Making in the Margins [no. 1]
A peek inside the journals and notebooks I've used so far this year
Hi! I wanted to start a new biannual(ish) series sharing some highlights of my life lately on paper. In these posts, I will be sharing peeks into each of the notebooks I’m currently using this year— sharing their purposes, favorite pages, flip throughs, etc. These will be infrequent posts because I try not to constantly switch things up— but as I recently finished up several notebooks, I thought it would be a good time to share my system so far for this year, as well as small changes I’ll be making moving forward. If there is a specific notebook that you’d like to see more of, let me know, and I can go into further detail in a future post!
I always feel kind of vulnerable sharing my notebooks—I know there are far more *aesthetic* ones out there. But I hope it will be helpful to see some “real life” notebooks with unfinished pages, with pages not curated for social media, with pages solely for function, etc. I like to have fun on the page, but also, I have limited time— so not every page is going to be a masterpiece.
Similar to how I structured the post in January, the majority of the post will be available to all, but the video flip throughs will be for paid subscribers only, for privacy reasons and can be found at the very end of this post (because of the size of this email you may need to view in your browser or on the Substack app to see the whole thing!) 😊
Here’s a similar style post that I shared back in January:
And here are the notebooks I’ve used this year so far, their unique purposes, and what has changed since January:
Morning pages notebook [1.5 notebooks complete]: This is an idea from The Artist’s Way- but a practice that anyone can benefit from! It’s three (or twoish if you’re me) pages of stream of consciousness writing, done in the morning. I know it sounds a little…hokey…but gosh if it doesn’t make a world of difference in my day. I literally write about whatever comes to mind. I don’t worry about my handwriting, it doesn’t flow, it’s not pretty, it’s just a good way to get everything out on paper. One of my favorite quotes in the book is, “It is very difficult to complain about a situation morning after morning, month after month, without being moved to constructive action.” And it’s so true! I’ve worked through so many problems, big and small, on these pages. As I write, I star any action items. This makes it easy for me to revisit any good ideas without having to read through everything before I eventually throw it away.
My journal [complete]: I used this journal for everything from January-April and loved having it all in one place. Meal planning, to do lists, memory keeping, etc all lived here. Mine is not anywhere as fancy or cute as those you may see on social media- but it was functional and fun, which is what matters to me!
I’m sharing a quick and simple flip through at the end of this post, if you want to take a peek! If not, here are a few favorite pages, to get the gist.
My current “journal” [in progress]: After filling up the previous journal, I tried to be “good” and use what I had—so I started using this one more consistently. But because of its larger size, I’ve found that I really only like using it for lists and collections. Most memory keeping has been going in my “sketchbook” (see below). You can see a flip through of this one at the end of the post as well.
Side note: everything that I am currently using is in quotes because they are newer and I’m still trying to figure out how I want to best use them. Very much works in progress and trying to find my groove.
“Sketchbook” [in progress]: We all know about my attempts for the 100 day project (I made it today 65ish twice though- so maybe I’ll say I completed it?! 😉) I had this sketchbook as part of that project and ended up including memory keeping it it as well. So for right now, it houses more of my creative pages and my other “journal” is more for lists, productivity, notes, words, etc.
Those have been my primary system this year as far as notebooks, but I also always keep a clipboard with printables on a clipboard underneath or right next to my journal. Right now, I’m primarily using the August habit tracker and my Clean 15 printable.
I’m going to insert the paywall here, because the last notebooks I’ll be sharing are my kids’ “baby books”, including a few pictures and writing about my kids. Below that I will share the two quick flip throughs of my complete and in progress journals!
I hope that this “system” was helpful to see— it’s obviously always a work in progress, but I love seeing and being inspired by how others plan/memory keep/create, so hopefully you’ll walk away with a little bit of inspiration as well!