Reddit mentions of NATIONAL Brand Computation Pad, Plain on Front Side / 5 X 5 Quad on Back Side, Green Paper, 8.5 x 11" 200 Sheets (42389)

The most important thing you can do is to set yourself up an environment conducive to working, where the chance of becoming distracted is as low as possible. Make it comfortable and enjoyable so that entering that environment doesn't feel punishing. Bring yourself some drinks and snacks so that you don't end up with excuses to get up and wander around, and good headphones for listening to motivating music (and drowning out environmental distractions). Wear comfortable clothes. Make sure to have plenty of pens or pencils (with plenty of lead and erasers) and a good notebook for scratchwork (even we professionals tend to work a lot of stuff out on paper). Finally, and probably most importantly, go in with some kind of plan so you don't just end up dicking around on reddit.

Sidenote: As a software engineer, I highly recommend:

• the Five Star Flex binder
  
  • the covers are durable, somewhat flexible plastic
    
  • the edge is bound with some tough synthetic cloth like nylon
    
  • the rings are durable, flexible rubber that won't eat your hand
    
  • it's the best goddamn binder I've ever had
    
  • I recommend adding a stiff cardboard insert to allow you to write when you don't have a suitable writing surface, since this thing is not especially rigid.
    
• decent-quality reinforced notebook paper
  
  • holes are reinforced for tear-resistance
    
• and (optionally, but very useful) an engineer's computation pad
  
  • front writing/drawing area is blank
    
  • back side is graph-ruled and is faintly visible on the front when writing
    
  • this lets you draw or write on the front of the page, using the faint ruled lines as visual guides, while keeping your notes and drawings nice and legible. Very very handy for drawing legible algorithm and data structure visualizations
    
  • also great for math classes
    
  • if you get the computation pad, I'd also recommend a thin, durable straight edge and a shape-drawing tool (has drawing guides for various-sized circles, rectangles, squares, and triangles) to keep your lines and shapes nice and neat. Not especially necessary, but shitty hand-drawn shapes are one of my personal pet peeves in my notes.

It's "engineering paper".

Yep. I just finished engineering school this spring, and I've gone through my fair share of pads.

Green Paper is by far the most commonly used engineering paper. It's fairly thin, a little less than printer paper. I mostly used this paper for scratch calculations and everyday homework.

Buff is a bit thicker, but still has the same layout. I liked using this when doing hand calculations that would be included in reports or labs.

For notebooks, look for a Lab Notebook or Engineering Notebook. There are a few options out there, and it depends if you want a spiral or bound book. Computation Notebooks held up very well, and helped preserve my notes.

If you want the really good stuff, here it is. It's the best quality engineering paper I've found.

For notes I buy a ream of copy/printer paper from the office supply store, they sell reams that are already 3-hole punched, it's not very much. I like having no lines interfering with anything I draw. Everything I lay down on the page really stands out against a pure white background. I suppose I take my time and write clearly, what simple sketches I do make, I take a second and do it clearly as well. The result is clean notes that are easy for me to review later.

I also write with .7mm pencil and use Staedtler pens in one or two colors to add emphasis.

All my homework gets done on National Brand engineering paper. ...Found a brand I liked and I stick to it I guess...

Each class has its own 3-ring binder and I load each one with a bit of this plain white paper, and a bit of my engineering paper.

If you're going to buy him engineering paper - which may well be a very practical present, as in my school any non-typed assignment pretty much has to be done on it - don't get Tops or Ampad. Get National brand.

Both Tops and Ampad I've had tend to come with misalignment, bad binding, and are thinner paper. National is superfantastic.

I like engineering computation paper, but I have only one pad remaining and I haven't used it since I consider it precious. However, I'm silly because I could get it on line easily, I'm just too lazy.

Get National brand. Maybe you can get them personalized somewhere.


Maybe this:https://www.amazon.com/NATIONAL-Brand-Computation-Sheets-42389/dp/B0017TMB64/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=Engineering+Computation+Pad&qid=1574173104&s=office-products&sr=1-5