Sound familiar? Does it happen to you too? I've come up with a list of ideas you can use for your empty notebook lying around.
Some notebooks are slim and narrow, some wide; some thin, some narrow; some stapler-bound, spiral-bound or sewn; some lined, dotted, checkered, blank, some are hardcover some soft; some are on white paper, some on coloured. Whatever size, shape, design your notebook is, I bet at least one of the ideas below can be applied on your notebook.
1.
Journal or
diary. It can be long-term or short-term. I think they're the same thing, although some people refer it to different names.
The long term kinds are basically what I meant is those notebooks you write your daily memories into. I have one awesome ring notebook with the word 'MUSIC' on the cover, and it's been my best friend, although I don't write in it every day.
The short term kinds refer to those like summer journals or camp journals, those you just need a thinner notebook compared to the long-term ones.
2.
Goals or/or resolutions for the day/week/month/year. It's like you write in it every day/week/month/year (depending on your choice, although I don't recommend 'year' on a notebook because it only comes around every 365 days/72 weeks/12 months... write your year goals/resolutions on a piece of nice paper and stick it to your room or wherever you like.) on what you want to improve on, or what you want to achieve by the end of the day/week/month.
3. If it's a medium to large size notebook, use it as a
scrapbook. Put photos and your memories. Write them down beside the photos. Decorate them. Cut photos and words from magazines and paste it in too.
4. Write down
poems that you like.
5. If you like to write, write down your ideas of your stories. You can use tabs to 'split' the notebook into two parts and use one for ideas and one for the story that you're working on.
6. Write down the
quotes that you like.
7. If you have a handwriting that you can probably read in two months, use it to write your school notes, if necessary. Like for my favourite class, Literature, we're required to write down stuff, so I do that.
8. Write down anything that you heard which
inspires you. From movies, books, quotes, or just something wisdom-y that your friend just said, write it down.
9. Use it as a
friendship journal with your good friend who is willing to do it with you. Every time you meet, you pass it to your friend who will write something. Then your friend can pass it back to you and you write in it. It is said to be quite useful, especially when you both become busier.
10.
Sketchbook/artbook, if you're an art person.
11. Write stuff about
yourself, like your favourite colour, favourite song, movie and much more. Maybe a month or two later, write another post on the same 'favourites', but you might have a difference taste.
12. Make it your
travel journal if you travel often. Put in photos and tickets for memory.
13. Make it your
dream journal. Place it near your bed, together with a pen. When you wake up, if you have a good dream and also if you remember them, write them down before you do anything else.
I quote from Notebook Stories
"I’ve gotten some good story ideas from dreams, or at least little bits of story. On New Year’s Eve I watched the movie Inception, and somewhere in the beginning the main character says that we only use a fraction of our brain when we’re awake (or something like that).
So take advantage of that. When you roll out of bed, write down what happened in your dream, no matter how stupid or silly or weird it sounds. Obviously, not all of these will be good story ideas, but after a couple weeks of dreaming there’s always a gem or two."
14. If it's small and is protected by a cover (not necessary, as long as you don't mind it being a bit torn and worn out after you're finished with it), use it as your
pocketbook. Put it in your bag or pocket or purse or wallet or whatever that you carry along with you, and write down the stuff that you need to remember for afterwards, like your homework assigned to you, or what you need to bring for you friend next week. Or it can be a song you need to download, or just an inspiring quote you need to copy to your quote book later. Anything that comes into your head needs to go into your pocket book.
I find it really useful.
15.
Joke book. The two words basically explains it, doesn't it?
16. Stuff you want to accomplish in your life. Kinda like a
bucket list.
17. A notebook
dedicated to a specific family member or friend. It can contain his/her name, age, favourite colour/song/movie/book/all that stuff, and the memories you have with him/her, as well as photos.
18.
Music book. It can contain playlists and songs, songs to checkout, song lyrics that you like...
19.
Movies to watch, movies you have watched, and your review on the movie..
20. To-read
books and books you have read, and your review.
21.
Recipe book.
22. Wishlist. Use it to jot down the stuff that you want so that when people ask what you want for your birthday or christmas, you won't blab about ridiculous items you never needed.
23. Write
'letters' to people you want to confront or talk to, but don't have the guts to do. It can be a notebook dedicated to one person, or it can be filled with many letters each dedicated to different people.
24. Write down basic words in the
language you're slowly learning, for fun. Or you can write down a word in different languages, one for each page. That's what I do. (For example I write 'Hi' in top of the page, then on the second line I write 'Hola'. On the third line I write 'Hi' in French, then in Malay on the fourth line. I have 10 languages.
25. If you play '
Truth or Dare' with your friends often, use a tab to separate them into two parts and write all the 'Truth's in the first section, and the 'Dare's in the second section.
26.
Decorate them (if they aren't fanciful enough. You can wait for my future posts on ideas on decorating notebooks) and if you like, give them to friends as a gift.
27. Use it as a
research journal, on topics you're interested.
28 Write down
random facts that will seem cool. When you and your friend have nothing else to say, pop that fact up, like 'a pumpkin is a berry'. Yes it's true!
29.
Food/health journal. Right now I'm trying to stay healthy, so I note down what I eat (not calories, just the food itself), how much water I drink and how much excercise I get daily.
30. Use the notebook to write
letters to yourself which you will date, both the date that you wrote it, and the date that you want yourself to read it in the future.
31.
One-liner feelings. I thought of it when I was trying to find an alternative to putting my emotions out there on social media, so I have a notebook where my random emotions are put into paper at random times, hence replacing Twitter.
32. Write any
ideas that pop into your brain about music/filmwriting/stories depending on your niche.
33.
Bullet journal. Many on studyblr use bullet journals, though I personally don't (for reasons I might share later). However I do find it cool and very tumblr-ish. From what I understand (do correct me if I'm wrong), a bullet journal is a notebook-slash-planner where the user designs the monthly, weekly and (maybe) daily 'spreads', as well as includes notes, lists or any information he/she might need.
34.
Words journal. Basically in here you can fill in new words you've come across, and also this is a good idea to widen your vocabulary.
35.
Brainstorm journal. Mindmaps here.
36.
Gratitude journal. Write down things you are grateful about, at least one point every day. It will help you be more appreciative and overall make you become a more thankful person.
37.
Happiness journal. When you encounter something that made you happy, smile or laugh write it down. On a down day, take out this journal and it will definitely help your mood.
38.
Address and phone book. This is not common nowadays, especially with the rise of smartphones, but it will come into use when your phone suddenly dies and you need someone's address/phone number.
39.
Hobbies and activies you like. You can add in things to try, things you have done and things you would like to do again.
If you have any ideas of what to do with notebooks, or what you're using your notebook for that I have not listed down here, please comment!
So there you go.
