Like any English major (or any journal enthusiast, let’s be honest), I have a fascination with collecting pretty notebooks. A few years ago, I figured out that if I use the pretty notebooks for productive purposes, my life becomes a whole lot neater. I pared down my notebook collection to my favorites and gave each one of them a purpose. So without further ado, here is my recipe for keeping organized with my notebook collection.
My Yearly Planner
First things first: the planner. I use this yearly planner from Inkwell Press to keep track of my daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly plans. Because I tend towards perfectionism, I like to use pencil for anything that’s further than two weeks out.. That way I can cancel plans or run away on a road trip at a moment’s notice.
Being more practical by nature, this is where I keep track of things like blog post scheduling, writing word counts, my work shifts, appointments, books I’m reading, hikes, travel, holidays, haircuts, paydays, events, etcetera. In short, this is where I go crazy with highlighting things and making lots of plans for my day-to-day life.
Life Design Notebook
I’ll be posting an in-depth blog post on my life design notebook in a few weeks, but for now I’ll give you a quick overview.
Each year in January, I create a new vision board to capture the images and feelings and goals I want for the upcoming year. It’s simple, really: I scroll through my Pinterest feed and pick out the pictures I like the most, while trying to incorporate my goals for the year (i.e. the travel/train photos represent my semester abroad in England). Now, I’ll be honest and admit that I haven’t made my 2019 vision board yet (I still have six months; cut me some slack). Pictured is the spread from last year.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized that my vision of where I want to go in life will change, just as I change as a person. To accommodate this, I have begun tracking my changing dreams. About once a year, usually during my birthday (but it could be anytime I’m feeling inspired), I write down where I want to be in one, three, and five years. A lot of it has stayed consistent, but some pieces have come and gone.
Blog Notebook
From brain-dump pages to quarterly plans of action, I use this cute floral notebook one to keep track of everything regarding my personal blog and brand. On the front are the words “Create Beauty,” which is basically my mission statement for this blog in a nutshell. My blog is still a work-in-progress, but that mantra keeps me going. As I try to figure out my writing voice, my longterm vision, and my main focuses, this notebook acts like a cork board where I can pin up all my ideas in one place.
Morning Pages Notebook
You’ve probably heard about “morning pages” before, but if not, it’s a term coined by Julia Cameron (detailed in her excellent book “The Artist’s Way”). It is the practice of sitting down every morning, first thing, to handwrite three pages of stream-of-consciousness.
Morning pages are awesome for a lot of reasons. first and foremost, it dumps out all the brain lint on paper and clears your mind to let the creative juices flow. I use it for brain-dumps, outlining upcoming life plans, ranting about emotions, etc. It’s especially useful for writing my stories; I’ve found that writing by hand helps immerse me in a scene.
I don’t write morning pages daily anymore. But whenever I feel my mind beginning to fill up, I sit down to dump a lot of thoughts onto paper.
Personal Journal
Writing has always been my favorite form of creative expression. It lets me capture a feeling like a photograph, while allowing me to see how I’ve grown and changed—and how the people around me have grown and changed as well. When I’m fifty, I want to remember how it felt to be seventeen and have a world of possibility ahead of me. Because of that, I’ve journaled every day for the last five years.
Of all my notebooks, my personal journal has the most treasured place in my heart. It’s where I write the story of my life. Every night before I go to bed, I jot down a paragraph or two; sometimes a few pages. It depends on the day.
Instead of simply telling about my day, though, I like to tell a story—capture a moment in creative nonfiction, remember a conversation I had, or put a picture frame around my life lately. Sometimes it’s a funny interaction with a customer at the restaurant. Sometimes it’s a life epiphany I had that day. There’s a story in every day. It’s all just a matter of paying attention. If journaling sounds like something you want to get into, I put together a compilation of ideas on how to start journaling regularly—you should definitely check out that blog post if you’re curious.
There you have it! That little stack of notebooks keeps me organized and motivated. Now it’s your turn; what are your notebook essentials? How do you stay organized?
<3 Olivia Grace
