A $2 must for any author?

A $2.00 MUST FOR ANY AUTHOR? A STENOGRAPHER’S NOTEBOOK!!
The most important, basic, overlooked and totally necessary tool any author needs? A STENOGRAPHER'S NOTEBOOK!!!
In a narrow left hand column enter the date and the page numbers you wrote on today. In the center enter words that briefly describe what you wrote and in the right column enter names of characters appearing in that days writing. Do this religiously every day you write and you will thank yourself many times over in the future, you will be able to refer back and avoid repetition much easier plus avoid mistakes in descriptions etc.
To further the effectiveness of this idea I highlight all names with yellow to make them even easier to find. Additionally I leave empty space on the first page of the notebook and fill in the name, description, and first page they appear on of every character in the novel as they appear. It is next to impossible to remember the names and descriptions of all the characters as you invent them. Once again I guarantee you will refer back to a listing of this sort over and over again.
Each book has its own file folder in which all other information related to the book is kept. Reference material, information sources, reference books plus names and phone numbers of people that have advised me, all are kept there for future reference. I devoutly wish I had been much more thorough in this type of record keeping while writing my first two books.
My steno notebook is a mess. Scribbled all over. But it works and saves me much time and many headaches. More good ideas? A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO WRITING AND PUBLISHING A NOVEL.