now without actually noting to myself that it was a process I had defined. It works for me, so I wrote it down in case it helps you too.⁠

🖤 Black ink = Notes⁠
💙 Blue ink = Actions or tasks⁠
💚 Green ink = Follow-up⁠
❤️ Red ink = Urgent⁠

What do you think? Do you use a similar process? Would you like me to go into more detail about each color? Such as what I do to stay on top of 💚 follow-up items. ⁠

Let me know below. Share with a friend who would love this! ⁠
x L.

6 Comments

    susanhaye@aol.com

    Hi this is totally me and I even got a mini version (size of a golf pencil / argos pen) so can have one on the go. Colour definitely helps me to organised my notes / actions more effectively.

    Christine

    Those bic pens came to my mind recently when I was looking at the pile of different colored pens on my desk. I remember wondering if they still existed, then forgot about it till I saw your article. I too am a little obsessed with pens and markers. This year has been my Year of Decluttering, which I’ve been rocking around my house. A look around my off the other day I recognized the decluttering needed to happen there too. My first step is to get that bic pen (or 3) and purge my (multiple) pen cups. I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t give me some anxiety just thinking about getting rid of my stash of pens. Is it crazy that purging my closets and cabinets at home didn’t give me this same level of anxiousness?

    Lauren Bradley - Founder

    I totally understand that anxiety. It took me years to figure out I was fooling myself with all the pens. But once it’s done you don’t think about it the next day.

    Jas

    Perfect pen for this – Uni JetStream. 4 gel inks and a mechanical pencil all-in-one! It’s a game changer for me. Writes beautifully too.

      Lauren Bradley - Founder

      Ohhh…buying it right now to try it out! Should I do a product review? Or comparison test?

    Jeff

    Brilliant!

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