If there’s anything you should know about me, it’s that turquoise is my favourite colour. So it’s no coincidence that the four most important notebooks in my life sport that same shade. In anticipation of a series coming soon where I’ll give you an in-depth look into my Bullet Journaling methods and note-taking methods, I’m going to give you a high-level idea of what I use my notebooks for and how I distinguish between what I write in each one.
Notebooks Rock!
First off, I’ve had my fair share of uncertain transitions from writing things down on my phone, laptop, paper slips, sticky notes or notebooks. There’s benefits to each. Here’s a breakdown of my organization methods:
Laptop | I actually currently take all my notes for my school courses on my laptop! I’ll link the post for my computerized note-taking system here once I write it. The benefits of this are that I can take down my notes quickly and easily reorder them later. I only write down what’s critical, and I also use online photos and graphs instead of drawing my own. When I print them, I go over and highlight things using my colour coding system (also linked here once written). However – this semester I only have math-type courses, where notes are short and contain only essential things I’ll have to memorize. Next semester, I’m going to be very english and humanities-heavy, so I anticipate that I’ll be mostly writing by hand to allow for idea mapping, and probably using a binder since that was very helpful for me last year, and allows for mixed use of printed and handwritten items.
Phone | My phone notes contain a lot of key lists that I want to keep with me wherever I go, just in case. These are some of the lists I currently have:
- snack ideas
- routine (I’m currently trying out a new routine)
- shopping list
- to do
- instagram photo captions (that’s right)
- names (as weird as it is, I have a list of baby boy and girl names I like on my phone)
- activities to do with groups
- when you’re nervous about speaking
- lessons about self-love
- conversation starters
Notebooks | Notebooks rock, you guys! They’re awesome because you can carry them around everywhere, look chic while you’re at it, decorate and use nice pens, and map out ideas however you’d like, with no restrictions. Here’s the notebooks I use and what I keep in them:
My Literature Book
This notebook actually started off as a mandatory english journal we had to keep for in our English class, and then I realized how awesome it was and kept it and modified it for my taste. It basically contains notes on all the books I read, using my note-taking method for handwritten notes (I’ll link to the post detailing this method once I write it).
I also keep my essay outline drafts in it, write down great words I like, store tips for writing essays, and record my favourite quotes.
The awesome thing about this notebook, which is a FiloFax, is that you can take out and reorder the pages easily. So it’s basically like a binder, except it’s a notebook! How AWESOME is that?
Now of course, the content I keep there has started to overlap with what I used to keep in my Bullet Journal – which was supposed to be where I kept literally everything. Something like a list of my favourite quotes would have previously belonged in my Bullet Journal, for example. So, read on to see how I’ve modified my BJ organization as a result:
My Bullet Journal
Possibly my least productive week every was the week before school ended, but at least it looks pretty:
My Bullet Journal is currently only for to-do lists, planning out what I’m going to do and when, and the occasional “Collection” (these are layouts where you make lists of something completely random and up to you) is only a specific category of lists – like my long-term projects I need to complete, Coursera courses I want to someday get to, and things to do when you’re bored. These are lists I don’t need all the time (those I keep on my phone, as I mentioned above).
I do, however, also keep a memories spread per month where each day I write one line detailing what I did that day. Which leads me into my diary!
My Diary/Journal
The blank space under “journal” on the title page is for the years that the journal will span.
I’ve had a journal since 2013, but I decided to start a new notebook for it last year in December. That’s why this one isn’t very full yet.
I write in this at night before going to bed and occasionally in the mornings when I wake up.
I’ve found that it’s a really great way to do things with more “intent“, because in the morning I reach for this to let out my thoughts and reflect instead of mindlessly browsing my phone. Then, once I’ve de-tangled my thoughts, I can reach for my phone with the clear intent to only check my emails and messages, and to quickly find a good breakfast idea to try.
At night, my journal gives me a chance to de-stress, record memories and think about what I want to improve the next day. It ends the day in a peaceful, mindful state, which I love!
My Idea Notebook
I’ve had my idea notebook for a LONG time, and frankly I haven’t written in it very much. I originally kept it for story and short story ideas, and it’s definitely got some interesting ideas in there. When I start writing fiction again, it’ll be helpful, but for now it’s stored away and only comes out when I’ve got a really neat idea I know I’m going to forget soon if I don’t record it.
And that’s a wrap! Those are my four notebooks I couldn’t live without, and a breakdown of where I store all my mind-data. Hope this inspired you to try some new things with your own notebooks!
Cre84me 