Mary's 2016 day book/calendar, cover.
design inspiration writing

My Beautiful New 2016 Day Book

It’s that time of year again … time to buy a new calendar/day book for the upcoming year.

I’ve been keeping a day book for years and years now, probably since the 1990s, when my sister-in-law bought me my first one. At the time, I was journaling long-hand in notebooks, trying to follow the suggestion in “The Artist’s Way” about writing three pages per day. The long-hand requirement drove me crazy because I didn’t always have time to write three pages.

The day book, on the other hand, was just the ticket. Because the spaces for each day in the book are limited, it’s easy to write everyday, jotting down the day’s events in a staccato fashion.

This just goes to show that you’ve got to develop a writing habit that works for you, no matter what well-meaning advice you receive.

Here’s a pic of my current 2015 day book:

Mary's 2015 day book/calendar, cover.
Mary’s 2015 day book/calendar, cover.

Here’s the inside:

Interior of Mary's 2015 day book/calendar.
Interior of Mary’s 2015 day book/calendar.

Not a lot of space to write, but I cram in the day’s events:

Mary's day book entry for November 8, 2015.
Mary’s day book entry for November 8, 2015.

Last week, in between other appointments, my son Sebastian and I spent a lovely hour wandering around a Barnes & Noble bookstore. While there, I caught sight of the day book/calendars and realized I hadn’t bought a new one for 2016 yet. This one jumped out at me and I had to have it (particularly because the price was so good … only about $10):

Mary's 2016 day book/calendar, cover.
Mary’s 2016 day book/calendar, cover.

The design is called Moroccan Border and it’s simply beautiful. What isn’t obvious from this pic is that part of the design includes a shiny gold. Perhaps you can see it in the following photo:

Mary's 2016 day book/calendar, close-up of cover.
Mary’s 2016 day book/calendar, close-up of cover.

I’m excited to start using this in the new year.

Ahhhhh! Life’s little pleasures!