My mother is a recovering perfectionist. It’s been decades since she ironed pesky wrinkles from her cotton socks, and just last week she left a dirty dish in the sink overnight…imagine!

And while I’ll joke about her few remaining semi-obsessive habits, there is one that I appreciate and fully embrace: Anything that touches your skin or that’s with you all day must be great quality.

That may sound crazy—and heck, it may be crazy—but that doesn’t make it less valid. We don’t benefit in any way from constant, close proximity to cheap, crappy stuff. If you doubt me, use substandard toilet paper and body lotion, or wear poor quality underwear, socks, or pantyhose. Heaven help you if you go for all those cheapies on the same day: Welcome to Itch City, population 1.

So, giving credit to Mom’s influence and in the spirit of Ten Tech Tools for the Mobile Entrepreneur by Kyle Claypool from On Your Business, here are five quality business tools that make my day, all day, every day:

Moleskine

I bought my first Moleskine notebook a few weeks ago, and I don’t know how I functioned without it.

Wait, that’s a lie. I know exactly how I functioned without it, I just don’t want to admit that I jotted important notes, article drafts, and business plans on Post-Its. Yup, I scribbled my hopeful bits of genius on (and among) little yellow stickies as if they were disposables like “buy kitty litter”. Which they weren’t, though that didn’t keep a few from getting tossed…*gulp*.

Now my ideas have a luxurious home in a 3 x 5 reporter-style notebook with an inside pocket…between sturdy, flexible, water-resistant black covers…on lusciously smooth, no-glare, subtly lined, acid-free paper. My notebook is a treasure filled with treasures. I carry it everywhere, and keep it bedside at night just in case I get a glimmer in my sleep.

I don’t know why I hesitated to get one, but I know why I finally did—Nick at Put Things Off is a consummate Moleskine Enabler.

Uni-ball Roller Grip Pen–Micro Point, Black

If I’m gonna write on paper designed to steward my scribbles for 500 years—and I’m gonna—it makes sense to spend a bit extra for acid-free, fadeproof pens so the scribbles may last as long as the paper. I prefer black for the readable contrast and the teensy 0.5 mm point for fine writing in my small notebook. The grip is textured, the cap fits tightly, it looks slick, and I’ve never known one to leak.

I buy them by the dozen. I’ve never used one up because I tend to give them away long before they’re dry. I always gift them to borrowers who remark on how well they write. If a cashier/client/friend/whoever likes it enough to acknowledge how cool it is, it’s theirs.

Ergonomic Keyboard With Built-In Mousepad

I don’t have one of these anymore, and I’ve been miserable without it. It’s been surprisingly difficult to replace my much mourned Ol’ Faithful. When I find a similar keyboard, it: 1) is way expensive, 2) doesn’t have a keypad, 3) has a centered mousepad, rather than one on the right, and/or 4) is craptacularly made by a company who shall remain nameless lest I scar my tongue with bitterness.

That said, I’ll have to get over the price tag because my want recently graduated to a need. Among blogging, school, and livin’ a geek’s Internet-oriented life, I type 10+ hours per day, almost every day. I truly need the one keyboard that always gave my wrists an easy time.

Cingular HTC 8525 SmartPhone

Cingular has gone for good, but my phone and rollover minutes live on! When Dan first showed me this phone—his eyes glittering with tearful admiration—I thought it was total overkill. I thought “What possible reason would I ever have to work the Internet on a friggin phone?” Now I think: “Thank heavens I got the unlimited data plan!”

These days, I do a notable amount of business while in line at the post office, in the eating area at Costco, and while sitting in stop-and-stop traffic on the Beltways—without speaking a single word. The 8525 has a simple interface and a full keypad that’s wee, but easy enough to type with. It’s an ideal tool for checking email, monitoring site stats, reading my feeds, and keeping an eye on Twitter. If WordPress would let me write posts with it, I could manage every aspect of this blog from my phone.

iPod Nano/iTunes/Audible.com

My technological triumvirate of entertainment and education! Along with virtual stacks of mystery/thriller audiobooks and a little music, my iPod stores a library of business seminars to listen to while I’m looking for and editing photographs, tweaking designs, or doing laundry—anything but writing.

My second generation nano is pink, so it’s difficult (though not impossible) to lose in desk clutter or in my purse. Even in it’s thick plastic case it weighs little, and it comfortably clips to my waistband when I don’t have pockets or a free hand.

iTunes is so well done and easy to use that I smile every time the application opens. Audible.com is friendly with both iTunes and Windows Media Player, and adds listening features to my iPod that I don’t get with audiobooks ripped from CD.

What Would You Pout Without?

Of course I could live without any or all of these five things, and I did for quite a while. But each of these has added something intensely fun and/or useful and/or pleasurable to my work day. I would survive the day if any or all were lost, stolen, or broken…but I’d surely pout from get up ’til go to bed.

Et tu? What are your favorite work toys? How did you discover them?