How (And Why) to Keep an Everyday Notebook
By: Envy Writer
Tags: Self, Notebook, Productivity, Creativity, Life

“Keep a notebook. Travel with it, eat with it, sleep with it. Slap into it every stray thought that flutters up in your brain. Cheap paper is less perishable than gray matter, and lead pencil markings endure longer than memory.”

— Jack London

I am a compulsive notebook keeper. Only, until the last couple of years, my habit was to just pick up whatever notebook was laying around and write in it. So, at any given time I might have a dozen of them and actually finding the one that held a particular note? Forget it.

I’ve tried Bullet Journaling, oh, every January since it was invented. On the surface, it was designed for me. Creative, intuitive, malleable. Just the thing for my maker’s mind.

Only it never works. I make the first layout. I use it. Sort of. But it was so much work that I’m afraid of screwing it up. So I don’t really use it. And also? At some point, usually week three or four, I just don’t want to do the work of getting it set up anymore.

Also, I have a problem with anything that starts to feel arbitrary. So those cute little bubbles to fill in for tracking my water consumption? They seemed like a good idea, but it doesn’t take long for my rebellious side to kick in. I mean, why exactly do I need to fill in water bubbles anyway?

A Couple of Years ago, I Decided to Try Something Else

There was a little confluence of things that changed my thinking.

I read this little post by Austin Kleon about the notebooks he keeps, and bought the big, fat, flexible notebook he said he uses.

And I read the Jack London quote I posted at the top of this post.

It’s funny how tiny things can shift everything, isn’t it? I started carrying that notebook with me. And instead of making layouts or trying to do anything artsy or creative, I just started using it.

I Just Write In It, Every Day

It’s not a planner, which is what my Bullet Journal tried to be.

If I feel the need to keep track of something for a while, I just start a page for it. No water consumption bubbles needed. If I go to a meeting or a conference or talk to someone, I just open my notebook to the next page and start writing.

If I come across a quote that strikes me, I write it in my notebook. I take notes on books I read, ideas I have, things I want to remember.

I keep lists — grocery lists, menu plans, bills to pay, ideas for everything. Like Jack London said, I slap every stray thought into my Everyday Notebook.

It’s Not as Pretty or Put Together as a Bullet Journal

I’m sure it will never become a thing. But it serves me better.

If you’d like to keep your own Everyday Notebook, start with a notebook that’s big enough, but not too big. Is that vague enough for you?

The truth is that I like keeping one book a year, but I carry a bag, so I can do that. If you need to carry yours in your pocket, you might just want one that’s big enough for a month. That’s okay, too.

Get in the habit of having it with you every day, though. That’s key and not vague at all.

Train yourself to write your notes in your Everyday Notebook. Don’t worry about organizing them. Just fill your pages. Date the notes. Draw a line under a thought, if you’ve got a lot of pages left.

Taking Action on Your Notes

Because all of my notes for my whole life are in one place, I sometimes need to actually do something with them.

Maybe I need to act on something — make a call, reach out to someone, buy something. I might have to do something with notes I’ve taken for a story I’m working on.

Maybe I want to put the notes I’ve taken on a book or conference into my Commonplace Book.

Once a week or so, I go through my Everyday Notebook and I look at my notes. I act on what needs to be acted on and I mark through the note with a highlighter so that I know that it’s been addressed.