How can you become more creative? How can you reduce stress on your brain? How can you keep track of important things? Keep a notebook. Now I'm not talking about a bunch of notes online or items saved to your phone. I'm talking about an actual physical notebook. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Just a bunch of paper, bound together, ready for you to jot down things at a moment's notice. Keep it in your purse, your bag, next to the bed, in your car.. take it with you everywhere. It may sound strange, in the digital age we live in, to keep a physical old-fashion notebook, but it really is a great way to keep track of things. Especially when you don't have access to your computer and/or phone.
There is an interesting article written by Steven Johnson on keeping a "spark file" notebook as a writer. But it is just as important for other creative pursuits. And of course, one of the most creative people in history, Leonardo da Vinci, kept tons and tons of notebooks.
- via pinterest
- via pinterest
Keeping a notebook will enable you to really get to the heart of what you want to create. You can jot down ideas and symbols as they pop into your head, and then use them later when you want to make a page. If you want to create a journal/scrap page without directly spelling out all of the most sensitive things in your mind, spill them into your notebook, and then use your visual journal/scrap page to convey your emotions without having to share every intimate detail. Keeping a notebook is also a great way to jumpstart your mojo. When you want to create an art journal/scrap page and may not be feeling it, look through your notebook to mine for a nugget of inspiration.
Things you can add to your notebook:
- current obsessions
- texture ideas
- inspiring design
- projects you want to work on in the future
- amazing quotes
- lists of books to read (or movies to see, music to listen to)
- color palettes
- memories
- pictures to take
- pages you want to scrap
- page designs
- bucket list items
- interesting facts
- partial stories
- blog/website urls
- "don't forget" items
- gift ideas (things you want or what you want to get for someone else)
- great ideas
- things to blog
- favorite phrases or tidbits of conversation
- shopping lists
- meal plans
- dreams
- poems
- hopes/fears/wishes
Hopefully you can keep a lot of inspiring information that will ignite your creativity, but if all else fails, you can always transfer things and use details from your notebook directly onto a journal/scrap page.
For inspiraiton, check out the Documented Life project by Art to the 5th group. They have taken keeping a notebook to the highest level and create art journal pages inside their notebooks/moleskins/planners. Truly inspiring.
- Lorraine Bell -- Art to the 5th
What kind of journaling/notebooking can you think of doing (or are you already doing)?
Share your ideas for smart notebooking in the comments or link us up to a page where you were inspired by something you kept in a notebook.
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