The 9 Best Work Notebooks of 2023

Best Overall: Leuchtturm1917 Medium Hardcover A5

The bullet journaling trend is still going strong, and it’s a smart system for managing your assignments and tasks. There are different ways to form a bullet journal, but the Leuchtturm1917 notebook gives you a decent head start with a table of contents and numbered pages. There are 251 pages of acid-free dotted paper that are bound with a stitched binding and cover elastic. Each journal also comes with a page-marking ribbon and stickers for labeling. Choose from 24 different cover colors, from muted and neutral to eye-catching and bright. Leuchtturm1917 has previously collaborated with Ryder Carroll, the official Bullet Journal founder, to create a specialized notebook.

Runner-Up, Best Overall: Rhodia Meeting Book

If your job requires many meetings, having a notebook devoted to organizing notes and objectives helps you capture your main points. Rhodia’s meeting notebook will come in handy whether you’re an assistant or executive who needs to digest workplace brainstorming sessions and discussions. On each of the 80 sheets, you’ll find lined sections for your date, notes, and actions, so you can keep your ideas and to-dos fully organized. Complete with tasteful orange details on each page, Rhodia uses its signature acid-free, smooth paper that will work nicely even with gel and fountain pens.

In addition to its useful page division and excellent paper quality, the notebook is sturdy. It has a twin ring binding that is not only easy to flip through but is also resistant to snagging and falling apart. The cover is also coated and weatherproof, so it won’t get damaged easily.

Best Value: Muji B5 Notebooks

At a low price point, you can get five, B5-sized Muji notebooks in this convenient pack. These make excellent notebooks for work because of their affordability, style, and quality. The minimal notebooks come with different-colored bindings and a brown cover. Right off the bat, you might notice that they're a bit smaller than American notebooks and have only 30 lined sheets. But their paper quality is superb, smooth, and bleed-resistant. In fact, you’ll be able to use most fountain pens on this paper without worrying about any transfer to the backside. Their stitched and glued binding will also last you longer than spiral notebooks, which have snag-prone and bendable bindings.

Best Leather: Lemome Thick Classic Notebook

A leather hardcover journal makes for a long-lasting, sturdy option, like this Lemome Thick Classic Notebook. The durable cover will ensure your work notes will always be protected, while the elastic pen loop conveniently keeps your writing tool available. With 180 thick, premium pages, the notebook holds up well and can be written on with most pens (except fountain pens). Lay flat the notebook with no issues to take better control of your note-taking. Even more, the large ruled notebook comes with page dividers for organization and an expandable pocket to hold business cards, receipts, and other small notes.

Best for Durability: Campus Twin Ring Notebook

Campus’ Twin Ring Notebook is your typical notebook, but better. It's durable enough that it’ll last through all of your random ideas and meeting notes at work. It has a thick paper cover that won't bend easily and a twin ring binding that won’t snag. The notebook, which measures 7.5 x 10 inches, includes 70 sheets of smooth, lined paper, which is thicker than mainstream notebook paper. Each page has printed sections to indicate the number and date of your notes so that staying on top of your notes is easy. The muted cover colors include red, green, blue, and khaki brown.

Best Eco-Friendly: Rocketbook Smart Reusable

Rocketbook’s Smart Reusable Notebook is great for any worker who wants to use a single notebook over and over again while still being able to curate their notes. It has a special paper (which still feels like paper) that you can pair with the heat-sensitive pens and markers from Pilot’s FriXion pen and marker line. Use your notebook with Rocketbook’s app to capture images of your notes and upload them onto a storage service such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or Evernote. After you save your notes, reuse the page by wiping it clean with a damp towel.

Best Notepad: Rhodia Dot Notepad

When you want to jot down notes or ideas, it may be easier to use a notepad to flip the pages as you go. Rhodia creates some of the best paper notepads in the stationery industry, loved by artists and writers alike. Their acid-free 80gsm paper is thick, smooth, and bright, working with even wet inks from fountain pens without bleeding or feathering. The dotted sheets offer structure without being as noticeable as lined or graph print (though you can also get these from Rhodia as well).

Plus, there are a few other quality features: the pre-folded cover allows you to fold back sheets without creating uneven lines. Unlike most legal pads, the perforated sheets won’t come off as you pull them back—they'll only separate from the pad if you deliberately remove them. The stiff cardboard back cover is also a useful feature, as it’s hard enough to write on when you aren't at your desk.

Best Gridded: Miliko Square Grid Spiral

Miliko has a variety of notebook styles, but its square grid notebook offers an alternative to the standard, lined, or dotted journal options. Featuring a waterproof, transparent hardcover, the A5 notebook comes with 80g, acid-free recyclable white paper for high-quality construction. Square grid notebooks are another great way to bullet journal, with ruled lines to help align your drawings and notes. This pack comes with two notebooks with 160 pages each.

Best Japanese-Style: Midori MD Note

Japanese stationery brands offer some of the highest-quality pens and notebooks, and Midori is no exception. Its MD ruled-line notebook boasts smooth paper and thick lines for comfortable note-taking. The threaded binding and flexible spine also allows you to lay the notebook flat, while each page has a thick line in the center, so you can freely organize and section off your notes. Designed for convenience, this minimalist work notebook doesn't have a cover, making it easier to open. The attached string is also a nice way to keep track of your notes.