Notebooks Notebooks Everywhere
I recently discovered a website called notebookstories.com. It's full of stories surrounding notebooks, pens, and pencils. Basically anything related to using notebooks. While the person running the site has hundreds of notebooks and I currently make my rounds through 7, it was nice to see that I'm not the only person who just can't seem to keep thoughts in one place.
I've always had a bit of a notebook obsession. When I would go school shopping, I always wanted lots and lots of notebooks to write everything. As an adult, nothing has really changed. I still get super excited at back to school time because notebooks are on sale and I can stock up (just bought two for 15 cents each!). Part of why I use multiple notebooks is because no matter how many notebooks I had as a kid, I never kept them organized, and that inevitably ended with me losing notes and homework. So now, all of my notebooks serve their own unique purposes.
Blog Topics- This notebook is filled with all kinds of ideas for my blog, mainly topics to write about. Many of the ideas (I think) are trash, but you have to get the bad out to get to the good sometimes, right?
Personal Writing-I don't necessarily feel comfortable calling this a diary, but the shoe fits. That notebook is home to some of my fears, a lot of my anger/irritation, and serves as the place to free myself from emotional baggage. It's cathartic. It's therapy.
Brain Dump- Every morning, I brain dump. I set a timer for 5 minutes and just write whatever comes to mind. Literally whatever comes up is written down. It's full of spelling, punctuation and probably grammatical errors, but the point isn't perfection, it's purging. If you are like me and have a mind for literature and editing, you understand my pain when I misspell something and can't stop to fix it. This harkens back to my middle school and high school English classes. I didn't understand fully why we were forced to do this before class could begin, but now since brain dumping again as an adult, I see. It frees me of whatever may be swirling around in there. and helps me to focus more easily on the work I begin afterwards. Thanks, teachers!
Social Media Ideas-A newer member of the notebook family! I write all of my ideas for social media content here. Questions, quotes, funny stories, etc. It's definitely a new space for me to navigate, and the notebook helps me to brainstorm.
To Do/Planner- My ride or die! This notebook is the only reason I get things done in the day. Seriously. Between motherhood, photography, writing, reading, meditation so I don't lose it, and everything else I tackle in my 24hrs, if it's not written in there, the chances of it actually getting done are pretty much non existent. It's a lifeline when I start to feel frazzled and overwhelmed.
Photoshoot Planning- All of my ideas for shoots go here. This gives me a place to work out the ideas I'm having for a client in one place (that isn't my mind). Because I'm a visual person, this allows me for me to see my ideas, and make a plan.
Marketing Ideas- Another newer member of the notebook family! Just like the social media notebook, this one if where I write my ideas for marketing myself and my photography. Also a newer space for me, having ideas I can look at, edit, or replace altogether is a big source of comfort while navigating a new space.
Are you a notebook girl, or do you prefer digital note taking? How many notebooks do you currently use? Let me know in the comments!