If you’re anything like me, you have a collection of empty notebooks. Whenever I spot a cute one on a store shelf, I can’t help but feel like purchasing it. When it comes to actually filling out the notebooks, that’s a different story–I’m often at a loss. Sometimes, the inner perfectionist in me doesn’t want to ruin the clean pages and doesn’t feel like anything I can think of will do them justice. However, notebooks should be put to good use–leaving them empty is a waste. Find some ideas on how to fill your empty notebooks in a creative and productive way below!
FAVOURITES
You can dedicate one notebook, or a series of them, to all your favourite things. This can involve listing all of your favourite songs, artists, lyrics and even memories you have associated with your selection. Compiling all your favourite quotes and poems is another great use for a journal because it makes it easy for you to go through them whenever you need anything, from comfort to motivation. You can also include your favourite movies, and even add a review or note why you like them so much. It can also be useful to record the recipes you enjoy so you have them all in one place. It comes in handy when you are at a loss of what to cook or bake. Having a “favourites” journal can give you a better sense of your personality, and it’s always nice to look back and recollect on what you were interested in throughout the years.
Trackers
Another great use for an empty notebook is turning it into a tracker. This can be used to note fitness and health goals, water intake, finances and even the books you have read. Recording everything can help you keep track of where you are and keep you focused on getting where you want to be. Seeing the visual representation of your progress can help keep the motivation going!
Agenda
Converting an empty notebook into an agenda or planner is a productive use for this space. Having clear pages allows optimal customization with how you wish to organize your tasks. You can create a monthly calendar, a daily or weekly organizer, and to-do lists to your liking. Keeping track of your ideas and jotting them down in an agenda before you forget is another good use. Pre-formatted agendas can be constraining so do take advantage of this opportunity to organize to your heart’s content.
Traditional Journaling
You can always fill out your empty journals in the traditional diary-style way. You can write about your life on a daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly basis. Laying out all your thoughts can be therapeutic, and help you spot patterns and gain clarity. It can also help you document good memories or life lessons. If writing in a journal seems intimidating, you can answer journal prompts, which can be found through a quick Google search and includes queries like, “What made you happy today?” and “Describe your perfect outdoor day.” You can also do something simple like writing one sentence every day.
Self-Care
A self-care journal can be used in so many different ways. You can use it as a gratitude journal by listing what you are grateful for daily, recording positive affirmations, happy memories and things that made you smile. You can use it to keep track of all the things you can do to lift your mood when you are feeling down. Documenting your mood can help you spot patterns and give you insight into when and why you may feel down at certain times–and happy at others. A self-care journal can also function as a mind dump, where you record all your spinning thoughts onto a paper to clear your head.
Traditional Journaling
A journal dedicated to your future is a fun way to fill those empty pages. Here, you can record places you want to visit and things to do, whether it be casual or a dedicated bucket list or even a wishlist of what you want to get. You can also use it as a vision board, writing about what you want your ideal life to look like. This is an inspiring way to fill the empty space and can help motivate you to reach your goals.
From creating a journal that highlights your favourite things, to one that focuses on self-care or organization, there are so many productive ways to fill those empty pages. I hope this article gave you some ideas on how to do just that. Don’t let your precious journals go to waste!