Interesting to see how much calorie counting can vary - we get so entrenched in how we do it that it's surprising to see that others can approach it so differently!
When I don't write it down, I cheat. Period. I use LoseIt.com and have been very happy with it, but a notebook works fine as well. I usually pre-plan at the beginning of the day (typically after breakfast) - since I can change it later in the day, I tend to put in what I am likely to eat for the day, and see how the totals come out. If plans change, I can go back and revise my log.
I think in the beginning calorie counting is a lot of work. You don't know how many calories are in the foods you eat often, and you have to do a lot of looking things up and adding it all up. But whatever your method, I think we all tend to eat the same foods with at least *some* regularity, so once you have looked it up to see how many calories are in your everyday foods, it gets easier because you already know some of the numbers. You still have to make some guesses when you go out to a restaurant, etc., but I think of that as extra motivation to cook healthy things for myself so I know what goes into my meals.
One thing that LoseIt does well is that it keeps track of your previous meals, and you can copy them into your log for the current day without having to put it all together again. You can definitely do this with a notebook too, if you tend to eat the same foods and meals regularly.
