It’s so easy to end up with a collection of notebooks (especially if you’re a fan of stationary). If you like writing, they are great to have around for various things. However, it can be easy to end up with a lot of blank ones lying around.
At one point, I wasn’t sure what I could use them for, especially once I left education. I found a load of uses though and they actually helped a lot with my mental health. Below are some of the things I feel are a good way to use those spare notebooks.
1. Goal Journal
We all have things we want to achieve, but when you write it down, it becomes a lot more real. Write down your goal (big or small), the date, why you’d like to achieve it and the steps you need to take. Leave a space so that you can write the day it was done and what happened.
I don’t use mine regularly but it’s amazing to go back through it and realise all of the things you achieved. It’s a great way to make sure you can reward yourself for doing well as it can be very easy to just pass the moment by and move onto the next thing.
2. Morning Pages
Every morning, take some time to fill in three pages. You can write about anything but the aim is to fill those three pages. It’s a fantastic way of writing regularly but it helped me a lot with understanding events and emotions. It gave me a way to express myself so I was ready to start the day. It’s also good as it forces you to make time in the morning and not rush around.
3. Planner
You can use a notebook as a planner for all the important events in your year. You can write down what you need to do for certain things and plan your to-do list. Although you could buy a planner, it can be quite fun to create your own to suit your needs and help you organise your life in the best way for you.
4. Budget Planner
You can create a weekly or monthly budget planner with all your expenditures and income. It can be a useful tool to see where your money is going and plan how much you want to save etc.
5. Diary
Notebooks are great for diaries. The kind where you write down everything that has happened in your day and all your thoughts/feelings about it. This can be time-consuming though so you could make it slightly different by writing down just one or two sentences about the day.
6. Dream Diary
Sometimes you may have really weird or interesting dreams and it could be fun to write about them. I used to kind of do this but more for story ideas so that when I had the chance, I wouldn’t be stuck with what to write.
7. Gratitude Journal
Every day, you could write 5 different things that you are thankful for. It’s a great way to use a notebook as it doesn’t take time out of your day but it helps with feeling happier. You realise how much you have in your life. On days where you’re struggling emotionally, you can look back and remind yourself of the positive things in your life. They don’t have to be big things but they can be: having internet, having food on the table, getting an education, having a day off from work etc.
8. Achievement Journal
This is a great way to keep all those fond memories in one place. You can write down what you achieved, when, how, where and how you felt. That can hopefully be a notebook you keep throughout your life.
9. Health Log
This is a good way to keep track of your lifestyle and see what makes you feel better or worse. It helped me with keeping track of food, but it was frustrating to remember to write in it every time I had something to eat or drink.
10. Affirmations
Every day, you could write down a positive affirmation that you’ve found or thought of. That one should hopefully set up your mindset for the day. On the days that you are feeling worse, you can go back through this notebook and read a few of them which will help get your mind into a more positive place.
There are many more ways you can use notebooks but these are the ones I feel are the most beneficial in your life.Try them out and see which ones work best for you.