Three Notebooks for Writing & Staying Organized

I have written about notebooks before on my blog, specifically my calendar journals here and here. I’m surprised, however, that I’ve never discussed my three notebook system for writing and staying organized.

At any given time, I always have three notebooks going. One is the aforementioned calendar journal, which contains enough space for me to jot the important happenings of each day of the year. I’ve been keeping a calendar journal for decades now, so I have quite a history built up of my adult life.

Another notebook I keep is a small one just for To-Do lists and sundry random notes. I like this size for carrying around on errands. Because so much of my To-Do list isn’t really attached to specific days, I don’t need a calendar for this. The small notebook isn’t special and allows me to cross things off as I accomplish them or carry over items from one list to the next as a list gets mostly finished and messy.

The third notebook I keep is larger, ideally lined, and undated. In this notebook, I keep writing and art ideas and longer journal entries. I don’t follow a daily writing practice, like Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages” in this notebook. Instead, I write in it when I feel like it. I have used mostly school notebooks and some proper journals for this. I have preferred school notebooks because they aren’t precious (50 cents each!), so I’m not afraid to scribble and make them ugly. In the past year, I have repurposed a nicer looking thick journal with a black, padded cover from a failed health journal into my idea journal and that has worked surprisingly well. I somehow overcame my fear of messing up a nice journal and have almost filled it in a little over a year. I thought it would take longer.

I know that Bullet Journals have been a thing for a while, but I don’t have time to keep a tidy, beautifully-designed journal. I certainly appreciate the efforts of those who do, however. Oh, to have gorgeous, swirly handwriting and lovely, colorful pages! But, the point of my three notebook system isn’t a finely-crafted end product. It’s to capture ideas before they flit away, focus my thoughts, and organize my life. I’ve gotta be able to set aside neatness for that.

I have a similar three notebook system for work, as well. While I have a Microsoft Outlook calendar to keep track of meetings and events, I also keep a calendar notebook to track the same meetings and events. This allows me to check what’s coming up in the week ahead without turning on my work computer. It also helps me track phone calls and other notes that aren’t convenient to put in my Outlook calendar.

I have a small To-Do notebook and a larger notebook for keeping meeting notes and work-related ideas. Yes, I actually take handwritten notes of meetings at work. I used to take official meeting minutes, so this is a continuation of that habit. It helps me better remember what was discussed, and the notes have come in handy when others have questions about what happened at a particular meeting.

Aside from loving notebooks because I am a writer, I keep notebooks because it’s a way to stay in touch with the analog world … my way of “touching grass,” as the kids these days like to say.

Erik and I watched what seemed to be an AI-generated video* last night about the people who like to ride motorcycles, even though they are always being told how unsafe it is. The main point the video made was that riding motorcycle requires a person to be fully present, their mind and body focused and engaged in the world to stay safe. The melding of rider and cycle creates embodied cognition, with the body reacting instantly to the constantly changing conditions of the road.

We all spend so much time on our computers or phones that we need time to engage again with the physical world. Motorcycling provides this experience for those who like to ride (like Erik). For me, writing in notebooks provides it. I just think better with a notebook and pen.

What do you do to stay in touch with the physical world? Are you a notebook or motorcycle person? Or something else entirely?

*Y’all, while AI-generated videos are getting better, we can still tell they are AI. The misspelled words, like “embodied” in the video we watched, plus the inconsistent but strangely repetitive imagery are dead giveaways. As is that AI-generated voice that sounds like it never has an emotion beyond a placid neutrality. The AI needs to get out there and touch some grass. Lol!