Raspberry Iced M

I love school supplies.

Pens. Paper. Chalk. Calendars.

I opened one of my desk drawers moments ago and counted 4 brand new notebooks.

They were purchased with no agenda. I just like having them.

All those empty pages. So much potential. As if somehow a $1.47 purchase will be all the inspiration I need to finally get my act together.

Nonetheless, I have experience in the art of notebook filling, so I thought today would be a good day to list various reasons to buy a notebook, and what you can do with it once you get it home.

1. Turn it into a gratitude journal. Write down three things you’re grateful for every day, even if your list is not incredibly profound.
2. Use it as a prayer journal. I have one of these, and it’s almost full. I find that writing out my prayers helps me to focus more than praying them silently. And it’s also a way to track your own growth, as well as the number of prayers He has answered.
3. Keep a running list of things you don’t want to forget. Funny things your kids said. Something that made you laugh. A conversation you want to remember. A tiny moment that would otherwise disappear. Life moves quickly – write some of it down.
4. Create a project tracker. Put your plan to paper. The home renovations. Christmas decor. Your wedding. A baby shower. Furniture rearrangements. Give yourself instructions and deadlines to keep the project from getting lost in the mix of the rest of your day.
5. Write a novel. Use the first few pages to brainstorm. Then outline your story. Then begin.
6. Keep a to-do list. Just don’t forget to cross off completed tasks. And when the notebook as full, you can thumb through the pages and feel the sense of accomplishment that comes with productivity.
7. Condense the usernames and passwords for all of your logins into one place. I really need to do this. I don’t have the slightest idea what I’d do if our Firestick ever reset and I had to manually log in to Netflix.
8. Use it as a sketchbook. The lines on the pages can help with symmetry.
9. Start a “current events” log, and use one page per day to note the weather, headlines, etc. If I did this, I’d have to write, “Nearly sweated to death…and Dolly died.”
10. Create an old fashioned address book. Include phone numbers and email addresses. Should a day ever come when your phone cannot be accessed, you’ll be safe.
11. Write down your budget for an entire year. Include a savings plan. Set money aside, on paper, for emergencies, treats, vacations. Checks are a thing of the past for the most part, but you should still know how much is coming in and how much is going out.
12. Start a diary. This one seems obvious, but some adults forget that our inner most thoughts can still be written down, even if that means we have to do it without a lock and key.
13. Make it a quote collection. All of your faves from books, movies, sermons, songs, things you overhear. Little one liners that stop you in your tracks. A book full of words worth keeping.
14. Start a commonplace book. This is basically a personal collection of things you find meaningful. This book can also include quotes. And Bible verses. Ideas. Facts. Observations. Book notes. The four leaf clover you found while waiting for your dog to finish peeing. Anything to you want to remember or think about later…like an external hard drive for your brain.
15. Use it for brain dumps. Condense all of the open tabs in your brain into one tangible thing. Tasks. Worries. Reminders. Things you’re overthinking. It doesn’t have to be pretty. It just has to leave your head.
16. Prepare a habit tracker. Check boxes for whatever habits you’re trying to build…or eliminate. Water? Check. Eight hours of sleep? Check. Feed the fish? Check. I’ve been tracking my habits for a year, and it’s been neat to see tangible proof that I might not be the same person I was a year ago, even if the only evidence is a checked box.
17. Consider a five year plan or ten year plan and put all brainstorming and notes and ideas for said plan into one notebook.
18. Start a wish list. Point to the book when someone asks you what you want for your birthday or Christmas. Categorize sections by price. And feel free to get yourself something from the list occasionally.
19. Keep a fashion journal. This one doesn’t apply to me, since my wardrobe is made up – almost entirely – of leggings and sweatshirts. But make notes of outfit combinations you tried that you really loved, and flag each one based on the appropriate occasion. It’ll make prepping for date night easier eventually.
20. Turn it into a book or movie review journal. Track what you’re reading and watching. Write reviews, character and cast lists, things you learned, books you want to read next or movies you want to watch next. This makes hobbies feel more intentional.
21. Create a “100 Things” Notebook. Choose a topic and fill the notebook slowly. 100 things that make you happy. 100 things you want to experience. 100 things you’ve learned. 100 answered prayers. 100 memories. 100 things you love about your family.
22. Use it for sermon notes. I have one of these too. Instead of pilfering for scraps of paper in your bag or Bible, keep everything in one place. As you’re listening to the sermon, write down the passage, main points, questions, what stood out, how you want to apply it. Then revisit it later to see what still speaks to you.
23. Start a “Letters I’ll Never Send” Book. Just letters – to your younger self, your future self, someone you miss, someone who hurt you, someone you forgive, someone you wish you could talk to. And the point isn’t to send them. Sometimes writing is enough.
24. Keep a dream journal. Write down dreams you remember. Not because every dream means something profound, but at the very least, you could be entertained.
25. Make it a lessons log. Lessons you’re learning. One lesson per page. Something life is teaching you or something you learned the hard way or something you don’t want to forget. Over time, this can turn into a personal wisdom notebook.
26. Turn it into a Bible Study Notebook. I have the Spiral Bible, but I see the benefit of keeping your notes separated from the Word. Since I intend to read the Bible every year, the notes I make in my Bible this year may not apply next year. But you can work around that by keeping a notebook.
27. Use it as a “good day” journal. Only write in it on good days. Record what made the day good. Where you went, who you were with, what you ate, times you laughed. And on difficult days, flip through it for proof that good days existed before…and will happen again.
28. Write personal essays in it. Answer one question at a time. Search prompts of Google or Pinterest or ChatGPT – who am I becoming? What am I afraid of? What do I believe about forgiveness? What does peace mean to me? What do I want my life to feel like? Accidentally become your own therapist.
29. Start a book of recipes. I have one of these, too. I tabbed it to try to categorize my recipes by subtype. I don’t write down every recipe I’ve ever seen, but I do log the ones I’ve tried that are worth repeating. Ones my family loved. Meals I want to pass down. The dessert everyone asks me to bring.
30. Prepare a “Things to Try” Book. Sort of like a bucket list, but maybe less specific. And just fill it with things you want to experience. Restaurants. Books. Movies. DIYs. Places. Classes. Anything that finishes the sentence, “Someday, I’d like to…” And then start checking them off.
31. Try a junk journal. For me, junk journal is a memory book. Gather things you used or did today that can be glued or taped to a page in the notebook. A photo you took. Ticket stubs. Your Starbucks receipt. The card you got in the mail. Pressed flowers. The label on the Amazon package. It’s just a form of scrapbooking without the pressure of being good at scrapbooking.
32. Fill up a “what worked” book. What helped when you were anxious? What made Monday easier? What candle scent improved your sleep? What helped you stay productive? What solved the last toilet leak? Instead of constantly reinventing your life, keep track of what already works.
33. Make it completely pointless. This is the one toward which I commonly gravitate. Doodle. Write terrible poetry. Practice calligraphy. Trace your hand. Tape in stickers. Write nonsense. Use the fancy pens. There are no notebook police.

I used to think that anything worth doing was worth doing well. I’m not sure that’s true anymore. Sometimes life is just life. And notebooks are just notebooks. It doesn’t have to become important. It just needs to become yours. Messy pages count. Half-finished thoughts count. Crossed out words count. Scribbles count. Maybe, like life, the goal isn’t to create perfection. Maybe the goal should just be to use it. Because the only truly wasted notebook is the beautiful one that sits untouched on a shelf because you were afraid your existence wasn’t worthy of pages.