Get A Crappy Notebook!

I’m not talking those pretty notebooks you see all over Etsy,
or at PaperSource, or at Hallmark, or heck, even at Target.

I’m talking
spiral bound,
probably a dollar,
notebook.

Why?
Because you’ll buy the nice notebook and you’ll NEVER WRITE ANYTHING IN IT!

Trust me on this one.
I have so many notebooks that look like they’re PERFECT
for writing down the best ideas ever,
and I never write anything down.
I’m afraid the ideas won’t be worthy of the notebook.

I’m here to say: Your ideas ARE worthy of the notebook.

But maybe you don’t want to pick that fight everyday.
So get a notebook you can tear pages out of,
scribble things in,
and
just play around in.
Let yourself use it for WHATEVER,
and see what comes of it.

Here’s what I do:

Case in point: I have this notebook.
It’s still got the sticker from when I bought it on sale at Target.
It as 2.99 but I bought it for 2.08.

Because I never made it a notebook for a specific purpose,
it’s got all kinds of stuff in it.

• Notes about 6th graders and Astronomy for my student teaching three years ago.
• Lesson plans for those three weeks, including stories about Roman Emperors.
• A money plan.
• Four picture book drafts.
• Notes and sketches from a drawing class I took on Creative Bug.
• Notes from going to see an author.
• Sketches of words that will become stickers or lettering pieces.
• Drafts of three thank you notes.
• Scores from a game of Dutch blitz with my husband, Danny.

Now, some of those things are related,
but most of them are not.
Except they are, because they are all notes that I wrote.

This one is unique in that is spans over 3 years,
but any time you have a “catch all” notebook, it can be pretty interesting.

What do you choose to write down?
What is on that to-do list that never gets done?
What are you always writing about?
What do you NOT write about?
What do you look back at?

I never look back at those notes I took for the 6th grade student teaching.
Yeah, it’s interesting stuff, but if I ever teach anything again,
I know I’ll jump into it and take notes and create my lessons again.

I want to scan the pages of the drawing course I took.
And I love flipping through and finding the pencil sketches that I will revisit in time.
Yes, I could have had them on individual sheets of paper,
but here’s the thing.

It’s HARDER to lose a notebook
than it is to lose a single sheet of paper.

AND, you can tear sheets out of the notebook when you’re done,
to get them out of your life.

I don’t care who you are,
there is something REALLY fun about balling up a piece of paper and throwing it
in the recycling.

Here are some steps:

I have to warn you these are pretty easy.

1. Get a notebook. Have fun with it! Look in the clearance sections of stores you love, look in the regular school supplies section, look around your house. I guarantee you have a notebook you’re not using. IF not, then you are doing a great job getting things you don’t need out of your life, and you are sort of my hero.
2. Write stuff in it. Don’t let it be a “only this one thing” notebook. There are times and places ad I’m sure future newsletters that concern “only one thing” notebooks, but this is not the time, place, or newsletter. Write or draw or anything in this notebook.
3. Fill it up. (see above!)
4.  Read it back. Obviously this will take some time, because you’ve got to fill it up. And you don’t have to read over everything you write in here. Just give a general look. See what you were about. It will help you figure out what you are and what you should be about maybe. Or maybe it will just be hilarious.
   Either way, worth it.

Hey everyone, have a good week.

Are there any questions you want to ask me?
Or things I do that you want to learn about?
I’m here for you; let me know and I’ll write about it!
All you have to do is hit reply 🙂

Until next time,
remember:

Let me know if you get a crappy notebook!

I’d love to see it!
Email me back or find me on Instagram here…I’m usually there!

Cheers,
KE
P.S. This is adapted from a newsletter I sent out this time last week! Join my newsletter here to get the scoop before it’s on the blog, and maybe win some tea!