Stationery Quiz

Sticky Note

Light on your feet, you jot it down, stick it up, and peel it off to move it any time.

Tidy it upKeep it undoableAs designed

A sticky note is a small piece of paper with weak adhesive along one edge of the back. Stuck to paper, it peels off cleanly later and can be moved somewhere else again and again. There's a well-known story that this removable adhesive came about in the middle of research aimed at making a strong one.

Sticky notes are great at marking places in books or stacks of paper and sorting out what's where. Once they've done their job, you peel them off and toss them, leaving hardly a trace. You sort things into a for-now shape, and when circumstances change, you lightly rearrange them.

With a set size and a set way of sticking, the sticky note's convenience is that it works the same no matter who uses it. But because sticking one up feels like enough, they can multiply before you know it. Every so often, peel them all off and put back only the ones you really need, and your markers will work well again.

Strengths

You can put a marker on scattered things for now and sort them
When plans or circumstances change, you can rearrange things lightly
Using a set method just as it is, you can keep things running for the time being

Where you may stumble

Markers meant to be temporary multiply until they stop marking anything
Thinking you can always move it later, you put off conversations that need a decision
You rearrange so quickly that the people around you can't keep up

Sounds familiar, Sticky Note?

The fridge door has notes stuck on it several layers deep
The notes on your phone are full of titles starting with “Later:”
Your calendar has several days marked with nothing but “maybe”

Where you shine

When things keep changing and some for-now sorting is needed, the Sticky Note's lightness is especially welcome.

Tips for “Sticky Note”

Once a week, go over all your markers and peel off the ones you don't need
On a temporary marker, add how long it's for
Before you rearrange things, give the people around you a heads-up

Matches

See every match in the Stationery Quiz compatibility chart →

Easy together

Ballpoint Pen — The Ballpoint Pen's clear writing stands out even on a small sticky note. A marker written in ink that won't fade can't be misread, however many times it gets moved.

Easy together

Mechanical Pencil — With the Mechanical Pencil, writing on a sticky note can be erased and rewritten so you can use the same note again. Moving and rewriting are both easy in this pairing.

May clash

Fountain Pen — By the time the Fountain Pen has finished writing one page in its own handwriting, the Sticky Note has already stuck up three notes and peeled off one. You treat paper differently, so to the Fountain Pen, the Sticky Note seems restless, and to the Sticky Note, the Fountain Pen seems slow to let go.