Buy a notebook with your own money. Cash, preferably. The small ceremony helps. You hand over something tangible for an object whose pages belong entirely to you. No conference logo on the cover, no pharmaceutical company name printed along the bottom, no annual planner designed by a committee that has already decided how much space Wednesday deserves. “Moleskine” is my general term for a well-made personal notebook. The actual brand is optional. A leather cover is pleasant.